SARS' auto assessment to run until 14 July

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has urged taxpayers to be patient with the auto-assessment process, saying notices will be sent out over the next two weeks.

COURTESY: SARS

Auto-assessments started rolling out from Monday, before the start of the Filing Season for provisional and non-provisional taxpayers who are required to file a tax return on 15 July 2024.

‘’Auto-assessments for an expanded pool of taxpayers will run from the 1st to the 14th July 2024.Taxpayers whose contact details, including an email address and cell phone number, as well as banking details, have changed must update these details on eFiling or the SARS MobiApp to facilitate an easy and seamless Filing Season. The update of this information goes a long way to preventing fraud and identity theft,’’ said SARS in a statement.

SARS Commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, has assured taxpayers that SARS remains committed to its goal of making Filing Season  for standard taxpayers an invisible process that requires little or no action from the taxpayer, due to the use of big data, machine learning and algorithms.

Kieswetter says about 4.8 million taxpayers will be auto-assessed this year compared to about 3.8 million taxpayers last year.

‘’Taxpayers who agree with the auto-assessment do not have to do anything. If a refund is due, it will be paid within 72 hours. If tax is due to SARS, the taxpayer must make the payment by the due date. If a taxpayer does not agree with the auto-assessment, they should make all applicable changes and file their return the normal way via eFiling or the SARS MobiApp on or before 21 October 2024, the closing date for non-provisional taxpayers,’’ said Edward Kieswetter, SARS Commissioner.

“The large number of digital platforms available to taxpayers reinforces the trend of a decreasing number of taxpayers needing to visit branches and wait in queues.” It is expected that in the first two weeks of July and the first two weeks of October, as many taxpayers rush to engage SARS, there may be instances where taxpayers may need to wait longer than usual to be serviced,’’ said Kieswetter.

The Commissioner urged taxpayers who are auto-assessed but who wish to claim the solar tax rebate, to complete their tax return and file it in the normal way.

For the 2023/24 financial year, SARS collected a gross tax revenue of R2.155 trillion.

Kieswetter urged taxpayers to be transparent and accurate when filing their tax returns.

“The use of technology and data has enhanced SARS’ ability to detect instances of non-compliance. Taxpayers must not inflate their expenses and under-declare their income to obtain impermissible refunds. Not including rental income is an example. Such actions will make the taxpayer potentially guilty of fraud.”

Filing Season dates:

Auto-assessment notices: 1 – 14 July 2024

Individual taxpayers (non-provisional): 15 July 2024 – 21 October 2024

Provisional taxpayers: 15 July 2024 – 20 January 2025

Trusts: 16 September 2024 – 20 January 2025

Taxpayers can also contact SARS through the SARS Online Query System. The SARS Online Query System is an easy-to-use online platform on SARS’s website (https://tools.sars.gov.za/soqs). Taxpayers can use this service without going into a SARS branch or calling SARS.

 

Done By: Mitchum George