It is tax filing season once more, and while some people look forward to tax season because they can get a rebate, for many others it can feel a bit overwhelming.

The period to submit tax returns opened on 1 July 2022, and individual taxpayers who are not provisional taxpayers, and who did not receive an auto-assessment, have until 24 October 2022 to submit their tax return. Provisional taxpayers have until 23 January 2023 to get their return submitted.

In this podcast, Maya (@mayaonmoney) speaks to tax expert Reinert van Rensburg from Leap Group, about everything you need to know about tax season this year.

He discusses key changes to auto-assessments and why people who have been selected for auto-assessment have a much shorter time frame than last year in which to review and make changes to their auto-assessment.

He explains why everyone should file a tax return and what makes an individual a provisional taxpayer. He also addresses the taxation of South African residents who earn an income abroad.

Must you submit a tax return this tax filing season?

In general, if you are under the age of 65, you only need to submit a tax return to SARS if you received taxable income of more than R87 300 during the period 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022. If you are older than 65, that amount is R135 150, and if you are older than 75, it is R151 100.

However, even if you did not receive taxable income over these stipulated limits, you may still be required to file a tax return, according to a notice issued by Edward Kieswetter, the SARS commissioner, in June this year.

Mr. Kieswetter indicated that South African tax residents must disclose their foreign assets and funds they held during the 2022 tax year, and that tax residents must declare all foreign-sourced earnings irrespective of the amount received.

He mentioned more than once that residents who received any amount for services rendered abroad need to submit tax returns. This underlines SARS’s continued focus on South Africans who are working in foreign countries, and it is critical that these people declare their foreign earnings subject to the foreign exemption and foreign tax credits.

Only taxpayers who do not fulfil the South African residence tests do not need to declare their foreign earnings or assets. South Africans who have left the country permanently must formalise their non-resident status with SARS to align their factual situation with their SARS tax status. SARS is taking an extremely stringent approach in considering whether a taxpayer is a non-resident or not.

Don’t submit your return late!

Last year, SARS appeared to be particularly strict by issuing penalties on practically all returns that were submitted after tax filing season for the 2021 tax year had closed. The penalty amount will depend on taxable income or assessed loss of the taxpayer, and ranges between R250 and R16 000 per month. The monthly penalty can be applied on a monthly basis for up to 35 months.

So make sure you take tax filing season seriously, and don’t give SARS any ammunition to impose penalties.