Finance

We can handle up to 150,000 submissions a day: SARS

Staff Writer

 ·25 Oct 2018

Individual taxpayers have just days left to file their personal income tax returns before tax season closes on Wednesday (31 October).

This deadline applies to non-provisional taxpayers as well as those provisional taxpayers who opt to file at a branch, while provisional taxpayers using eFiling have until 31 January 2019 to file.

Below SARS set out 10 things that taxpayers should know ahead of the deadline:

• SARS will be assisting taxpayers with their personal tax returns this Saturday morning, 27 October 2018, between 08h00 and 13h00. This will be done through our contact centre, Help-You-eFile and all branches across the country.

• eFiling is available 24 hours, seven days a week. Taxpayers are encouraged to go online to avoid the queues.

• Self-Help kiosks are available at selected branches for eFiling.

• eFiling has on average handled 25,000 submissions a day and as volumes increase towards the deadline, can handle up to 150,000 submissions a day. At one point this week, 20,000 taxpayers logged onto our system at exactly the same time to transact.

• Help-You-eFile is how SARS brings a branch tax consultant to taxpayers without them needing to leave their home or place of work. It is an online function on eFiling that connects the taxpayer to a SARS tax agent who will help the taxpayer complete their tax return. Help-You-eFile is available during business hours.

• Tax returns are assessed on the same day they are submitted.

• SARS has made it easy for taxpayers by prepopulating tax returns with information received from third-party data. This leaves less fields for the taxpayer to complete and requires that the taxpayer merely verifies the information contained on their tax return.

• From 01 November, administrative penalties ranging from R200 to R15000 will be applied to late filing of tax returns. This is according to the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011.

• Eighteen taxpayers have been prosecuted and publicly named this year for not filing a tax return.

Fraud warning

Taxpayers are again alerted to scams where refunds are promised or where the taxpayer is informed of debt they owe SARS. Authenticate all communication seemingly from SARS through the SARS contact centre or at a branch.

Fraud is often committed in the name of the taxpayer through fraudulent expenses. Taxpayers should be aware that when SARS identifies such fraud, the taxpayer will be liable for the full debt as well as penalties.

Read: This is how much the average worker gets paid at SARS