Sars preliminary results show improvement

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) received 5.785-million returns by the deadline of Wednesday, 31 October 2018.

These returns comprise the following:

• 4. 229-million returns by individual taxpayers (returns relevant to the current year)
• 1. 459-million returns by individual taxpayers filed during this tax season but relevant to prior years)
• 42,087 returns filed by trusts (returns relevant to the current year)
• 53,973 returns filed by trusts (returns filed during this tax season but relevant to prior years)

A total 96.1% of expected returns from individuals were submitted on time, exceeding last year’s rate of 94%. The returns expected are informed by last year’s submissions and IRP5 information from employers, excluding provisional taxpayers.

“We want to thank taxpayers who filed, for doing the right thing and making their contribution to our country. Our data shows that taxpayers adapted to the shorter filing season and that filing patterns remained steady and on par.” said Acting Commissioner, Mark Kingon.

“For Sars, Tax Season 2018 was about enhancing service and operational excellence, and working smarter. This is what we will strive to do each year,” he said.

Refunds

• R17.9bn paid to more than two-million individual taxpayers
• A total of 96.88% of taxpayers due for a refund that was not routed for audit or risk verification received their refund within the seven-day turnaround time as stated in the Sars Service Charter.

Assessment of returns

A total of 87.02% of tax returns were assessed within three seconds, and 91.18% within 24 hours.

Electronic channels

• 52.07% (2017: 50.08%) of returns filed was done through Sars eFiling compared to 47.93% filed at a branch. This shows a 2% increase in the uptake of eFiling
• 241,583 taxpayers used Help-You-eFile service. This shows a 14% increase in the uptake of this service compared to last year
• 73,663 taxpayers used the Sars mobi app to file returns. This shows a 54.74% increase in the uptake of this channel