2013 SARS Employer Filing season is now open

SARS has announced the annual PAYE reconciliation submission season for the period 01 April – 31 May 2013.

All South African employers are required to reconcile and submit PAYE, UIF and SDL contributions for the period 01 March 2012 to 28 February 2013. SARS requires employers to submit accurate and complete employee tax certificates and a reconciliation of contributions for the year.

The first step for companies is to ensure that they download the latest version of the e@syFile™ Employer system from the SARS website www.sarsefiling.co.za.

“It is critical that companies download and install this software before conducting their PAYE, SDL and UIF reconciliations to ensure accuracy and compliance with SARS requirements,” says Philip Meyer, technology director at payroll and HR software specialist Sage Pastel Payroll & HR.

Companies must take note that any information submitted using a previous version of the e@syFile™ Employer system, will not be accepted by SARS.

Companies are advised to backup their current information on their computers prior to installing a new version of e@syFile™ Employer, as the installation may delete the current information.

SARS will reject tax certificates that do not have an income tax number and the e@syFile™ Employer system will issue the submitting company a message declaring that penalties can be raised on the employer as a result of the missing information. Employers must confirm the company’s assent to the SARS penalties procedure before their companies can continue with reconciliation and submission. SARS also intends increasing employer penalties applying to employee tax certificates that do not have a registered tax number.

If companies want to register employees for a tax reference number, they can either go into a SARS branch, or they can log onto the e@syFile™ Employer system and load their employees manually. To follow the verification status of the tax reference number, companies can use the ITReg functionality of the e@syFile™ Employer system and follow a synchronisation process to obtain a CSV file with their employees’ tax reference numbers.

Companies using an automated payroll software solution can obtain employee tax reference numbers via the Bulk ITREG functionality and the e@syFile™ Employer system to simplify the reconciliation.

Those using automated payroll solutions need only capture employees’ information and their payslip details.

During the year end procedures, the electronic tax certificates are generated automatically in the IRP5.13 file. This file can be imported directly into the e@syFile™ Employer system and the payroll EMP501 Reconciliation Report to complete the PAYE, SDL and UIF reconciliations. Meyer emphasises that this saves businesses considerable time and cost compared to manual calculation and capturing to complete the PAYE reconciliation submission.

“Companies are advised to submit sooner than later, to provide them with ample time to rectify any reconciliation problems,” says Meyer.

Nifty Links to assist Companies:

• Download the latest e@syFile ™ Employer System, click here.
• Attend a SARS e@syFile Workshop, click here.
• What is eFiling? Read more.

For the latest legislative news, connect with Sage Pastel Payroll on Twitter (Payroll News) or LinkedIn.

Tax Return FAQ 4

If you’ve been reading the previous posts on SARS submissions, you might know that the deadline is now on the horizon.  Manual returns have to be submitted by the 28^th of September, and SARS efiling submissions need to be completed by the 23^rd of November 2012. Of course, if you’re a provisional tax payer, then you have a little more time. Your submission is only due in January next year.  In today’s post, we will be addressing tax directives:

What is a tax directive?

Each month, an employer will deduct PAYE and SITE from an employee’s income based on guidelines from SARS. If that employee earns commission as part of his or her income, and the commission is greater than 50% of their total earnings, then that employee could apply for a tax directive.

The directive would fix your tax at a prescribed percentage regardless of what the employee might have earned in that tax year.  Ultimately, this results in a tax saving on a monthly basis and an ‘advance’ on what you would have normally received at the end of the year when submitting your full tax return.

How do I go about applying for a tax directive?

As a starting point, consulting with a tax expert would be advisable to ascertain whether a tax directive is viable for you.

Application forms are available for application of a tax directive and are easily accessible at www.sars.gov.za. When applying for a tax directive, the employer must ensure that the correct application form is used to detail the nature of the amount payable to the employee.

According to SARS, to avoid a delay in the issuing of a directive, the following information is required:

• Tax year;
• Personal detail of the employee
• Surname and full names;

• Date of birth and ID number or other unique number (e.g. passport number, work permit number or non-resident identity number);
• Annual income (e.g. annual equivalent of current tax year’s income or the total remuneration for the last 12 months);
• Physical address and postal code; and
• Postal address and postal code;
• Income tax reference number [if the income tax reference number was not entered, the reason for non-registration (e.g. SITE, unemployed) must be supplied];
• Name of employer or fund;
• Postal address and postal code of employer / fund; and
• Reason for directive (the relevant reason must be marked on the application form).

For more information on directives and to download the relevant forms, visit http://www.sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=221.

Let us know if you have any questions and we’ll do our best to assist.

 

 

Tax Return FAQ 3

In the post last week, we covered the ins and outs of e-filing via www.sars.gov.za. Now, we understand that there are still those people who prefer to take their manual return and drop it off, or walk into a branch and submit electronically onsite.  If this is your preference, today is your day! We’ve included some details below on alternative ways of submitting your return.

In terms of deadlines, you need to know the following:

–          If you are taking your information and dropping it manually into a SARS drop box,  the deadline for this type of submission is the 28^th of September 2012

–          If you are filing electronically at a SARS branch, then the deadline is the 23^rd of November.

