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Dan C
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Submitted on 11 July, money was in my account 14 July.
Mine took a week. Not bad really. :erm:
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SARS E-Filing 2018
- Thread starter ijacobs3
- Start date
Mine took a week. Not bad really. :erm:
You_Know-Who
Member
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- Jul 4, 2018
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When Will SARS Pay My Tax Refund?
Posted 6 July 2018 under TaxTim's Blog
Now that the 2018 tax season is open and hundreds of thousands of South Africans are filing their annual tax returns, every day people ask us “when will I get my refund from SARS?”.
While we’re not involved in the payments of tax refunds, we can provide a little insight into the SARS processes and timelines. So here goes …
Am I Going to Get a Refund from SARS?
Once you’ve completed and submitted your annual tax return (called the ITR12), SARS will issue a document called the ITA34. You will receive an email and / or SMS advising you to log onto your eFiling profile and navigate to the notices section to view documents. On the first page of the ITA34 you will see whether you owe SARS money, or if they will issue you with a refund. Hint: A minus sign in front of the amount means you've been assessed as being owed a refund.
If you’re a TaxTim user, you won’t have as much work to do. We’ll send you and email to let you know the outcome of your annual tax return, whether it be a refund or if you owe SARS a further payment.
If you’re owed a refund, this will be electronically processed and usually reflects in your bank account within 2 – 3 days of the ITA34 being issued.
Why Has SARS Not Paid My Refund?
There are instances when your refund isn’t released immediately. If you’re expecting a refund and it doesn’t show in your bank account more than a week after receiving your ITA34, then you may want to look into one of the following reasons as a possibility for the delay.
1. Audit
Your return might have been selected for an audit or verification. On the ITA34, there is a block which says Audit: Yes or Audit: No. If it says No then this means SARS will be able to process a refund immediately, all going to plan. If it says Yes, then wait for SARS to send a follow-up letter requesting supporting documentation. All this means is that SARS wants to check that the information and amounts you provided to them on the return matches the original documents used to complete the return. It is nothing to worry about if everything was entered correctly and truthfully. A new popup called Documents for review will appear on the Income Tax Working Page and this is where you must upload digital copies / scans of all the supporting documents required. A word of advice though, each one must be less than 5Mb. The total number of documents that can be uploaded cannot be more than 20.
Once the audit process is finished, SARS has 21 business days to issue a Letter of Completion and also generate a second, revised/additional ITA34 showing if the refund or amount owing has changed or stayed the same. Once the Letter arrives, expect the refund within 7 business days.
As a TaxTim user, we’ll provide guidance on this process and tell you precisely which documents you need to upload. You can store them on your TaxTim profile and we’ll submit them to SARS for you.
2. Banking Details
SARS may have invalid, outdated, incomplete or no banking details listed for you. They would generally notify you if there’s been a problem, but if it’s been a while since your refund was due and you haven’t received any documentation, it’s worth it to confirm what banking details are captured. If they aren’t correct, follow the steps on how to change your banking details at SARS.
3. Outstanding Returns
If you’ve failed to keep your annual tax returns up to date, SARS will insist that all outstanding returns are submitted before a refund will be issued to you.
To check for outstanding returns, click on the Returns tab on SARS eFiling, then click SARS correspondence, Request Historic IT Notices and then view a Statement of Account, also known as an ITSA. Here you will see any outstanding returns. If you complete these old tax returns SARS can release your tax refund (as long as you haven't been charged penalties for late filing that is).
This is a prime reason that TaxTim recommends that you always submit an annual tax return, even in cases where you haven’t earned income, or below the suggested filing threshold of R350,000 for the tax year.
4. Unpaid Balance
The last reason your refund may be delayed could be that you have an outstanding amount due to SARS. You can check on this on eFiling by requesting a Statement of Account (in historic notices).
If this is the case, and you do owe SARS money, they might deduct your balance from your refund amount. This doesn’t always happen and in many instances we’ve seen that taxpayers are required to settle any outstanding amounts before SARS issues a refund.
Still no word from SARS and none of the above apply? It would be best to contact their help centre on 0800 00 7277. Tell them TaxTim sent you!
