[TAKE NOTE] The 2018 tax season closes today

SARS have shortened the tax season by three weeks this year.

The 2018 Tax Season for Individuals opens on 1 July 2018.

POLOKWANE – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) says the shortening of the 2018 tax season allows additional time for SARS, taxpayers and the tax fraternity to deal with return verifications before most taxpayers go on the December holiday break.

SARS made the announcement on Monday, 4 June and says the cut will impact all individual non-provisional taxpayers and applies to provisional taxpayers who opt to file at a branch.

Acting commissioner, Mark Kingon says provisional taxpayers who use eFiling will have until 31 January 2019 to file and the deadline for manual submissions is 21 September.

Filing your tax returns is easy if you have all the correct supporting documents.

Here is what you will need:

To get ready to submit your tax return, you will need to gather all your supporting documents which include the following:

IRP5/IT3(a) certificate(s) from your employer or pension fund
IT3(b) certificates for investment returns
Financial statements, if applicable e.g. business income
Medical aid contribution certificates and receipts
Retirement annuity fund certificates
Certificates you received for local interest income earned
Logbook and other documents in support of business travel expenses
Completed confirmation of diagnosis of disability form (ITR-DD), if applicable
Any other relevant income and deduction information.
Bank account details

Remember, if you’re filing at a SARS branch, you have to bring all the documents applicable to you, plus original proof of identity (ID, temporary ID, passport or driver’s licence).

It is also important to check your IRP5 and verify if all the information is correct before attempting to submit your return. If you notice any errors which might need to be corrected, you have to advise your employer for them to rectify it.

It is also important to note the following:

A taxpayer does not need to submit a return if ALL the following criteria apply:

The taxpayer’s total employment income / salary for the year of assessment (March 2017 to February 2018) before tax was no more than R350 000
Employment income / salary for the year of assessment was received from one employer
The taxpayer has no other form of income (e.g. car allowance, company car fringe benefit, business income, taxable interest or rental income or income from another job)
The taxpayer does not want to claim for any additional allowable tax related deductions or rebates (e.g. medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions, travel expenses, etc.).

raeesak@nmgroup.co.za