The 2019 tax season with SARS has opened and all relevant taxpayers are encouraged to get their tax returns done and dusted before the due dates. Over the past few years SARS has made notable steps to increase the efficiency with which taxpayers can file their returns and with which it checks and double checks the information that is submitted. The easiest and most convenient method of filing your annual tax return is through SARS’s eFiling website, for the most part it is self-explanatory and user-friendly.

The important dates to remember are:

• Filing your tax return through a SARS branch – closing date 31^stOctober 2019.
• Filing your tax return through e-filing – closing date 4^thDecember 2019.
• Provisional taxpayers have until 31^stJanuary 2020 to file returns via e-filing.

Taxpayers who earned less than R500,000 during the course of the 2019 tax year do not have to submit a tax return provided the following are applicable:

• You only worked for one employer.
• You did not receive a travel or car allowance.
• You did not receive other sources of income, for example renting out the “granny flat”.
• You do not claim deductions.
• The interest received on your investments was below R23,800 if you are younger than 65, or below R34,500 if you are 65 or older.

For the most part you will find that the information relevant to your salary remuneration has already been uploaded onto your e-filing profile. SARS would have received this from your employer. Remember to be accurate with the information you submit. SARS gets a data dump of information from all asset managers, insurers, banks and other financial institutions and they match this data to what you submit.

Do not have a panic attack if after submitting your return you are selected for review or audit. This procedure is now happening to more and taxpayers, especially if you are due a refund! This has pretty much become standard and par for the course.

TOP TIP: Before hitting the “submit” button on eFiling for your tax return, hit the “calculate” button. This will do an estimated tax computation based on the information you have submitted and tell you what the “due to” or “due by” you result is.

For more information on completing and submitting your 2016 tax return, go the SARS website.