What You Need To Know About SARS Tax Auto-Assessments Before Tax Season

The auto-assessment came into being in 2019 when a limited number of taxpayers were auto-assessed. SARS has once again "auto-assessed" over 3 million non-provisional taxpayers this year. They did this by leveraging the information they obtained from third parties, including administrators of retirement funds, financial institutions, employers, and health insurance plans.

Within the first two weeks of July, SARS should have sent you an email or SMS if you have been auto-assessed. If you are happy with the return you can leave the return as is, however, if you wish to add or correct any information you have 40 working days within which you can make these changes (up until 24th October 2022).

If you did not receive any correspondence it is best to see if the information on your e-Filing profile is up to date. SARS generally pays out tax refunds within a few days of issuing the auto-assessment if your auto-assessment indicates that you are entitled to one, however, they have announced that they are experiencing delays and so refunds may take longer than the prescribed time.

Your auto-assessment does not account for all possible tax deductions or additional income -such as income from freelance activities or rental income.

If you have additional costs to claim or additional income to declare, you can still go ahead and complete a tax return even if SARS has already issued your refund.

It is likely that SARS will ask for supporting documentation after you submit a return to confirm what you claimed or declared. If you claim any other deductions like home office expenses, donations, wear and tear, additional medical bills, and travel costs they should send you a finalized assessment (ITA34) once they approve the documents you submitted.

If you need help submitting your taxes, click here.

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