Preparations for the 2021 Filing Season are in full swing! This means that, in the coming weeks, you will start receiving important tax certificates you require to complete your Income Tax Return (ITR12). The following are important tips that will assist you to be ready to submit your IITR12. Some documents to watch out for in your inbox:
- IRP5/IT3a: a tax certificate from your employer that details your earnings, deductions and taxes paid.
- Medical Aid Tax Certificate: a summary of your medical aid membership and contributions for the tax year. This may also include the value of claims your medical aid did not pay, where it is relevant.
- IT3b/IT3c: a summary of all the interest, dividends and capital gains you earned through your investments.
- Retirement Annuity Certificate: your contribution certificate for the tax year.
- Public Benefits Organisation (PBO) Certificates: a summary of the charitable amounts you donated during the tax year.
Tip 1 – Keep your supporting documents safe and handy for when you may need them to submit your Income Tax Return. Now that you know what supporting documents to expect for this year’s Filing Season, take note of the following dates and filing activities:
- A large number of taxpayers identified for auto-assessment will receive text messages to indicate what they need to do to either accept or edit their auto-completed returns on eFiling by November 23, 2021.
- July 1 – November 23: Non-provisional taxpayers who were not auto-assessed may file digitally using eFiling or the Sars MobiApp
- July 1 – November 23: Non-provisional taxpayers who were not auto-assessed and do not have access to digital services may be assisted at a branch by first making a booking. The online booking system is available on the Sars website.
- July 1, 2021 – January 31, 2022: Provisional taxpayers and Trusts may file via eFiling or on the Sars MobiApp.
Tip 2 – You do not need to submit an income tax return if all the below applies to you:
- Your total salary for the year before tax was not more than R500 000 and employees’ tax has been deducted or withheld in terms of the deduction tables prescribed by the Commissioner;
- You only received employment income for the full year of assessment (March 2020 to February 2021) from one employer;
- You have no car allowance/company car/ travel allowance or other income (e.g. interest in excess of the exempt amount or rental income); and
- You are not claiming tax related deductions (e.g. medical expenses, retirement contributions other than those made through your employer).
However, you have to submit a return if you worked for more than one employer, retired or resigned from employment, if your circumstances have changed in a substantial way or you have other income not reflected on an IT3 a or b, which could be from any other business income, including letting out property.
Tip 3 – If you need a tax number, go to www.sarsefiling.co.za in order to register, click on the register tab at the bottom right corner, and follow the steps. You will automatically be registered for personal income tax and receive a tax reference number. If you are filing on the go, download the Sars MobiApp from Google Play for Android devices, Huawei App gallery for Huawei devices, and App Store for Apple devices and register for eFiling.
Tip 4 – Before submitting your return, confirm with your human resources division that they have submitted their PAYE reconciliation and relevant certificates to Sars. If they have not submitted, you can still submit your return but it will not be pre-populated with your IRP5 and may take a bit longer for Sars to finalise. To avoid delays, first, check with your employer.
