Mahuntsi Accounting Services is proud to have a professional team of tax consultants capable of guiding clients through a maze of laws, regulations and rulings – from registration to the submission of income tax returns. Our team of industry professionals are committed to compliance and to ensuring our clients have total peace of mind in the filing of their tax matters.
Why Income Tax Returns are filed in South Africa
Income tax is the South African government’s most significant source of revenue and is stipulated in the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962. The Act states that tax is levied on income from all taxpayers (including trusts, companies and individuals) and refers to several different tax types, including Standard Income Tax on Employees (SITE), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Provisional Tax, etc.
Tax returns must be completed annually and submitted to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The Act carefully stipulates a series of steps to be followed in calculating an individual or company’s tax liability, which is the foundation on which tax liability is calculated.
Submission deadlines also differ for different taxpayers and are as follows:
- Individual and Trust Tax Returns (for non-provisional taxpayers): for postal (paper) submission, these returns need to be completed and submitted by the last working day of September. If completing a return electronically (via SARS’ eFiling system), the deadline is usually at the end of November.
- Individual and Trust Tax Returns (for provisional taxpayers): the submission deadline for this group of taxpayers is usually at the end of January.
- Company Tax Returns: these returns should always be completed and submitted within 12 months of the company’s financial year-end.
SARS requires that all individuals receiving any employment income should register for tax to minimise fraud and non-compliance.
