Auto-Assessments: Not Necessarily Final
Every year, millions of South Africans receive a SARS auto-assessment based on data that SARS already holds. However, while SARS has enhanced parts of its auto-assessment process and online tax assistant, it’s advisable to do a careful review before accepting. If you don’t respond, SARS treats that as you being in agreement with the assessment […]
SARS AI Audits: Why Your Accounting Partner is Your Best Defence
South African taxation has undergone a significant digital shift. As we move through 2026, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has firmly adopted a data-driven, risk-based approach to compliance, often described as “compliance by design.” The days of random spot-checks have been replaced by automated systems that analyse taxpayer information in real-time. SARS now relies […]
How SARS Holds Individuals Accountable with Lifestyle Audits
When it comes to tracking down tax-dodgers, SARS has the tools, the people, and the will. Tax evasion and illicit financial flows are two areas that have long undermined economic growth in South Africa and public trust in governance. To counter these challenges, SARS has increasingly leaned on a controversial but effective tool—the lifestyle audit. […]
Understanding Residency in Terms of Tax
When earning an income in South Africa, you are probably paying tax. The Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (“the Act”) describes gross income as: “(i) in the case of any resident, the total amount, in cash or otherwise, received by or accrued to or in favour of such resident; or (ii) in the case […]
What’s In a Name?
The differences between an allowance, an advance, and a reimbursement are critical when it comes to tax. What’s the difference between an allowance, an advance, and a reimbursement? To many people, these are different terms for the same thing, but to SARS, the category that a payment falls into is critical when it comes to […]
Long-Term Goals, or Short-Term Gains?
More than a million applications have already been lodged with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to pull funds out of their savings. Given that this amounts to R21.4 billion, that’s a frightening amount of money for a country that doesn’t have a savings culture. What with more people withdrawing cash under the Two Pot […]
Mastering Record Keeping: How to Meet SARS’s Electronic Documentation Standards
Too often, taxpayers seem to forget that the most important aspect of dealing with SARS is to ensure that they can discharge their burden of proof. As a taxpayer, it is on you to provide SARS with the relevant material that, on a balance of probabilities, supports your position. Taxpayers are required to retain relevant […]
When SARS Requests Supporting Documents
E-filing doesn’t allow ‘secured’ or password-protected documents to be uploaded—but there is a solution FOLLOWING SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter’s announcement that he intends to rebuild SARS’ enforcement capabilities as part of his quest to become the scourge of recalcitrant taxpayers, there has been a noticeable increase in requests from SARS for the submission of supporting […]
Testamentary trusts still have their place
How you can protect your assets from predators—including SARS TRUSTS HAVE received a lot of bad press over the past few years, what with SARS taking a dim view of the use of trusts as a means of avoiding tax. A 2008 case involving a property trust, where the beneficiaries were changed in […]
The new SARS solar energy tax credit
The tax credit for individuals installing solar panels is here, for a limited time only. The proposed new law regarding the tax credit available to individuals who install solar panels has been announced. The system will be introduced in the form of a tax credit, as opposed to a tax deduction. This is good news, […]