Tax season begins
BDO Durban gives advice for taxpayers as individual tax season opens.
TAX season for individuals begins on 1 July, ending 25 November, and all relevant taxpayers are encouraged to get the correct documentation in order to avoid penalties.
“The first step is to submit an income tax return (ITR12) as this will allow SARS to reconcile the tax on income with the tax-deductible expenses for the year of assessment, which is 1 March 2015 to 29 February 2016,” said Ilsa Groenewald, associate director of Tax Compliance for BDO Durban.
“Provisional taxpayers who submit their tax returns via e-filing have until 31 January 2017 to complete this process. All manual and postal submissions need to be completed by 23 September 2016,” she said.
Groenewald said that individuals whose total salary – earned between 1 March 2015 and 29 February 2016 – is below R350 000, no 2016 income tax return is required. However, this is provided that dividends were paid to the individual as a non-resident during the 2016 tax year, the individual has only one employer, the individual has no car allowance or any other passive income, the individual is not claiming any tax-related deductions such as medical, retirement annuities contributions or travel expenses and the individual’s interest income received from South Africa does not exceed R23 800 (for those younger than 65) or R34 500 (for those over the age of 65).
“It is essential that every person retains all supporting documents for 2016 as SARS may request this information to validate and substantiate any tax deductible expenses,” concludes Groenewald.
For more information, contact igroenewald@bdo.co.za
