Yesterday, October 31, marked the last day to submit your tax returns, and for a lot of South Africans, the panic was real.

Hundreds of people stood in long queues outside SARS offices around the country in a last-minute attempt to file their taxes.

Clearly, none of them are 2OV readers, because we’ve been sending out handy hints and reminders for the last while.

Anyway, if you thought Home Affairs on a Friday afternoon was too much, wait till you see the chaos that played out in Pretoria and Umhlanga.

Here’s IOL:

Hundreds of taxpayers braved the long queues to stand outside offices of the South African Revenue Services in Pretoria to file their tax returns on deadline.

Even the rain which fell in the afternoon did not discourage the taxpayers, some of whom had travelled from far and wide. Penalties for missing the deadline range from R200 to R15 000.

Reasons for late submissions included having to travel from an area that doesn’t have a SARS branch; having no access to the internet and therefore no access to e-filing; and ignoring the approaching deadline.

Northglen News went to the Umhlanga SARS branch where they found a similar situation.

The queue was so long that it curved all the way around the building and into the road, where it halted traffic.

Check it out:

Look at the Queue. Note: There is more than 50 people already inside. pic.twitter.com/fHItBfWuyK

— Mageza ngobisi (@lovejoy_mlaba) October 31, 2018

Call me crazy, but I have zero interest in queues that snake around corners and halt traffic.

Your safest bet, especially if you’re usually the type of person who is guilty of leaving thins until the last minute, is to get some efficient professional help.

Galbraith | Rushby offer professional tax compliance and advisory services to individuals and businesses, rendering the level of service that you’d expect from a large audit firm, but at the price of a small firm.

They can assist you with all of your tax advisory and compliance needs, which means that you don’t make the kind of mistakes that could land you with a fine, a criminal record (yes, failing to pay your taxes can land you with one), or a feeling of deep panic as you realise the tax season is over.

So go home, check out their website, and get some professional help before you find yourself in a few-hundred strong queue outside SARS.

[sources:iol&northglennews]