eFiling: How to file your tax return online

1 July 2015 marks the beginning of South Africa’s tax season for individuals.

While filling out forms by hand and driving to the nearest Sars branch may excite some people, most would like to file their income tax returns quickly and easily, get a refund, and carry on with their day.

Fortunately, Sars allows for the online filing of tax returns through its eFiling portal.

For those unsure about using the online system, Sars provides an overview on how to register for eFiling and generate a return – as detailed below.

Tax Season

Tax season runs from July to November each year, but for provisional taxpayers who submit a return via eFiling it runs until January of the following year.

The income tax return you will file this year will be based on the assessment year of 1 March 2014 to 28 February 2015.

Do you even need to file a tax return?

If your total annual salary before tax is R350,000 or less, you do not need to file a return – providing that:

• You only have one employer
• You have no car allowance
• You have no other income: interest, rent
• You are not claiming deductions: medical aid, retirement annuity, travel expenses
• You have not had dividends paid to you and were not a non-resident during the 2015 year of assessment

Register for eFiling

To register for eFiling, visit Sars’ registration page.

You will need your tax number, ID number, and personal details (contact numbers, addresses, bank account details).

Once you are at the registration page, click on the blue arrow on the “For Individuals” section on the bottom left of the page.

eFiling

This will take you to a a registration page, where you have to accept Sars’ terms and conditions.

After reading through the terms and conditions, check “I Accept”, and then click the Continue button.

eFiling

After clicking the Continue button, you will be taken to a registration form page which will require you to fill in your personal, contact, and banking details.

Remember when entering sensitive information online, check to make sure you are on a trusted website and that the page is secure.

You can do the latter by looking at the top left of the page – where the web address is displayed by your browser – and identifying the beginning of the URL as “https” – with the “s” an indication the page is secure.

Clicking on the green lock icon before the “https” will produce a small menu, which shows you if your connection is encrypted and that the website’s identity has been verified.

eFiling

eFiling

eFiling

Once you have filled in the required details, your registration is complete. The system might take a while (possibly a day or two) to create your account.

After your account is created, you can log into eFiling using the Login button at the top right of the eFiling login page.

eFiling

Once you have logged in, you will be need to click on the Returns tab under the eFiling heading along the top of the page.

Once on the Returns page, click on the Returns Issued tab on the left side of the page.

In the tab you will find the option to generate your ITR12 Personal Income Tax return – click on the text. Once you have done this, select 2015 from the date box on the right side of the page, and click on the Request Return button next to it.

eFiling

This will generate your return with 2015’s details, after which you must click the Open option on the right side of the menu row.

This will take you to your tax return, which will ask you a few “yes or no” questions relating to your income tax. Once selecting the relevant answers, click the Create Form button underneath the questions.

Following this step, you will be required to fill out your return – which is where MyBroadband’s expertise ends.

Ask a trusted tax professional for assistance if you are unsure as to how the return should be completed. The eFiling website also has a help section, with an option to contact Sars for assistance.

Watch out for phishing scams

Sars also warned of scams popping up during tax season, and asked tax payers to report any suspicious activity to [email protected].

A ploy to watch out for is fake emails made to look as if they are sent from Sars, asking tax payers to provide personal information and bank account details.

“Examples include emails that appear to be from [email protected] or [email protected] indicating that tax payers are eligible to receive tax refunds. These emails contain links to false forms and false websites made to look like the real thing,” said Sars

Sars said it will never request banking details through phone, email, or linked websites.

The revenue service also warned of fake SMS messages, posing as communication from Sars.

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