Did you receive an SMS from SARS a little while ago? Still in your inbox?

SARS recently sent out an SMS to taxpayers about ‘auto-assessed’ tax returns. If you were being auto assessed, you may have received the SMS recently.

This is what you need to know about what may look a bit SPAMMY and dodgy, but is actually a legitimate piece of marketing communication from our receiver of revenue 🙂

The SMS would have looked something like this:

Tax Ref: ******1111. Your 2020 Year of Assessment tax calculated results is -R1.00, based on the information at SARS disposal. You can accept or edit your return through the SARS digital channels. Failure to do so may result in SARS raising an estimated assessment. For more info, visit the SARS website.

Just be sure that the tax reference number in the SMS matches the last four digits of your tax reference number. That’s the first thing you need to look at.

So, what did the SMS mean and what should you do if you didn’t receive one?

For those taxpayers who received the SMS, it means your return was assessed automatically this year. SARS completed your return with all the information it received for you from your employer, your bank, the medical scheme you’re a member of, the insurance or investment company where you have your Retirement Annuity etc.

Before you do anything though, double-check that all the necessary info that you’d normally include in your tax return has been included by SARS and that all the information is accurate.

Verify the amount mentioned in the SMS (the auto-prepared tax return) with the info you would submit for your tax return – for example, your IRP5, your medical aid tax certificate and your RA tax certificate info, the tax certificates for investments you have and any other info you’d normally submit. Request the info from your medical aid, employer and RA administrator if you don’t already have them.

If you decide that the figure SARS came to is correct, then you can accept the assessment and save yourself the hack of doing the e-filing thing on the interweb.

If your tax return is a lot more complex than just submitting tax certificates and an IRP5, then review the auto-assessment carefully or simply ignore it and see your accountant or tax practitioner. Maybe you earned additional income, other than from your employer? Maybe you started a side business and have been generating income from that? Maybe you have a property that you generate rental income from?

If you have lots of maybes, that means you need to see a tax specialist 🙂

If you accept the assessment in the SMS, you won’t be required to file a tax return at all this year. Should SARS owe you money, and you accept the assessment, you should have cash in your account within a week.

If you didn’t receive such an SMS from SARS or you dispute SARS’ pre-assessment, then you’re required to submit your annual returns at a SARS office by no later than October 22nd or online by November 16th.

And that’s a wrap.

Until next time.

The MoneyShop Team