2022 Tax Filing Season

Austral Accounting is a top-rated tax preparation service in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal. Our team of professionals are dedicated to helping you find the best solutions for your taxes.   

Are you ready for the 2022 tax season? It is already time to start planning and preparing your taxes, so you can get them done as quickly and easily as possible. Make sure you gather all your relevant documents and information and consult with a tax professional if you have any questions. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can get your taxes filed and ensure that you receive the best possible refund. Good luck!  

In this blog post, we will provide an overview of the tax filing process and share some tips to help make it go smoothly. We will also highlight some of the changes that are taking place with the new tax law, so you can be sure to take them into account when filing your return. So read on for everything you need to know about filing your taxes in 2022!  

The tax filing season for non-provisional taxpayers this year runs from 1 July to 24 October. The shorter deadline means you have less time, so make sure that all your necessary information and documentation is collated in order meet deadlines or face fines! If provisional status applies – 23 January 2023 will be when it ends if not submitted by then.  

SARS has announced that they will be performing a large number of auto-assessments on taxpayers. This process is important to understand, as it gives SARS information from third parties such as employers and financial institutions about you – which in turn helps them prepare your taxes automatically! You will receive an SMS at the beginning telling you more details regarding this year’s tax season– so stay tuned here for updates soon enough 🙂  

This year, taxpayers have more options when it comes to their taxes. If they are not satisfied with the auto-assessment process for some reason or another (maybe you didn’t agree with how much was calculated), then there’s always online access and changes that can be made before submitting a return 40 days after receiving notification of payment. It is imperative though–especially because time remains limited by law as opposed last predecessor where filers had 60+ day grace periods!  

The SARS’ strict penalties for late submissions have been increased to a taxpayer’s taxable income. The range of fines can vary depending on how much you make, with R250 per month being low and up to R 16000/-+per month if they don’t get all your information which might result in paying more tax than necessary or possibly missing out on refund due at some point.  

The tax threshold for normal taxpayers below age 65 is R87 300. Income in excess of this amount becomes taxable, while those over 75 are subject to a higher limit-151 100 rands worth if you’re male or female (or gender-neutral). If you earn less than R500 000 from a single employer, have no other sources of income, and do not claim deductions for business expenses, you may not be required to submit a tax return.  

According to SARS, income that you can be taxed on includes: 

• Income from employment (salaries, wages, bonuses, fringe benefits, etc); 
• Severance benefits; 
• Trade or business income;
• Investment income such as interest, foreign dividends and dividends from REITS; 
• Rental income; 
• Income or profits arising from being a trust beneficiary;
• Annuity income; and 
• Pensions. 

Your employer provides you with an IRP5 certificate in respect of the tax that has already been deducted or withheld from your wages, while IT3(a) is for earnings where no such deduction was made. You may also need to provide an updated one if there are investments abroad as well since they’ll show how much interest and dividends were earned during this time frame too!  

If you disposed of any investments during the tax year, an IT3(c) certificate will be needed summarising these disposals. This document can only come from your bank or financial institution as it contains information related to a savings account that may not otherwise appear on paper trails alone and is therefore useful for attestations purposes in case anything happens later down track!  

If you contributed to a retirement annuity during the year of assessment, keep in mind that your contributions can be deducted up until 27.5% (subjected minimum) on any amount contributed towards it and subject only maximum R350 000 for one full tax return! Your retirement fund administrator should provide you with your IT3(f) certificate which sets out the contributions made towards your RA during the year of assessment. 

If you receive a travel allowance from your employer, it is possible to claim a deduction for the use of private motor cars and this will require keeping track in logbooks. The opening odometer reading should be recorded on 1 March 2021 while closing date must occur before 28 February 2022; total kilometres driven throughout year also needs noting down as well – remember each trip details too!  

You should have received a tax certificate from your medical aid that details how much was paid for you and any dependents during the year. It also tells us about other expenses claimed on our behalf, but which weren’t covered by Medical Aid, such as insurance premiums or out of pocket costs like medications! Be sure not to lose this important document–if it is not already downloaded onto file at home then head over there now so nothing gets forgotten when filing taxes.  

If you made donations towards an approved Public Benefit Organisation during the year of assessment, then it’s possible to claim back part or all your tax payment. In terms what is allowed under Income Tax Act for deducting charitable contributions from taxable earnings up to 10% and claiming this with a Section 18A certificate issued by these organisations will help support their work in providing services that benefit society as whole!  

There are a few things to keep in mind if you are self-employed and working from home. For starters, it is important that your workspace at home is dedicated exclusively for the trade. In terms of the Income Tax Act, a tax deduction for home office expenses will only be considered if the room is used exclusively for your trade and if it is specifically equipped for that purpose. Further, more than 50% of your duties must be performed in your home office.  

Home office expenditure for tax deduction purposes is an important part in the process of maintaining your home and conducting business. You can deduct rent, repairs cost such as electricity or cleaning supplies from this category depending on what you use it most often but remember that all these expenses will be calculated based off apportioned numbers so make sure to get documentation if necessary!   

The sooner you file your tax return, the less likely you are to face penalties. If you need assistance with your tax filing, our team of experts at Austral Accounting is here to help. We will make sure that everything is filed correctly and on time so that you can avoid any penalties from SARS. Contact us today to get started!