There is no doubt that the working environment is going to change after COVID-19. Open plan offices might well be a thing of the past for many corporates. Working from home can have its benefits such as not spending 4 hours in traffic every day. There are also certain tax deductions…
The SARS commissioner has announced changes to the 2020 tax filing season. Below are the proposed phases and dates. The full press release is available here. PHASE 1 – 15 April – 31 May 2020 This will be the period that employers are required to complete the EMP501 and IRP5…
Recently the Finance Minister announced progressive measures towards promoting cross-border trade. Many of these proposed changes stemmed from the recent signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement which is expected to come into effect on 1 July 2020. This Agreement includes 55 member countries and is aimed to…
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has announced a major tech shake-up as it focuses on data-driven insights, self-learning computers, and artificial intelligence. SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said that the new focus follows an extensive consultation campaign with staff which has redefined the tax collector’s strategic objectives. This has…
On 1 March 2020 the manner in which foreign employment income is treated by SARS will change. There has been a great deal of hype and confusion regarding this change. Let’s unpack this in simple terms. South Africa has a resident-based taxation system, meaning South African tax residents are taxed…
SARS have launched the 2019 filing season with a fresh new e-filing interface and mobile application for the tax year. Unfortunately they have again launched a system that is only partly functional. On the first day of filing season the system was down for 5 hours. Errors including not…
Pretoria 4 June 2019 – SARS have confirmed that taxpayers who meet all of the following criteria and earn R500 000 total employment income need not file a tax return: They only receive employment income from ONE EMPLOYER for the full tax year They have no other form of INCOME (e.g. car allowance,…
SARS have announced the implementation of administrative penalties for companies with outstanding tax returns. In terms of the Tax Administration Act of 2011, they are entitled to impose penalties for non compliance. This indicates a change in direction for SARS. Previously only individual penalties have been applied as many…
We have become aware of clients receiving SARS notifications relating to: Statement of accounts Imminent blacklisting due to overdue amounts Please note that the majority of these are phishing emails and should not be opened. Our suggestion to all clients is to check the validity of any emails received…
In an announcement today the South African Revenue Service has confirmed that tax filing season 2018 for non provisional taxpayers will be shorted to 4 months. Filing season 2018 will commence on 1 July 2018 and close on 31 October 2018 as opposed to November. This change in deadline only affects…