All About Provisional Returns: January Updates

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Well, that’s Christmas and New Year done, and we’ve all had plenty of time to clear our heads and face up to 2024! So, Happy New Year, and let’s talk about… Tax!

We know - it’s not the most thrilling subject, but a failure to deal with it in a timely manner will guarantee you interesting times as SARS starts asking pointed questions.

So, what are the filing dates for 2024? Fortunately for all of us, these are no secret, SARS posts these on its website, but here’s an extract of the relevant information:

Non-provisional returns are now past, but provisional returns have to be submitted before the 24th of this month (January 2024). If you need us to file your provisional return, please get in touch as soon as possible!

Income tax return filing dates

Here are the dates and criteria for the 2023 Filing Season:

  • Individual taxpayers (non-provisional): 7 July 2023 @ 20:00 to 23 October 2023

  • Provisional taxpayers: 7 July 2023 @ 20:00 to 24 January 2024

What are the changes this year?

SARS has made the following updates for the upcoming Personal Income Tax (PIT) Filing Season:

Aligning the 40 Business Days Rule to the Filing Season End Date

Last year, when the rule was first introduced, those in the auto-assessment population were granted 40 business days from the issue date of the auto-assessment to revise their return if they needed to amend their auto-assessment.

This year, we are extending the 40 business days to coincide with the normal filing due date for non-provisional taxpayers, which is 23 October 2023. This will give those in the auto-assessment population more time to file a return if they wish to edit their auto-assessments.

Payment Due Dates

This year, the payment due date for non-provisional eFilers will be adjusted as follows:

  • For taxpayers who are not in the auto-assessment population, payment due date will be 30 days after a notice of assessment has been issued,

  • For taxpayers who are auto-assessed, payment due date will be 30 days post Filing Season 2023 closing date.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Provisional taxpayers with business interests are required to declare their assets and liabilities (based on cost) in their tax returns each year. Taxpayers who fall within this category, and with assets above R50 million, are required to declare specified assets at market values on their 2023 tax returns.

With the non-provisional filing date now being past, we’re turning our attention to the provisional filing date, which is January 2024. If you’re unsure about provisional filing, we have a blog (from 2020) which covers the requirements.

In short, if you want us to file on your behalf, we will need the following information:

An estimate of your total yearly earnings including:

  • Salary Income (send us your payslip)

  • Interest Income (we can base this on 2016 if you have not made any additional investments or do not know of any changes)

  • Rental profit (Income less Expenses schedule)

  • Business profit if you trade as a sole proprietor or do consulting work in your personal name (Income less Expenses schedule)

  • Pension Income

  • Annuity Income

  • Retirement exit income (when you exit out of your retirement fund)

  • Any other income

Medical aid contributions

  • How many dependents you have on your medical aid. Please remember that this is only if you personally pay the medical aid.

  • Retirement annuity contributions for the year paid.

  • Any other allowable deductions that you have not considered above

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email by replying to this email or emailing pumeza@anlofin.com or phone us on 011 658 1324.

Medical aid tax credits and Disability/Impairment

We would like to remind taxpayers of the additional tax credits that you can obtain if you or any of your dependents are regarded for tax purposes as having a disability.

The information and support will be claimed and included in your tax return and should be included in your supporting documents that are sent to us please.

‘If you, your spouse or a dependant has a disability, you are entitled to claim certain qualifying medical expenses in the form of an additional medical expenses tax credit.’

‘A disability for tax purposes means a moderate to severe limitation of any person’s ability to function or perform daily activities. This can be as a result of a physical, sensory, communication, intellectual or mental impairment. The limitation (and the extent thereof) will only be regarded as a disability if it has lasted, or has a prognosis of lasting, more than a year and it has been diagnosed by a duly registered medical practitioner trained to diagnose the applicable disability or to express an opinion thereon.’

To be able to claim additional tax credits on your tax return, the following documentation is required:

Confirmation of Diagnosis of Disability form or ITR-DD. This form needs to be completed by a medical professional and will be valid for 10 years for a permanent disability and 1 year for a disability of a temporary nature.

Proof of qualifying disability expenditures – this is a detailed list of all expenditures that qualify.

It is important to note that even though the expense might be listed in the guide above, you will need to prove how the expense is necessary for the alleviation of the restriction on a person’s ability to perform functions of daily living.

So, January is always a busy month for us, but we’ll get there - we always do! If you have any questions about your tax affairs, drop us an email at pumeza@anlofin.com or pick up the phone and give us a call on (011) 658 1324