Filing Season 2023 for Individuals

What’s new?

10 July 2023 – Launched – Tax Return Status Dashboard

The SARS Online Query System has a new feature called the Tax Return Status Dashboard providing Taxpayers, Registered Representatives and Tax Practitioners with a visual status of the progress of Personal Income Tax returns in terms of submission, verification/audit and refund processing.

You are now able to check the progress of your Personal Income Tax Return after submission. This enhancement aims to keep you informed so there is no need for you to phone the SARS Contact Centre or go to a SARS Branch office.
1 July 2023 – Check your auto-assessment status
Taxpayers who qualify for this year’s Filing Season 2023 auto-assessment can now check whether they have been auto-assessed via the SARS Online Query Service functionality.
Pre-population of ITR12 Third Party Data in preparation for the opening of Filing Season 2023
Please be advised that in preparation for the opening of the Personal Income Tax Filing Season in July 2023, between the period of 2 June 2023 until the opening of Filing Season, there is a possibility that the prepopulated data reflecting within your Personal Income Tax or Provisional Tax returns requested via eFiling, the SARS Mobi application or via a SARS Branch Office during this period, will pre-populate but may not be comprehensive until Filing Season is officially opened to the public.

Income tax return filing dates

Here are the dates and criteria for the 2023 Filing Season:

Individual taxpayers (non-provisional): 7 July 2023 @ 20:00 to 23 October 2023
Provisional taxpayers: 7 July 2023 @ 20:00 to 24 January 2024

What are the changes this year?

SARS has made the following updates for the upcoming Personal Income Tax (PIT) Filing Season:

Aligning the 40 Business Days Rule to the Filing Season End Date

Last year, when the rule was first introduced, those in the auto-assessment population were granted 40 business days from the issue date of the auto-assessment to revise their return if they needed to amend their auto-assessment.

This year, SARS extended the 40 business days to coincide with the normal filing due date for non-provisional taxpayers, which is 23 October 2023. This will give those in the auto-assessment population more time to file a return if they wish to edit their auto-assessments.

Payment Due Dates

This year, the payment due date for non-provisional eFilers will be adjusted as follows:

For taxpayers who are not in the auto-assessment population, payment due date will be 30 days after a notice of assessment has been issued,
For taxpayers who are auto-assessed, payment due date will be 30 days post Filing Season 2023 closing date.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Provisional taxpayers with business interests are required to declare their assets and liabilities (based on cost) in their tax returns each year. Taxpayers who fall within this category, and with assets above R50 million, are required to declare specified assets at market values on their 2023 tax returns.

Foreign Income Disclosure

SARS introduced a Foreign Income container on the return for taxpayers who must declare worldwide foreign income, however it was noted that taxpayers who must declare income sourced from a foreign employer while working in South Africa and/or abroad do not have an appropriate source code to declare remuneration for foreign service rendered income. The following three new fields will now apply.

New field “Income received from foreign employment services not reflected on a South African IRP5/IT3(a) certificate, subject to tax outside RSA and the s10(1)(o)(ii) exemption does not apply”.
New field “Income received from foreign employment services not reflected on a South African IRP5/IT3(a) certificate, subject to tax outside RSA and the s10(1)(o)(i) exemption applies.”
New field “Income received from foreign employment services not reflected on a South African IRP5/IT3(a) certificate, subject to tax outside RSA and the s10(1)(o)(i) exemption does not apply.”.

Spouses Married in Community of Property Assessment

Taxpayers who are married in community of property are taxed on half of their interest, dividends, rental income, and capital gains. This Filing Season SARS has retrieved “Married in community of property” status from taxpayer’s previous declaration and collaborated with the Department of Home affairs to confirm marital status. Where the spouses are successfully matched and have interest investments, SARS will replicate the interest investment certificate on both spouses’ return where they will be taxed 50% upon assessment.

Section 93 Reduced Assessment

SARS has automated the process of requesting Reduced Assessment in terms of section 93 of the Tax Administration Act. The process will use a form called RRA01 where taxpayer will be able to complete it on e-Filing. This will enable efficiency and reduce costs for taxpayers.

Have you received an Auto Assessment?

Between 1 July and 7 July 2023, taxpayers will be notified by SMS or email if they were selected to receive an auto-assessment. Should you receive the SMS, the next step for you would be to review the auto-assessment on the SARS MobiApp or eFiling.

If you agree with the Auto-Assessment, you do not have to do anything.
If a refund is due, you can expect it within approximately seventy-two (72) hours, provided your banking details with SARS are correct.
If you owe SARS, please make the payment before the due date that is shown on your Notice of Assessment (ITA34) to avoid interest charged on outstanding debt.
You can make payment via eFiling or SARS MobiApp; alternatively see our payment options.
Do not agree with the Auto Assessment? Auto assessed taxpayers have until 23 October 2023 to amend and file their return on eFiling or the SARS MobiApp if they do not agree with the auto assessment received.

How is Auto Assessment different this year (2023) from last year (2022)?

Last year you had 40 days to file a return if you were not happy with your auto-assessment, but this year SARS is giving you until the due date of 23 October 2023. If an auto-assessment has been issued after 23 October 2023 the 40 business days will start on the date of the notice of the assessment.

