Taxpayers have started receiving SMS messages from SARS regarding their 2020 assessments. This is SARS’s auto-assessment phase due to run from 1 – 31 August. This is to allow taxpayers with ‘simple tax calculations’ an earlier and easier way to submit their taxes. However, it looks as though taxpayers whose tax is not ‘simple’ and requires manual input are also receiving these SMS’s, leaving them questioning how they can possibly owe such high amounts to SARS.
SARS has calculated the payment due/refund according to the IRP5 data which employers, medical aids and retirement related providers have submitted for each taxpayer. If any data has pulled through incorrectly, it will be incorrect on SARS’s auto-assessment. Also, any income or deductions which are manually added to your return, such as kilometres travelled per your logbook, donations, or trading, such as property rental will also not be included on this auto-assessment.
It is crucial to ensure that all applicable information is included correctly on your tax return, as you can incur penalties and interest for incorrect filing. You may also end up paying more taxes than you should. If you take no action when you receive this message, SARS has indicated that they will issue an estimate assessment based on their data which will lead to issues further on if you pick up any mistakes later.
AVW Accounting is offering a tax check service to assist you in sending the correct response to SARS. Based on the outcome of the check, you will either be clear to accept the auto-assessment, or we can provide further tax return services as usual to get your taxes submitted correctly and fairly.
