The 2024 tax-filing season for provisional and non-provisional taxpayers started on Monday, and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has already paid refunds about R10 billion to 1.6 million taxpayers, with an average refund of about R5 900, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said on Tuesday.
SARS expects to issue about 8 million assessments for the 2024 tax year alone by 20 January 2025. Of these 8 million, more than 5 million will be auto-assessed.
From 1 July, when auto-assessments were issued, to 15 July, SARS assessed 5.5 million taxpayers who were auto-assessed or submitted returns via eFiling, creating potential refunds of R17bn, of which R10bn has been paid out. SARS would pay out a further R4bn within the next 72 hours unless there is a specific reason for the refund to be withheld, Kieswetter said.
SARS can, within 72 hours, process more than 90% of refunds for taxpayers who are not selected for verification through its fraud detection artificial intelligence capability. Last year, this capability prevented the payment of almost R100bn in impermissible personal income tax and value-added tax refunds.
Kieswetter said 191 000 returns were filed on Monday, of which 97%, or 183 000, were filed digitally, and only 7 700 were filed at a SARS service centre.
All the taxpayers who submitted their returns on Monday have been assessed. Of these, 70% were assessed within five seconds. The high number of interactions resulted in SARS missing its target of assessing 90% of returns within five seconds.
SARS received 57 000 calls on Monday but could only service about 15 000 of these because of the length of the calls and SARS’s limited capacity to respond to them. High volumes resulted in an average of 54 minutes to answer a call, whereas SARS’s “standard” is four minutes.
The average time spent in a queue at a SARS branch was 53 minutes, against SARS’s target of 30 minutes, he said.
Why refunds are withheld
SARS is withholding refunds where they are due because a taxpayer has outstanding returns from prior tax years, a taxpayer’s banking details are not up to date, or SARS has detected an inaccuracy on the return.
“In addition, SARS may have detected the need for further verification and engagement with taxpayers. The amount that relates to this portion of taxpayers is currently just on R2bn,” Kieswetter said.
Taxpayers should ensure their details and all outstanding matters are resolved and updated before enquiring about a refund.
SARS is seeing an increased number of instances where refunds are paid into old or inactive bank accounts. This must be rectified by the banks, resulting in a delayed payment.
Notify SARS of a change in your employment status
Taxpayers may, in the past, have received a “not required to file status” from SARS. Despite this, if their financial status subsequently changed, they are obliged by law to file a return. If SARS detects they have not filed a return, they face penalties and late-payment interest.
Kieswetter was asked for a response to complaints on social media that SARS is requiring taxpayers who did not earn remuneration to file returns for previous tax years, even a decade or more ago.
He said that once a taxpayer is registered with SARS and submits his or her first return, the taxpayer is obliged to submit a return every year, regardless of whether the person remains employed, unless the taxpayer advises SARS that his or her employment status has changed.
He said taxpayers should submit a return indicating they are no longer employed. Taxpayers who do not inform SARS that they have been unemployed for a full year or longer appear on its system as non-compliant. If they find work and their remuneration is taxed, SARS will enquire about the outstanding returns. The burden of proof rests with the taxpayer to prove that he or she was unemployed during the period in question and did not owe SARS tax.
Kieswetter said he encountered a taxpayer earlier on Tuesday who had been able to produce an affidavit indicating he had been unemployed during the period for which SARS required outstanding returns.
In addition to submitting an affidavit, SARS could, if it suspects there might be a false disclosure, conduct an investigation, which may include checking banking records, properties that may have been acquired, or other lifestyle assets to ascertain whether a taxpayer has unexplained wealth that may indicate the taxpayer received income other than remuneration, Kieswetter said.
‘Unnecessary burden’ on job-seekers
Kieswetter also appealed to employers to work with SARS.
“We strongly urge employers to assist their own employees when issuing employee tax certificates, the so-called IRP5s, to enable them to understand what these are about and what to do with it.”
He asked employers not to send work-seekers to SARS and register as a precondition for being interviewed. “This is an unnecessary burden on individuals, many of whom are already struggling financially.”
Once an offer of employment is made, employers should use SARS’s online facility to register a new employee and taxpayer, Kieswetter said.
SARS can do better with its communication
Ahead of tax-filing season, SARS sent messages to taxpayers to update their personal particulars. Many did not heed this call and now find themselves standing in a queue unnecessarily during the peak of filing season, Kieswetter said.
At the same time, many of SARS’s filing season messages informing them of their status have “inadvertently” created visits to service centres because individuals did not know how to interpret these messages, “and this is a lesson for us”, he said.
“We also must explore how we can improve on our pre-filing season campaigns and associated communication, providing greater clarity and certainty to taxpayers.”
Use the digital self-service channels
Kieswetter said, when engaging with taxpayers at branches, he discovered that many of them are unaware of SARS’s USSD and WhatsApp channels, which are helpful for obtaining a tax number, statement of account, or tax status.
He urged taxpayers to use SARS’s self-service channels before visiting a branch.
- Visit SARS eFiling at secure.sarsefiling.co.za
- Download the SARS Mobi app from the Google Play or Apple stores.
- Call the USSD number, *134*7277#, to enquire about a tax status and other details.
- Chat with SARS on WhatsApp, 0800 11 7277.
- Access the SARS Online Query System (SOQS) at https://tools.sars.gov.za/soqs
- Visit SARS’s social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube (SARS TV), and X (Twitter), where taxpayers will find self-help videos and step-by-step guides.
- Call the SARS Contact Centre and select Help You eFile before being put through to a service consultant.
SARS’s self-service digital platforms enable taxpayers to:
- submit a payment allocation query;
- request their tax reference number;
- submit supporting documents if SARS asked them to do so;
- report a new estate case;
- update a registered representative;
- request their tax compliance status;
- verify their tax compliance status; and
- check whether they are due for auto-assessment.