Let us help you prepare for a smooth Filing Season

Only individuals who were Auto Assessed will receive the SMS or email. If you did not receive a notification from SARS that you were auto assessed; you must submit your Personal Income Tax Return (ITR12).

What to prepare before filing starts?

Make sure that you have received your IRP5/IT3(a) and other tax certificates like medical aid, retirement annuity fund, and any other third-party data relevant to determining your tax obligations.

SARS USSD Channel

You can now request specific Personal Income Tax related services by submitting a USSD string to SARS. The USSD channel activation involves you typing a string of characters which comprises of an asterisk (*), followed by a few digits and ending with a hashtag (#) and dialling.

The following services are available on this channel:

What’s my Tax number?
Request Account balance
Do I need to file a tax return?
Request an e-Booking appointment

Steps on how to request tax services via the SARS USSD Channel:

Step 1: Initiate USSD by dialing *134*7277#
Step 2: Select the service you require.
Step 3: Taxpayer Verification – SARS will request you to complete either your ID/Passport/Asylum Number
Step 4: Tax Resolution – Upon successful verification by SARS, a response will be displayed.

SARS SMS Channel

Taxpayers can request specific Personal Income Tax related services by sending an SMS to SARS on 47277. The following additional tax related services are offered to taxpayers via their mobile device. These services can be accessed with or without data/airtime:

Request an eBooking appointment
- Booking (Space) ID number/Passport number/ Asylum Seeker number
Confirmation request to determine whether to submit a (PIT) tax return
- File (Space) ID number/Passport number/ Asylum Seeker number
Request the issuing of the IT150 (Tax Registration Number)
- TRN (Space) ID number/Passport number/ Asylum Seeker number
Request Account related queries (balance statements) and/or provision of Statement of the Account (SOA)
- Balance (Space) ID number/Passport number/ Asylum Seeker number

Need help?

Let our experienced tax team help you file correctly and save money.

When is Individual & Trusts Filing Season opening?

For the 2021 Filing Season, please diarise the following dates and criteria:

From July: Over 3 million taxpayers identified for auto-assessment will receive text messages to either accept or edit their auto-completed returns on eFiling by 23 November 2021.
1 July 2021 – 23 November 2021: Non-provisional taxpayers who were not auto-assessed may file digitally via eFiling. (Contact us for assistance)
1 July 2021 – 23 November 2021: Non-provisional taxpayers who were not auto-assessed and do not have access to digital services may contact us for assistance.
1 July 2021 – 31 January 2022: Provisional taxpayers, including Trusts, may file via eFiling. (Contact us for assistance)

Not sure whether you must submit an Income Tax Return (ITR12)?

You do not need to submit a return if ALL the criteria below apply to you:

Your total salary for the year before tax was not more than R500 000 and employees’ tax has been deducted or withheld in terms of the deduction tables prescribed by the Commissioner.
You only received employment income for the full year of assessment (March 2020 to February 2021) from one employer.
You have no car allowance/company car/ travel allowance or other income (e.g. interest or rental income); and
You are not claiming tax related deductions (e.g. medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions other than pension contributions made by your employer, travel).

Do any of the following apply to you for the tax year 1 March 2020 to 29 February 2021?

Did you conduct any trade* in South Africa?
If you are a South African tax resident, did you conduct any trade or employment outside South Africa?
Did you earn interest exceeding the annual exempt amount? (Interest earned of R23 800 by an individual below the age of 65 years and interest earned of R34 500 by an individual aged 65 years or older is exempt from income tax.)
Did you receive an allowance such as a travel, subsistence, or office bearer allowance or a company vehicle fringe benefit? Check your IRP5/IT3(a) if unsure.
Did you hold any funds in foreign currency or assets outside South Africa that have a combined total value of more than R250 000 at any stage during the tax year?
Did you have Capital Gains or Capital Losses exceeding R40 000?
Was there any income or a Capital Gain from funds in foreign currency or assets outside the Republic attributed to you?
Do you hold any rights in a Controlled Foreign Company?
Did you receive an Income Tax Return or were you asked to submit an Income Tax Return for the tax year?
*The term “trade” for finding out whether to submit a return means every profession, trade, business, calling, occupation or venture, including the letting of any property but excluding any employment.

Disclaimer: What is contained in this questionnaire is intended as a guide only and is not considered to be a legal reference nor is it a binding ruling. The questionnaire does not replace legislation and readers who are in doubt regarding any aspect of the information displayed in the questionnaire should refer to the relevant legislation, or seek an opinion from a suitably qualified individual. If you are uncertain whether you should file a return or not, then it is recommended that you file a return.

Only use a REGISTERED Tax Practitioner

Be aware of people who offer to complete your tax return for you with promises to get you a refund.
Only deal with registered tax practitioners.
Please remember that when you use a tax practitioner, it is your responsibility to verify that your practitioner is registered with a Recognised Controlling Body (RCB) and with SARS.
Ask your tax practitioner for their tax practitioner registration number, which you can verify on eFiling.
On the eFiling home page, click Quick Links, and from the drop-down menu choose “Confirm Practitioner Registration Status”.
Please note that even if a tax practitioner completes and submits your ITR12 on your behalf, it is still your responsibility as the taxpayer to make an accurate
declaration.
Also, you are responsible for any outstanding returns, payments, and penalties.

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