Publications
INCOME TAX RETURNS – 2020 TAX SEASON
The South African Revenue Services (SARS) have recently outlined the details of the coming tax filing season. There are significant changes in the timetable and the process which will affect you. The details are as follows:
01) 15 April, 2020 to 31 May 2020:
All employers and third parties are required to file their returns.
02 ) 01 June 2020 to 31 August 2020:
Tax filing updates – during this period all taxpayers are requested to update their details recorded on e-filing. SARS will issue auto assessments based on the employer and third party data filed. These taxpayers will be given the opportunity to confirm their acceptance of these assessments.
3) 01 September 2020 to 22 October 2020:
Taxpayers who file their returns at the SARS branches are required to file their returns during this period
4) 01 September 2020 to 16 November 2020:
Taxpayers who file their returns via e-filing are required to file their returns during this period.
5) 01 September 2020 to 31 January 2021:
Provisional taxpayers are required to file their returns during this period.
6) Note:
Trusts fall into the category of Provisional Taxpayers
COMMENT
The changes in the dates for the filing of tax returns must be noted and you must be aware of the bracket you fall in. However, the most relevant change is that SARS will be auto assessing some taxpayers based on their employer and third party returns submitted.
The danger here is that there may be errors or omissions on the submissions by the employer or the third party which you may not have had the opportunity to challenge.
Further there may be other relevant information that has not been submitted by a third party to SARS which will not have been included in the assessment. An example could be medical costs incurred that were not submitted to SARS.
