SARS MAKING TAX EASY

CALLING all taxpayers! The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has officially announced the dates for the 2025 tax season – 7 July to 20 October.

While it’s usually a time when mense stress out, the revenue collector has streamlined the process of a large segment of the South Africans.

The revenue collector auto assessment policy will now bring people into compliance status with just a few clicks.

A SARS statement reads: “This season marks an important period where income tax returns of the majority of taxpayers will be automatically assessed.

“In line with our strategic objective to make it easy for taxpayers to comply, we have identified a large segment of non-provisional and provisional taxpayers who receives income from one or more sources from formal and other forms of employment and whose tax affairs are not complicated have been selected to be automatically assessed.

“The taxpayers in the auto assessment category do not have to do anything if they are satisfied with the calculation on their tax returns.

“If the taxpayer is of the opinion that SARS has not captured all the necessary information, they are free to make changes on their tax returns and submit the missing information through eFiling by 20 October.”

Who needs to file and when/

The revenue collector said taxpayers who are not automatically assessed must file their tax returns themselves. Filing opens on 21 July and closes on 20 October 20 for non-provisional individuals.

SARS stated: “Taxpayers who do not receive notifications from SARS that they are automatically assessed, are encouraged to submit their tax returns in a timely and accurate manner from 21 July 2025. Provisional taxpayers and trusts have until 19 January  2026 to submit their returns.”

What is auto assessment?

Auto assessment is a process in which SARS uses data from employers, medical aids, and financial institutions to complete tax returns for individuals with straightforward tax situations.

The steps in the auto-assessment process will work as follows:

– From 7 July, SARS will communicate directly with affected taxpayers by SMS and/or email, notifying taxpayers of their auto-assessed tax returns.

– If there is a refund due to the taxpayer, it will be paid directly to the taxpayer’s bank account within 72 business hours after the notification. If there is money owing to SARS, it must be paid to SARS’ Bank Account, eFiling or through the SARS MobiApp by the stipulated date.

– Taxpayers can access their auto-assessed income tax returns through any of SARS’s channels, such as the SARS MobiApp or SARS eFiling, to review and verify the completeness and accuracy of the information that resulted in the auto assessment.

– If a taxpayer is satisfied with the auto assessment, they don’t have to do anything further and the process terminates at this point.

– If the taxpayer finds that there is missing and/or inaccurate information, pertaining to either income or expenses, which may have affected the outcome, it must be declared to SARS by submitting a tax return to SARS.

In the case non-provisional taxpayers and other taxpayers, they are required to complete and submit tax returns.

According to SARS: “This population represents taxpayers in respect of whom their tax matters are deemed complex.

“This population will be able to start filing tax returns from the 21st of July 2025 until the 20th of October 2025.”

What to do now

SARS is encouraging all taxpayers to:

– Check that their banking and contact details on eFiling are up to date for a prompt refund deposit.

– Use digital platforms like SARS eFiling and the SARS MobiApp to avoid branch visits, where queues get long.

– Respond quickly to any SMS or email notifications from SARS about their tax return.