Remember: the only way you can get an income tax refund / "get tax back from SARS" is to complete and submit your tax return. Use TaxTim to make the process simple and get your maximum possible tax refund this tax season.
Posted 6 July 2018 under TaxTim's Blog
Now that the 2018 tax season is open and hundreds of thousands of South Africans are filing their annual tax returns, every day people ask us “when will I get my refund from SARS?”.
While we’re not involved in the payments of tax refunds, we can provide a little insight into the SARS processes and timelines. So here goes …
Am I Going to Get a Refund from SARS?
Once you’ve completed and submitted your annual tax return (called the ITR12), SARS will issue a document called the ITA34. You will receive an email and / or SMS advising you to log onto your eFiling profile and navigate to the notices section to view documents. On the first page of the ITA34 you will see whether you owe SARS money, or if they will issue you with a refund. Hint: A minus sign in front of the amount means you've been assessed as being owed a refund.
If you’re a TaxTim user, you won’t have as much work to do. We’ll send you and email to let you know the outcome of your annual tax return, whether it be a refund or if you owe SARS a further payment.
If you’re owed a refund, this will be electronically processed and usually reflects in your bank account within 2 – 3 days of the ITA34 being issued.
Why Has SARS Not Paid My Refund?
There are instances when your refund isn’t released immediately. If you’re expecting a refund and it doesn’t show in your bank account more than a week after receiving your ITA34, then you may want to look into one of the following reasons as a possibility for the delay.
1. Audit
Your return might have been selected for an audit or verification. On the ITA34, there is a block which says Audit: Yes or Audit: No. If it says No then this means SARS will be able to process a refund immediately, all going to plan. If it says Yes, then wait for SARS to send a follow-up letter requesting supporting documentation. All this means is that SARS wants to check that the information and amounts you provided to them on the return matches the original documents used to complete the return. It is nothing to worry about if everything was entered correctly and truthfully. A new popup called Documents for review will appear on the Income Tax Working Page and this is where you must upload digital copies / scans of all the supporting documents required. A word of advice though, each one must be less than 5Mb. The total number of documents that can be uploaded cannot be more than 20.
Once the audit process is finished, SARS has 21 business days to issue a Letter of Completion and also generate a second, revised/additional ITA34 showing if the refund or amount owing has changed or stayed the same. Once the Letter arrives, expect the refund within 7 business days.
As a TaxTim user, we’ll provide guidance on this process and tell you precisely which documents you need to upload. You can store them on your TaxTim profile and we’ll submit them to SARS for you.
2. Banking Details
SARS may have invalid, outdated, incomplete or no banking details listed for you. They would generally notify you if there’s been a problem, but if it’s been a while since your refund was due and you haven’t received any documentation, it’s worth it to confirm what banking details are captured. If they aren’t correct, follow the steps on how to change your banking details at SARS.
3. Outstanding Returns
If you’ve failed to keep your annual tax returns up to date, SARS will insist that all outstanding returns are submitted before a refund will be issued to you.
To check for outstanding returns, click on the Returns tab on SARS eFiling, then click SARS correspondence, Request Historic IT Notices and then view a Statement of Account, also known as an ITSA. Here you will see any outstanding returns. If you complete these old tax returns SARS can release your tax refund (as long as you haven't been charged penalties for late filing that is).
This is a prime reason that TaxTim recommends that you always submit an annual tax return, even in cases where you haven’t earned income, or below the suggested filing threshold of R350,000 for the tax year.
4. Unpaid Balance
The last reason your refund may be delayed could be that you have an outstanding amount due to SARS. You can check on this on eFiling by requesting a Statement of Account (in historic notices).
If this is the case, and you do owe SARS money, they might deduct your balance from your refund amount. This doesn’t always happen and in many instances we’ve seen that taxpayers are required to settle any outstanding amounts before SARS issues a refund.
Still no word from SARS and none of the above apply? It would be best to contact their help centre on 0800 00 7277. Tell them TaxTim sent you!
Remember: the only way you can get an income tax refund / "get tax back from SARS" is to complete and submit your tax return. Use TaxTim to make the process simple and get your maximum possible tax refund this tax season.
