In the past, you would have filled in one of five different returns - the IT12S, IT12SS, IT12SE, IT12SB or IT12BU - depending on the different kinds of income you received. This year there are only two personal income tax returns:
- this is the standard income tax return that most taxpayers who earn a salary with basic allowances will have to complete; or
. The IT12C return is similar to the standard return, but has an additional three pages covering additional income, such as business or rental income, farming income, or foreign income, as well as capital gains/losses.
In deciding which return you should fill in, the important thing to remember is that you must declare all your income. If you don't find enough space to do that on the IT12S return, then you need to obtain and fill in the IT12C return.
You can also inquire at a branch of SARS or phone the SARS call centre on 0860 12 12 18 to find out which return you should fill in.
If you want to see what the new tax returns look like, you can access an example of them now on SARS's website at www.sars.gov.za- follow the Filing Season 2007 link.
Companies will receive a similar IT14 return to those that they completed in the past, trusts will receive a similar IT12TR and public benefit organisations a similar IT12EI return, as in previous years.
SARS plans to simplify and enhance these returns in time for next year's assessment process.
Around mid-July, SARS will start posting returns to everyone whose address it has managed to verify.
SARS is currently checking the addresses it has against national databases of addresses to ensure that it has the right addresses for taxpayers. SARS says this was necessitated by the high volumes of undelivered mail during past filing seasons and the large number of returns that SARS had to re-issue from its offices.
If you have moved in the past year, you can ensure that SARS has the right address for you by phoning the SARS call centre on 0860 12 12 18 or by visiting your nearest SARS branch.
If you would like a paper tax return and have not received one by August 31, you should contact your nearest SARS branch or call 0860 12 12 18 to update your address and receive a return.
Alternatively, you can complete an electronic copy of the return. From August 1, you will be able to download the IT12S and IT12C forms from the internet at www.sarsefiling.co.za.
The IT14, IT12TR and the IT12EI returns will also be available electronically on this website from September.
You can't fill in your return just yet as the returns will be available only from mid-July.
However, there are some things you can do in the meantime to prepare for the coming tax filing season:
- Start getting together all the documents - such as your IRP5 from your employer, IT3 returns from financial institutions, your medical claims and so on - that you will need to complete your return. Although you don't need to submit these documents, you will still need the information on them to complete your return.
- Familiarise yourself with the example of the return that you will find on the SARS website, www.sars.gov.za- follow the Filing Season 2007 link.
- Register for eFiling at www.sarsefiling.co.za if you would like to use this service.
If you receive a paper return in the post or collect one from a SARS branch, you can fill it in and post it to SARS in the envelope provided, or you can drop it off at a SARS branch near you in the usual way.
Remember that you must complete all the fields and sign your return otherwise it will not be accepted by SARS.
You will be able to access an electronic copy of the return from www.sarsefiling.co.za from Wednesday, August 1.
You will need Adobe version 8 to access these returns and you can download the Adobe software free from the eFiling website. You can then store the electronic return on your computer and fill it in at your leisure.
This electronic return has a two-dimensional barcode that will be updated by Adobe 8 each time you fill in any of the fields on the return.
When you have completed the return on your computer, you can simply print it out, sign it and then post it to SARS or drop it off at a SARS office.
The advantage of filling in your return this way is that when SARS receives this return, the barcode will be scanned and your details will be instantly and accurately loaded on to SARS's computer system.
None of your details will have to be captured manually and so errors will be unlikely and your return will be processed more quickly.
If you do not have access to a computer at home or at your office, you can fill in an electronic form at a SARS branch or at an internet café.
The best way of completing and submitting your return is still eFiling ( www.sarsefiling.co.za).
SARS says the eFiling facility via the internet remains the easiest and quickest way for taxpayers and tax practitioners to file returns because it eliminates paperwork and allows for the fastest processing times.
It also reduces the volume of returns that SARS has to process manually, thereby improving manual turnaround times.
If you eFile, you need to register and obtain a user name and password. This gives you access to your return, which you can fill in online at your convenience. When you have completed the return and hit the submit button, your return will be submitted instantly to SARS.
SARS will be introducing a few improvements to encourage you to use the eFiling facility from August 1. These are:
- Registration. To register as an eFiler, you need to provide a copy of your identity document and proof of your address. It can take up to 48 hours to activate your access to eFiling. This year SARS will introduce a simplified and quicker registration process for individual taxpayers using your bank account details for verification.
- All tax return types are available for eFiling this year.
- Delayed payments. People who are expecting a refund from SARS will be pleased to know that eFiling is the quickest way to file a return and obtain an assessment.
