The annual tax filing season is upon us and acting SARS Commissioner, Mark Kingon, announced that the season will open on 1 July 2018 for eFilers. SARS branches will assist taxpayers from 2 July 2018. The filing season will then end on 31 October.
To improve efficiency, the season will be shortened by three weeks, which will allow additional time for SARS, taxpayers, and the tax fraternity in general, to deal with all tax verifications before the December holiday break.
Manual and provisional taxpayers submission deadlines:
| Type of Taxpayer | Channel | Deadline |
| Non-provisional and provisional | Manual – post or at SARS branch drop boxes | 21 September 2018 |
| Non-provisional | eFiling or electronic filing at SARS branch | 31 October 2018 |
| Provisional | eFiling | 31 January 2019 |
Who does this shortened filing season impact?
- All individual non-provisional taxpayers
- Provisional taxpayers who opt to file at a branch
- Provisional taxpayers who use eFiling
A taxpayer is completely exempt from submitting a tax return if all the following criteria apply:
- The taxpayer’s total employment income/salary for the year of assessment (March 2017-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 or company car fringe benefit
- business income
- taxable interest
- rental income
- 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).
Should you have any questions related to the 2018 tax return season, please feel free to contact us.
References:
Sars.gov.za. (2018). Tax Season. [online] Available at: http://www.sars.gov.za/TaxTypes/PIT/Tax-Season/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 5 Jun. 2018].
Fin24. (2018). SARS cuts deadline for tax returns. [online] Available at: https://www.fin24.com/Money/Tax/sars-cuts-deadline-for-tax-returns-20180604 [Accessed 5 Jun. 2018].
Sars.gov.za. (2018). 4 June 2018 – Tax Season 2018. [online] Available at: http://www.sars.gov.za/Media/MediaReleases/Pages/4-June-2018—Tax-Seaso… [Accessed 5 Jun. 2018].
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied upon as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your financial adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)