Manual filing

If you choose manual submission (completing your tax return in writing) then you need to call the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 SARS [7277] or visit a SARS branch and order your Income Tax Return (ITR12). It will then be posted to you. Once you have the form, you can complete it honestly and completely and pop it in the post, or drop it in a SARS branch drop box.

Filing electronically at a SARS branch

First, you’ll need to know where to go, so visit http://www.sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=2921 and check out where your nearest SARS branch is.  The next step is to ensure you the correct documentation for submission.

Checklist for filing your tax return at a SARS branch

• Your original ID or passport, plus a certified copy or, in the absence of an ID/passport, an affidavit together with a temporary ID/passport
• Original bank statement with bank stamp that is not older than three months
• Original proof of residential address not older than three months with your name and residential address (e.g., municipal account)
• Medical aid certificates and receipts/retirement annuity certificates
• Your IRP5/IT3(a) certificate(s), which you will receive from your employer
• Travel logbook (if you receive a travel allowance)
• Tax certificates that you received in respect of investment income IT3(b)
• Completed confirmation of diagnosis of disability (ITR-DD) (if applicable)
• Information relating to capital gain transactions (if applicable)
• The approved Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP) Agreement between yourself and SARS for years prior to 17 February 2010 (where applicable)
• Financial statements (if applicable, e.g., business income)
• Any other documentation relating to income you received or deductions you want to claim

Good luck, and post your comments and questions below.

Tax Return FAQ 2

With today’s post we hope to assist you with your online e-filing return, and answer any questions you might have. We hope you read last week’s post answering the basics, but if you have any burning issues, post your thoughts in the comments section below, and we will endeavour to assist you as quick as possible. Alternatively, connect with us on Twitter: @SageGroupZA

There are various ways to submit your tax return, one of which is online at www.sarsefiling.co.za. The process of online submission is termed e-filing, and the deadline for this is the 23^rd of November 2012 for Non-provisional taxpayers, and the 31^st of January 2013 for provisional taxpayers. E-filing is free and is the easiest and most convenient way to submit your return as it can be done from the comfort of your own home or office.

The steps to submit your return via e-filing are as follows:

1. Register online for e-filing at www.sarsefiling.co.za to gain secure access to your own tax information. You will need to have on hand your tax registration number, your identity document number and a few other personal details to complete the process. Be careful to follow the instructions as you are able to register as an individual, a tax practitioner or an organisation, and this needs to be correct from the outset
2. When you have completed the registration process, you will be directed to a page that is already populated with your personal information as well as your IRP 5 information from your employer (if you are registering as an individual)
3. At this point you will be asked to complete a questionnaire on the first page of the ITR12 which will create the additional fields required to complete your submission
4. Complete the second and third pages ensuring that your personal information is correct, and completing any fields that might not have inserted information already
5. At this point you will need to declare you investment income or details of any additional income you made over the course of the tax year – this includes rental income of any sort.
6. It is required that you outline your medical expenses if you paid your own medical scheme contributions as well as your retirement annuity and income protection payments. Also required is any travel-related claims against your travel allowance.
7. Once you have completed all of the above, click on the button indicating ‘save online’, and then use the online tax calculator to get an indication of your assessment. When you’re ready to submit to SARS, click the ‘file’ button.
8. Once submitted, you will receive an ITA34 Notice of Assessment within 48 hours of submission assuming your return was complete and accurate. This notice should indicate if you owe any money to SARS or if you should expect a refund.

If you need more detail, a step by step guide to e-filing is available on the www.sars.gov.za website. Alternatively, post your question below so we can assist! Happy e-filing!

Tax Return FAQ

As mentioned in a previous post, tax season 2012 is now upon us. Manual returns have to be submitted by the 28^th of September, and SARS efiling submissions need to be completed by the 23^rd of November 2012. Provisional tax payers have a little more time with their submissions due in January next year.

To assist you with your returns, and answer any questions you might have, we will be posting two frequently asked questions on the blog each week for the next few weeks. If you have any burning issues, post your comment in the comments section below, and we will endeavour to assist you as quick as possible. Alternatively, connect with us on Twitter: @SageGroupZA

If you are unsure if you should submit a tax return, or what format it should be submitted in, take a look at the below list.

In the period of 1 March 2011 to 29 February 2012,  

• Did you conduct any trade* in South Africa?
• Did you receive an allowance such as a travel, subsistence or Office Bearer Allowance?
• Do you hold any funds or assets outside South Africa that have a value of more than R50 000?
• Did you have a local Capital Gain/Loss exceeding R20 000?
• Did you receive any income or Capital Gain in a foreign currency?
• Do you hold any rights in a Controlled Foreign Company?
• Did you receive an Income Tax Return or were you requested to submit a Income Tax Return for the year in question?

If you answer yes to any of the questions, you are required to submit a tax return.

There are three ways to submit your return:

• eFiling: The most convenient and quickest way to do it
• Filing electronically at a SARS branch
  • Completing your return in writing and posting it to SARS or popping into a SARS drop box

Next week we will cover the ins and outs of eFiling, but if there is something you urgently need to know, get in touch with us below.