Uh oh! SARS can take money from your bank account
Have you filed your tax return?
Tax season officially started on the 15th of July 2024 and, of course, at the mere mention of SARS, people get sweaty.
It seems that feeling is warranted to some extent because if you have not settled your tax returns or are unaware that you need to, then The South African Revenue Service (SARS) can take money directly from your bank account.
"Taxpayers must submit a tax return to SARS so that the revenue service can calculate their tax liability based on the income they declare and the tax-deductible expenses they have incurred for a year of assessment." (Business Tech)
Tax Consulting SA has suggested a few ways in which taxpayers can avoid this happening to them.
1. One of the key ways to avoid getting debited by SARS is to understand Tax Law in South Africa, and if that's not possible then engage the services of a tax practitioner, this way they can help you understand.
"We see most SARS unknown debts arising from SARS assessments which are AI-generated or where a taxpayer was inadvertently non-responsive to a SARS message." (Business Tech) The tax season (the time between 15 July and 21 October 2024) is there for taxpayers to file their returns if they do not agree with the auto-assessments.
If you have a tax debt, then the law is clear in South Africa, you pay now and argue later.
2. Determine your tax status on the eFiling website. According to Tax Consulting SA: “As a tax firm, we do not like surprises, so we use www.taxcheck.co.za to verify this for our clients automatically. Employers use the same system to determine the compliance of their employees with tax, as it provides accurate information and this does not breach taxpayer confidentiality rules.”
Receiving a tax judgement from SARS can have serious repercussions. This could lead to "wage garnishments, asset seizures, and a negative impact on credit ratings”.
These are the legal instruments that SARS uses to ensure the collection of your tax debts.
Bearing all that in mind, SARS can always retract certified statements if taxpayers follow the law to get their taxes in order.
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