With the tax deadline looming, non-provisional taxpayers need to get their affairs in order and submit their tax returns before 27 November 2015. Jacques Fourie from FMJ Financial Services explains that any late submissions of tax returns could be dealt with harshly by SARS.

“SARS has become very strict and due to global economic financial corrections, has more pressure to collect revenue on behalf of the government to service debt obligations and current budgets. Effectively the tax payer is affected by strict SARS rules and procedures,” says Fourie.

Fourie adds that experienced tax practitioners such as FMJ Financial can considerably lessen the frustration of filing tax returns, while ensuring that no mistakes are made which could incur penalties.

“SARS can now impose an understatement penalty for each error made on your return. Therefore, a mistake (or ignorance) can cause much stress and financial loss. We are specialists in individual tax and work with many individuals, and therefore have extensive experience in this field of finance,” Fourie explains.

The minimum penalty for an outstanding tax return currently stands at R 250 per month and the maximum is a steep R 16 000, but this only applies for those with an annual income of more than R 50 million.

Non-provisional taxpayers are the majority of employed individuals who submit a tax return and who earn an income from one or more employer.

“You do not need to file if your total salary earned during 1 March 2014 – 28 February 2015 is not more than R 350 000, depending on a few criteria. Irrespective of that, it is always advisable to submit a return, even in a case where there was no income as SARS have many terms and conditions and generally the return is often required anyway. This could lead to disputes on penalties and additional legal compliance costs,” says Fourie.

If you are under the age of 65, have only one employer and earn interest of less than R 23 800 per year, you are not required to submit returns. On the other hand, individuals of 65 and older only need to submit returns if they earn more than R 34 500 interest per year.

“Remember that if you have two employers or income sources however, you do need to file even if the total is still under R 350 000,” Fourie points out.

To avoid penalties, taxpayers need to be certain that they have the correct documentation and proof of every claim.

“SARS is closing in on undeclared income and overstated expenses. Declare all income you received during the year of assessment, and if a deduction does not exist, do not claim for it,” says Fourie.

Fourie says that the better of two evils is to submit a return late but correctly rather than early but incorrectly.