2019 Tax Return. Who must submit an Income Tax Return?
This year taxpayers who meet ALL of the following criteria need NOT submit a tax return:
- Their total employment income for the full year before tax is not more than R500 000
- They only receive employment income from one South African employer for the full tax year
- They have no other form of income (e.g. car allowance, business income, and rental income, taxable interest or income from another job)
- They do not have any additional allowable tax related deductions to claim (e.g., medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions, and travel expenses)
To further reduce unnecessary trips to SARS branches, taxpayers who are not required to file a return will receive a simulated outcome from SARS as if they had filed a return. The taxpayer can accept this outcome or update the return and file. The outcome will be based on information that SARS has received from employers and other third-parties.
Should some of the taxpayer’s income not reflect on SARS’ system (e.g. the third party did not report to SARS), the taxpayer must submit a tax return in order to capture the necessary information regarding the income.
In the same vein, where certain tax deductions and/or credits have not been reported to SARS through third-party reporting, the taxpayer should submit an income tax return in order to enable them to claim the deduction and/or credit (e.g. additional qualifying medical expenditure, wear and tear on a laptop acquired for work purposes, etc.).
Furthermore, a taxpayer who has ceased SA tax residence during the year of assessment must submit an ITR12 in order to inform SARS of the change in tax status, as well as report any deemed capital gains due to the exit charge.
2019 Tax Return Submission Dates:
Non-provisional taxpayers can start filing via:
- eFiling and the MobiApp from 1 July 2019 to 4 December 2019
- SARS branches from 1 August 2019 to 31 October 2019
Provisional taxpayers have until 31 January 2020 to file via eFiling.
Enhanced SARS MobiApp
The SARS MobiApp for smartphones is downloadable from the Play Store or App Store. It will allow taxpayers to register for SARS eFiling, submit a return, upload supporting documents. It will also help retrieve their username or reset their password and view their Notice of Assessment (ITA34), among other services.