You_Know-Who
Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2018
- Messages
- 18
The 18 biggest mistakes you can make on your tax return this year
Helena Wasserman , Business Insider SA
Jul 24, 2018, 07:12 AM
Tax filing season is now open, and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) is waiting for returns. Doing your tax is painful enough – don’t compound your misery with these own goals.
1. Not declaring a bank account
If you declare on your tax return that you don’t have a local savings or cheque account at any bank in South Africa, and this statement is incorrect, you may be liable for an administrative penalty of up to R16,000, warns Gratia Snyman of Gautax, a Joburg-based tax and accounting service.
See also: These 6 things have changed this tax season
2. Not declaring all your investments
Sars gets information directly from banks and investment houses. If you don’t declare your investments, Sars will levy penalties and it could trigger additional assessments, says Snyman.
3. Not filing a return if you earn less than R350,000 a year
There is a huge misconception of who needs to file a return and many taxpayers think that if they earn under R350,000 then they do not need to pay tax at all, says Marc Seivitz, director of the online tax assistance service TaxTim.
“This is incorrect, there are very limited circumstances for when taxpayers do not need file their return. We always advise taxpayers to file anyway just to ensure they are always fully compliant with SARS.”
If you are younger than 65, you need a tax number if you earned more than R75,750 in the past year. Anyone earning income from any source needs to have a tax number.
4. Filling in pension contributions.
Taxpayers often mistakenly fill in provident fund and pension fund contributions via an employer on their tax return, says Seivitz. The information should already be included in your IRP5.
5. Not declaring income that has already been taxed.
Many taxpayers leave out their additional income thinking that because it was taxed by the person paying them, that they do not need to declare this, says Seivitz. Sars still requires that you declare it.
6. Making number errors.
“Mistakes in arithmetic or in transferring figures from one schedule to another contribute a great deal in a taxpayer not receiving a refund or having to pay a large sum of money,” says Pinky Ndaba of Durban-based firm Professional Accountants and Tax Consultants.
7. Misspelling names.
If your name, or that of your spouse or your children, is misspelled and does not match the tax identification number on record, that difference will cause the system to kick you out, warns Ndaba. You will not be able to complete the tax return.
8. Neglecting your records at home affairs.
Sars checks your date of birth, ID number and passport number with the department of home affairs, which is the official register of all identification information. Ensure all your information is up to date at Sars, says Snyman.
9. Not double-checking your IRP5.
Make sure you obtain your IRP5 from your employer this year and check and verify if all the information is correct before attempting to submit the return, says Snyman. If you notice any errors which might need to be corrected, ask your employer to rectify it.
“They must resubmit it to Sars via EasyFile. You will not be able to change the pre-populated fields on the return.”
10. Not declaring rental income.
This will catch up to you when you sell the property one day, as transfer attorneys submit information directly to Sars, Snyman says. It is important that you keep all relevant documents as long as you own the property.
11. Not claiming a tax-free reimbursement for business travel.
Taxpayers forget that instead of a travel allowance, they can get reimbursed tax free for business travel, says Snyman. According to Sars: “Where the distance travelled for business purposes does not exceed 12,000 kilometres per annum, no tax is payable on an allowance paid by an employer to an employee up to the rate of 355 cents per kilometre, regardless of the value of the vehicle.”
If you do opt for a travel allowance, make sure you have a letter stating the company vehicle value and calculation of the fringe benefit from your employer. Also ensure you have a proper logbook for business kilometres travelled and an invoice to proof purchase price.
12. Not keeping proof of medical expenses.
You won’t be able to get a refund for medical expenses that are not covered by your medical aid, if you don’t have the supporting documents and slips as well as proof of payment.
13. Not doubling up if you are married in community of property.
If you are married in community of property, all interest earned, capital gain and losses, rental income for properties should be declared on both spouses’ returns with the combined total amount. The Sars system will calculate the split, says Snyman, assuming you have indicated to Sars that you are married in CoP.
14. Claiming fees if you earn a salary.
If you earn a salary (which is not derived mainly from commission) you can’t claim professional subscription fees against taxable income.
