The 2022 tax season is one of the shortest to date and will be over before you know it. The period to submit tax returns opened on 1 July 2022 and it is closing on 24 October 2022 for individual taxpayers who are not provisional taxpayers. So, make sure you don’t delay and are aware of what your submission requirements are this tax season.
Do you need to submit a tax return?
The answer is yes if you receive income that is taxable – for normal taxpayers this is when your employment income during the 2022 tax year exceeds R87 3000 if you are under the age of 65. If you are over 65, you need to submit a return if your employment income exceeds R135 150 and if you are over 75, it is when the amount exceeds R151 100.
It’s important to note, that even if you didn’t receive a taxable amount during the 2022 tax year, you may still be required to file a tax return. A prudent approach is to ensure that your IRP5 certificate is always submitted to SARS.
The tax thresholds for the 2023 year of assessment are:
- R91,250 if you are younger than 65 years.
- If you are 65 years of age to below 75 years, the tax threshold (i.e. the amount above which income tax becomes payable) is R141,250.
- For taxpayers aged 75 years and older, this threshold is R157,900.
South Africans abroad are being closely examined
All South African tax residents need to disclose their foreign assets and funds they held during the 2022 tax year. The SARS Commissioner, Edward Kieswetter has announced that he requires tax residents to declare all foreign-sourced earnings irrespective of the amount received. This is all part of the increased focus SARS is giving to South Africans working in foreign countries. Only those South Africans who are not tax residents need not declare their foreign assets and earnings. The Notice of Non-Resident letter is currently the best confirmation that you are a non-resident.
Watch out for your auto assessment
This year over three million taxpayers will be auto-assessed by SARS based on data received from employers, medical aids, banks, and retirement funds. If you have been auto-assessed you will receive an email or SMS from SARS and you will be able to view it on the eFiling website. If you are satisfied with your auto assessment, you do not have to take any action to ‘submit’ the assessment.
If you find that there is missing and/or inaccurate information, pertaining to either income or expenses, which may have affected the outcome, it must be declared to SARS within 40 business days of the auto assessment notification by submitting a tax return to SARS.
Beware of penalties
SARS has announced they will impose understatement penalties to taxpayers who deliberately attempt to claim impermissible expenses or understate their income, as well as administrative non-compliance penalties to those taxpayers who do not adhere to the applicable deadlines of this filing season. An administrative non-compliance penalty of up to R15 000 a month will also be imposed – for every month that a tax return remains outstanding.
For expert assistance with your tax return, speak to our tax specialists today. We understand how the various tax elements work together and our clients’ tax matters are of the utmost importance to us.