Company and Individual Tax Returns

The process of submitting your tax payments to SARS is called Tax Returns. It is called Tax Returns because you have to return a part of the money that you have made to SARS. The payable or “returnable” amount is determined by SARS based on your Annual, Taxable Company Income. 

For more info on specific type of Tax Returns, view some of the main questions most business owners ask below.

The Corporate Tax Year is the same as the company’s financial year.

In terms of Income Tax Submissions, companies are required to submit their Tax returns twice in the financial tax period, as well as a final Tax Return submission 12 month from the last day of the previous financial year end.  See below breakdown of the Tax Return deadlines:

• Provisional Tax Return (IRP6): 6 Months from first day of the Financial year.
• Provisional Tax Return (IRP6): On the last month of the Financial year.
• Annual Tax Return (IT14): Within 4 – 12 Month from the last day of the Financial year end. 

This first period is expected at the start of the tax season within 6 months from the date of your financial year end, normally around August every year. This is calculated on 50% of the provisionally calculated tax amount payable. 

The next instalment is due in February. This is usually calculated on the remaining 50% of the taxes due for that financial year.

The last instalment is due after the season has closed. The final submission is to reconcile provisional submissions and payment made compared to actual income for the past financial year.  If your Provisional Tax was calculated on the correct figures, there will be no or very little Tax payment required, unless there was an unexpected income that came in on the last month of the financial year. 

Provisional Tax is a form of income tax, which addresses tax liability in advance. With Provisional Tax, SARS requires you to submit an estimation of your income and expenses, before the financial year is over. This estimation is then used to calculate a tax estimation which is payable to SARS.

Additionally, Provisional Tax is a unique form of tax, because your due payments are divided into two payments, due throughout the year.

The goal of Provisional Tax Submissions is reducing the pressure on companies and individuals who don’t have the support of a fixed employer.

Provisional Tax automatically applies to most registered companies. It also applies to partnerships and freelancers or Sole Proprietor businesses. 

The IRP6 is the submission of the Provisional Tax. 

An ITR14 is the Annual Tax submission due for a financial year.

Die ITA34C is the document you received after submitting the final Income Tax return – the IT14 return.

VAT submission for smaller companies is normally to be submitted every consecutive month.  As soon as your sales reach R1 million from start of business, you are legally obliged to register your company for VAT.  If you don’t register for VAT at this stage, SARS will backdate your registration and penalties and interests will apply.

If your Sales exceed R30 million per year, SARS will automatically move you to a monthly VAT submission period.

A VAT detailed report is required to file a VAT 201 return at SARS.

You can register your company for VAT voluntary if you need a VAT number for a ender, or if you are planning to business with another VAT registered Company. 

If you are a company with a Customs registrations and you are dealing in import and export you will benefit if your company is VAT registered.

Click here for more info on our VAT Registration service.

What is a Tax Clearance Renewal Pin Certificate?

The Tax Clearance Renewal Pin Certificate is an anti-fraudulent mechanism introduced, not so long ago, by SARS.

This digital certificate aims to replace the Tax Clearance certificate document. The goal of either of these documents is obtaining proof that your company is compliant with the Tax regulations that apply to your business – and in good standing with SARS.

A Tax Clearance Certificate or your Tax Clearance Renewal Pin Certificate is valid for one year and needs to be renewed annually.

The Tax Clearance Renewal Pin Certificate is very useful when a company asks about your Tax compliance. Oftentimes, before you can sign a contract with a company, they will inquire about your Tax compliance. This helps them ensure that you’re doing everything by the book and that they won’t run into non-compliance issues in the future.

Once you’ve offered a prospective client your pin, they can “live” track your compliance on SARS eFiling platform.