15. Not saving in a tax-free account.
Remember that you can contribute up to R33,000 a year and pay no tax on interest, dividends and capital gains tax if you save it in a tax-free savings account.
16. Not claiming for donations.
You can claim deductions for public benefit organisations (PBOs) for up to 10% of your taxable income. Make sure you have a valid s18A certificate and a PBO number, which are required for your tax return, says Snyman.
17. Not declaring an investment in a venture capital fund.
An investment in a Section 12J venture capital fund can be claimed as a deduction, says Joon Chong, tax partner at law firm Webber Wentzel.
“Take note however, that amounts received on disposal of the investment after the five year period could be subject to capital gains tax.”
18. Spending your tax refund too soon.
Do not spend your tax refund (especially when only estimates were done) before a final completion letter is received from Sars, warns Snyman.
Helena Wasserman , Business Insider SA
Jul 24, 2018, 07:12 AM
Tax filing season is now open, and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) is waiting for returns. Doing your tax is painful enough – don’t compound your misery with these own goals.
1. Not declaring a bank account
If you declare on your tax return that you don’t have a local savings or cheque account at any bank in South Africa, and this statement is incorrect, you may be liable for an administrative penalty of up to R16,000, warns Gratia Snyman of Gautax, a Joburg-based tax and accounting service.
See also: These 6 things have changed this tax season
2. Not declaring all your investments
Sars gets information directly from banks and investment houses. If you don’t declare your investments, Sars will levy penalties and it could trigger additional assessments, says Snyman.
3. Not filing a return if you earn less than R350,000 a year
There is a huge misconception of who needs to file a return and many taxpayers think that if they earn under R350,000 then they do not need to pay tax at all, says Marc Seivitz, director of the online tax assistance service TaxTim.
“This is incorrect, there are very limited circumstances for when taxpayers do not need file their return. We always advise taxpayers to file anyway just to ensure they are always fully compliant with SARS.”
If you are younger than 65, you need a tax number if you earned more than R75,750 in the past year. Anyone earning income from any source needs to have a tax number.
4. Filling in pension contributions.
Taxpayers often mistakenly fill in provident fund and pension fund contributions via an employer on their tax return, says Seivitz. The information should already be included in your IRP5.
5. Not declaring income that has already been taxed.
Many taxpayers leave out their additional income thinking that because it was taxed by the person paying them, that they do not need to declare this, says Seivitz. Sars still requires that you declare it.
6. Making number errors.
“Mistakes in arithmetic or in transferring figures from one schedule to another contribute a great deal in a taxpayer not receiving a refund or having to pay a large sum of money,” says Pinky Ndaba of Durban-based firm Professional Accountants and Tax Consultants.
7. Misspelling names.
If your name, or that of your spouse or your children, is misspelled and does not match the tax identification number on record, that difference will cause the system to kick you out, warns Ndaba. You will not be able to complete the tax return.
8. Neglecting your records at home affairs.
Sars checks your date of birth, ID number and passport number with the department of home affairs, which is the official register of all identification information. Ensure all your information is up to date at Sars, says Snyman.
9. Not double-checking your IRP5.
Make sure you obtain your IRP5 from your employer this year and check and verify if all the information is correct before attempting to submit the return, says Snyman. If you notice any errors which might need to be corrected, ask your employer to rectify it.
“They must resubmit it to Sars via EasyFile. You will not be able to change the pre-populated fields on the return.”
10. Not declaring rental income.
This will catch up to you when you sell the property one day, as transfer attorneys submit information directly to Sars, Snyman says. It is important that you keep all relevant documents as long as you own the property.
11. Not claiming a tax-free reimbursement for business travel.
Taxpayers forget that instead of a travel allowance, they can get reimbursed tax free for business travel, says Snyman. According to Sars: “Where the distance travelled for business purposes does not exceed 12,000 kilometres per annum, no tax is payable on an allowance paid by an employer to an employee up to the rate of 355 cents per kilometre, regardless of the value of the vehicle.”
