Services for the completion and submission of tax returns is offered at very competitive rates.
Align your financial goals to be more tax efficient. Minimize your tax burden and let Helfin take care of it through our professional tax management services.
Questions about the 2020 tax season
Who needs to register for income tax?
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) requires everyone who receives employment income, including those below the tax threshold, to register for income tax.
Who is required to submit an income tax return to SARS?
Everyone who earns an income is required to submit a completed and signed income tax return to SARS, unless they meet all of the following requirements (according to SARS’ current practice):
- They earn an income of less than R120 000 for a tax year (i.e. from 1 March to 28 February)
- Their full income is earned from one source (i.e. the Allan Gray Living Annuity)
- Their income does not include any other allowances or deductions
For the 2012/2013 tax year, the taxable income threshold for individuals on which no tax is payable is as follows:
- Below age 65 R63 556
- Age 65 and below 75 R99 056
- Age 75 and over R110 889
Once these thresholds have been exceeded, the specific rates at which individuals are taxed depend on the amount of taxable income received. A year of assessment for an individual consists of twelve months starting from 1 March and ending on the last day of February of the following year.
What is an income tax return?
This is a declaration of income earned and capital gains or losses realised in a tax year (i.e. from 1 March to 28 February). If your clients are required to submit an income tax return (see above requirements) they will need to complete and file a tax return each year during SARS’ tax filing period. More information on the filing period and processes is available at www.sars.gov.za.
Dividend Withholding Tax
Dividend Withholding Tax (DWT) came into effect on 1 April 2012. It is a withholding tax that falls outside of the normal tax rules (i.e. the rules that govern the calculation of an individual’s personal income tax return calculation). Dividends are taxable in the hands of the investor for dividends tax purposes, but remain exempt for income tax purposes.
We are required to deduct DWT at the applicable rate (e.g. 15%) from the value of your clients’ dividends and pay it to SARS. The way in which your clients complete their income tax return is not affected in any way. They should include all local gross dividends they have received in the ‘exempt dividends’ field on their income tax return.
Which tax certificate will you receive?
Tax Season 2019/2020
SARS has improved eFiling and the MobiApp with several exciting innovations for Tax Season 2019 to make it simpler and more convenient for taxpayers to file an income tax return. To see an example of the ITR12, click here.
- Their total employment income for the year before tax is not more than R500 000
- They only receive employment income from ONE EMPLOYER for the full tax year
- They have no other form of INCOME (e.g. car allowance, business income, and rental income, taxable interest or income from another job)
- They don’t have any additional allowable tax related deductions to claim (e.g. medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions and travel expenses).
Still not sure? Click here to see if you need to submit a return or not.
To further reduce unnecessary trips to SARS branches, taxpayers who were not required to file a return received a simulated outcome from SARS as if they had filed a return. The taxpayer could accept this outcome or update the return and file.
Income Tax Return submission dates
- Tax Season 2019 started on 1 August 2019 for non-provisional Individuals
- To skip the queues and taxpayers were allowed to start filing via eFiling and MobiApp from 1 July 2019
- Closing dates:
- Branch filing closed on 31 October 2019
- eFiling closed on 4 December 2019
- Provisional taxpayers had until 31 January 2020 to file via eFiling.
Need to know
- Have you received an SMS from SARS with your simulated calculation? Click here for more info.
- Make sure your Tax Practitioner is registered, click here.
- Beware of Tax Season scams, visit our Scam Alert webpage on a regular basis.
- For an optimal eFiling experience, we suggest using one of the following browsers and higher – Chrome v41, Firefox v55, Edge v13, Safari v10 or Opera v55:
- If you experience issues opening forms and notifications on eFiling, see how to enable Flashplayer in Chrome.
- If you see a ‘Busy preparing your form…’ or an ‘Incorrect version of Flash Player’ message, when trying to access Adobe forms on Chrome, click here.
- If you experience issues accessing details on eFiling, you may need to clear your cache, see our easy steps how to do it in all browsers.
- For the few forms still in Adobe, click here.
Information provided from SARS website
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