But SARS says some individual taxpayers who anticipated that they would owe tax to SARS have been less willing to eFile their tax returns because the tax they owe will fall due sooner.
To encourage these taxpayers to use eFiling, the due dates for the payment of assessed taxes for eFilers who file early will be delayed to the end of February 2008. (But beware: should payment not be made by this date, interest will be payable from the date of the assessment.) This concession does not affect your liability for provisional tax or interest on the under-payment thereof.
SARS says the implications for provisional taxpayers will still be investigated and further details in this regard will be released later.
- If you believe there is an error on your tax assessment or if you want to object or appeal against a decision made by SARS, the quickest, easiest way to do so will be via eFiling - but you can only do this if you have eFiled your return.
SARS says that in the past many taxpayers did not complete all (and sometimes any) of the fields on the returns - they would just send in their IRP5 and a blank return and expect SARS to do the rest. Some taxpayers didn't even sign their returns.
SARS says it hopes there will be fewer of these practices now that the form has been simplified. But since SARS is no longer accepting supporting documents, it cannot accept blank forms either.
This year, if your return is not fully completed, it will be mailed back to you with a letter indicating the error or incomplete portion.
If your return is incomplete, it will not be loaded on to the SARS computer system until you complete it in full and resubmit it. And this could mean that you could miss the submission deadline and, as a result, you could be charged a penalty for late submission.
If you are unable to complete your form, take your supporting documents and the return to a SARS branch and ask someone there to help you fill in the return.
A big change that SARS has introduced from this year is that you won't have to submit supporting documents - your IRP5, your IT3 forms showing your investment returns or your logbook showing your mileage - with the new tax returns.
Instead of checking the information you submit against your documents, SARS will verify the information you supplied using data from the source - such as your employer or financial institution. SARS says verifying the information you submit with other parties will be faster and more accurate.
Of course, you will still need the documents to complete your return and, importantly, you must keep these documents for five years after you have submitted your tax return. SARS can ask to see these documents at any time during this period and you must be able to produce them.
If you cannot produce the documents, SARS may dispute the information you have submitted and disallow your deductions or adjust your income. If you do send SARS any supporting documents, it will mail these documents back to you.
If you are still missing any of the documents you need by the end of June, contact your employer, financial institution, medical scheme, retirement annuity or pension fund and ask them for the documents.
And before you submit your return, don't forget to make a copy it for your own records.
If you get stuck filling in your tax return you can:
- Visit your nearest SARS branch office;
- Ask SARS staff who will be manning SARS kiosks at shopping centres, libraries, community halls and other public venues between July and September; or
- Contact the SARS call centre on 0860 12 12 18 (office hours).
If you need technical assistance with eFiling or with downloading an electronic copy of the return, you can call eFiling support on 0860 709 709.
You can't access or submit a return yet, but will be able to do so from Wednesday, August 1. You will then have three months to complete your return. The deadlines for submission are:
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SARS has found that a single date for the submission of company tax returns has been difficult because companies have different financial year ends. As a result, from this year companies will have up to 12 months from the end of their financial years in which to submit their returns.
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SARS says because you'll have less paperwork to do and the deadline for submission has already been moved to later in the year, it is not going to give extensions to the deadline for submitting returns.
But if you can't manage to submit your return by October 31, you can still submit a return electronically (via eFiling or at a SARS branch where the return will be captured electronically) up until the end of January, and SARS will waive the penalties for late submission.
In order to combat cheque fraud, SARS will no longer issue cheques to taxpayers and will only pay directly into your bank account, as long as SARS has been able to verify with your bank that the account is indeed yours. So make sure that you include your correct banking details on your tax return.
SARS's ultimate objective is to broaden the tax base and to ensure that all taxpayers comply with the tax laws in order to provide the government with a sustainable revenue base to create the fiscal space necessary to implement and accelerate its programme of delivery.
In pursuit of this objective, SARS has decided to provide excellent service to those taxpayers who are compliant and low risk, and service and education to those who want to be compliant but may not understand their obligations.
SARS will provide you with assistance and will be understanding if you make honest mistakes, but if you purposefully do not comply with the law, you can expect to feel the full weight of the law if you are caught out.
SARS says the new process assists this approach because it:
- Makes it easier and more convenient for honest taxpayers to meet their obligations;
- Ensures that honest taxpayers get better and faster service - if you are honest on your return and use eFiling you can expect your assessment in just seven days;
- Makes it easier to detect non-compliance from dishonest taxpayers; and
- Frees up SARS staff from paperwork, enabling them to conduct education, outreach and enforcement activities.
This article was first published as a supplement to Personal Finance newspaper on May 26, 2007. Text compiled by the South African Revenue Service and Personal Finance.