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Filing your return online in 2020 Nicci Courtney-Clark offers the following guidelines for doing your eFiling this year
1. Ensure you have a tax number and eFiling profile If you have not registered for SARS eFiling or you don’t have a tax number don’t worry, SARS has made things a lot easier this year. Getting a tax number is now as easy as registering on SARS eFiling. SARS will automatically issue you with a tax reference number on registration. You are required to have a valid South African ID. 2. Make sure your bank details are correct You can do this online via your SARS eFiling profile. If you are unable to do this online, you can take all your documents to a SARS branch and a consultant should be able to update your records for you. Be sure to call ahead (SARS: 0800 007 277) to check Covid-19 protocols at the branch. 3. Don’t accept autoassessments if you want to claim deductions SARS may have contacted you in August via SMS to auto-assess your taxes. We advise you not to accept the auto-assessment and rather file your tax return yourself. This will prevent you from losing out on your full refund, or in the worstcase scenario, not receive a refund at all. The autoassessment does not allow you to claim tax deductions like travel expenses, donations, home office, wear and tear of assets, etc. Nor will it include any extra medical expenses you paid yourself. 4. File your tax return for the following reasons: l Don’t miss out on
your tax refund. A tax refund may be due to you. Something as simple as claiming medical expenses or working for less than twelve months of the year may trigger a tax refund, depending on your situation. l You may not be able to borrow money. Often banks require a tax clearance certificate in order to offer you a loan or mortgage. This can only be obtained if all your returns are up to date and filed appropriately. l You may incur penalties. If you normally submit, but this year you don’t, SARS could charge you administrative penalties later on for not being compliant. And no one wants that. l You may not be able to access your retirement fund. Filing a tax return each and every year means that if you receive a pay-out from a fund at any stage, then you won’t have hassles in getting your money. If you retire or are retrenched, or just need to take money out of your fund early, you need to be tax compliant. l A complete record stands in your favour. Don’t be shady. Having an unbroken filing record leaves SARS with no reason to suspect that you’re hiding information from them, which is a good thing. Filing a tax return also means that you’re being a decent citizen and contributing towards society! 5. Get your documents ready Here’s six of the most common documents you will need: l IRP5/IT3a from your
