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Like most things, tax season is looking a little different this year because of the global pandemic.

One thing that hasn’t changed is SARS and their determination to make sure every South African is tax compliant and on the ball.

Fail to meet their criteria, or pay your taxes, and you’ll have to face the consequences.

If you clicked on this article, it’s probably safe to assume that you’re the kind of citizen who wants to do the right thing and file your returns on time, so here’s what you need to know about tax season 2020, per BizNews.

SARS has implemented changes on an operational level, as well as to the submission deadlines, in an attempt to ease up on the impact of COVID-19 on South African taxpayers. It’s also simplifying the tax return filing requirements for individual taxpayers and removed the need for a taxpayer to travel to a SARS branch.

There will also be a three-phase approach to filing tax returns. You’ll notice that one of the phases outlined below has already passed, but we’ve left it in so that you can take in the whole picture.

Phase One: Employer and third-party filing

• April 15 2020 – May 31 2020 (passed)

This refers to employer filing and third party institutions such as banks, medical aid schemes, insurance companies, and so forth, required to provide a tax certificate to customers.

Phase Two: Tax file updates

• June 1 2020 – August 31 2020

Taxpayers will have the opportunity over this period to make changes to and update their information on the SARS online system. This could include your address, contact details, and so on.

SARS will also issue “self-assessments” to individual taxpayers who meet certain criteria based on their income to determine whether they need to render a tax return. They will base this on third-party information supplied to SARS.

Phase Three: Employee Filing

• September 1 2020 – January 31 2021

Non-provisional taxpayers

If you will be visiting a SARS branch in order to file your tax return, then you can file from September 1, 2020. The deadline for filing is October 22, 2020.

Keep in mind that queues at SARS are likely to be longer than usual so go early and go prepared. Physical distancing will also slow things down.

If you are using eFiling, you can file from September 1, 2020, until November 16, 2020.

Provisional taxpayers

You will be required to file your tax return from September 1, 2020, until January 31, 2021. 

Before filing, make sure that you have the following documents ready:

• Medical aid certificate
• Retirement annuity fund certificate
• Other third-party data that is relevant in determining your tax obligations
• Especially your IT3(b)s from financial institutions as SARS will have all this information and a mismatch in submitting this information will trigger a request for supporting documents which can delay getting your tax affairs in order and also any refund due.

Even armed with all of the above information, short of a degree in Business Science or Tax Law, most of us aren’t equipped to handle our own taxes. If you’re smart, or want to ensure that you or your business tick all of the boxes, you’ll hand things over to an expert.

Galbraith | Rushby offers professional tax compliance and advisory services to individuals and businesses.

Seth’s been letting them run the numbers for years now, and it’s one less thing to worry about whilst living the holiday.

[source:biznews]