If you do opt for a travel allowance, make sure you have a letter stating the company vehicle value and calculation of the fringe benefit from your employer. Also ensure you have a proper logbook for business kilometres travelled and an invoice to proof purchase price.
12. Not keeping proof of medical expenses.
You won’t be able to get a refund for medical expenses that are not covered by your medical aid, if you don’t have the supporting documents and slips as well as proof of payment.
13. Not doubling up if you are married in community of property.
If you are married in community of property, all interest earned, capital gain and losses, rental income for properties should be declared on both spouses’ returns with the combined total amount. The Sars system will calculate the split, says Snyman, assuming you have indicated to Sars that you are married in CoP.
14. Claiming fees if you earn a salary.
If you earn a salary (which is not derived mainly from commission) you can’t claim professional subscription fees against taxable income.
15. Not saving in a tax-free account.
Remember that you can contribute up to R33,000 a year and pay no tax on interest, dividends and capital gains tax if you save it in a tax-free savings account.
16. Not claiming for donations.
You can claim deductions for public benefit organisations (PBOs) for up to 10% of your taxable income. Make sure you have a valid s18A certificate and a PBO number, which are required for your tax return, says Snyman.
17. Not declaring an investment in a venture capital fund.
An investment in a Section 12J venture capital fund can be claimed as a deduction, says Joon Chong, tax partner at law firm Webber Wentzel.
“Take note however, that amounts received on disposal of the investment after the five year period could be subject to capital gains tax.”
18. Spending your tax refund too soon.
Do not spend your tax refund (especially when only estimates were done) before a final completion letter is received from Sars, warns Snyman.
Hi guys.
My father passed away June 2017 and we only managed to do the e-filing now because the Executor of the Estate was too lazy to appoint somebody to get the relevant paperwork to SARS to finalize his "SARS account."
There is an amount due to SARS.
Can I go to any bank any pay the outstanding amount over the counter?
What do I need to make this payment?
My father passed away June 2017 and we only managed to do the e-filing now because the Executor of the Estate was too lazy to appoint somebody to get the relevant paperwork to SARS to finalize his "SARS account."
There is an amount due to SARS.
Can I go to any bank any pay the outstanding amount over the counter?
What do I need to make this payment?
The_Mowgs
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2009
- Messages
- 17,910
If you are on his efile profile there is an option to pay outstanding amounts. That option should explain how to make a payment with the relevant reference number.
Thanks. I think I found something, and it does not look good.
Guess I have to look for last years payment before I can finnish this years assesment.
Toxxyc
Executive Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 5,100
Going to call this number to complain today. It's been more than 21 days now.
As a last question: Can I insist on interest on that outstanding amount from them? It's been sitting on that amount owed to me for more than a month, so interest must be accrued, correct?
Toxxyc
Executive Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 5,100
Seems you need a case number when calling that number. Yay. Going to try the Help me Efiling thing to get a number.
Drifter
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2012
- Messages
- 22,825
Remember it's 21 working days.
Toxxyc
Executive Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 5,100
Correcto. According to my calendar they hit 21 Working Days since submission at around 08:00 this morning. I called them now, and they say they have "today still". Tomorrow I'm making fire if it's not done. They always keep me waiting until the last possible second.
AndreS1000rr
Active Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2018
- Messages
- 67
Filed 5th of July
Submitted docs same day
SOA shows payment due tomorrow
Submitted docs same day
SOA shows payment due tomorrow
As far as I know, the amount on the SOA is the amount you will receive regardless of how much time it takes to be paid out.
Toxxyc
Executive Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 5,100
But isn't this a bit unfair? I mean if the money lies with them, technically, and I'm due that amount back it means I paid it to them in excess of what I was supposed to. This means I am due interest on the money they hold of mine. If I am supposed to pay them money and I don't do it for a month, I am being charged interest on it, am I not?
I know I'm being difficult here (unnecessarily so, actually) but I'm trying to figure out how this injustice currently works.
Toxxyc
Executive Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 5,100
Surprise surprise, no completion letter or anything at COB today.
Toxxyc
Executive Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 5,100
Requested a callback and escalated both my verifications that are now still outstanding. Let's see what comes of it. At least now I have case numbers I can track/trace with.