Mastering Record Keeping: How to Meet SARS’s Electronic Documentation Standards
Too often, taxpayers seem to forget that the most important aspect of dealing with SARS is to ensure that they can discharge their burden of proof. As a taxpayer, it is on you to provide SARS with the relevant material that, on a balance of probabilities, supports your position. Taxpayers are required to retain relevant […]
2024 Tax Filing Season
THE 2024 FILING SEASON COVERS THE PERIOD 1 MARCH 2023 TO 28 FEBRUARY 2024 The 2024 tax filing season opens on 15 July 2024. Since the introduction of the Tax Administration Act, SARS are far stricter with their compliance requirements which has created a need for more stringent checks and controls on the returns we […]
SARS issues notices of intention to suspend customs numbers
The intended suspension is a result of the failure to update your company’s customs registration and licensing details by 31 March 2023 as required by SARS. The communication from SARS regarding the required update was extremely poor and it appears that other than the publication on the SARS website, SARS relied on customs agents to […]
Is a maintenance payment a ‘donation’?
Helping someone out may be exempt from donations tax—but as always, the devil is in the detail… Donations tax is one of those strange taxes where people often question its existence. After all, why would SARS be so mean as to want to tax someone’s generosity? The main reason is estate duty—or, more specifically, the […]
2023 Tax Filing Season: Important Dates and Guidelines
The 2023 filing seasons covers the period 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023. The 2023 tax filing season opens on 7 July 2023. Since the introduction of the Tax Administration Act, SARS are far stricter with its compliance requirements which have created a need for more stringent checks and controls on the returns we […]
Trustees required to capture “Beneficial Owner” details
Trustees are now required to capture “Beneficial Owner” details on the Master’s Portal An important update regarding the amended Trust Property Control Act, Act 57 of 1998 (TPCA) was gazetted on Friday, the 31st of March 2023, with an effective date of 1 April 2023. Trustees and trust service providers are now required to capture […]
How to object to your income tax assessment
You and SARS are entitled to have a difference of opinion This article, which was originally published in the May 2014 issue of Tax Breaks, has been updated to take later developments in SARS’ processes (and e-filing functionality) into account. You’ve got your tax return in on time, and your tax practitioner told you that […]
VAT treatment of irrecoverable debts
What happens to the VAT that was paid over to SARS? Vendors often provide goods or services to clients on credit. In the current economic climate, clients are more likely to acquire goods or services on credit and may thereafter be unable to settle these debts. Other factors, for example disputes, may also result in […]
Tax certificate uploads: How to avoid SARS issues
Check, check, and check again … The SARS e-filing system has come a long way from its humble beginnings, and it is clear that the tax office is moving ever-closer to a situation whereby the majority of taxpayers will no longer be required to submit a return each year—employers, investment funds, and medical schemes will […]
Disclose your defaults before SARS finds them!
A grim warning for South African taxpayers Long gone are the days when tax fraudsters could run circles around SARS, which has intensified its efforts to crack down on tax evasion by pursuing criminal action against non-compliant taxpayers. One example is when SARS came knocking on the door of a private hospital and its director, […]