The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has to date received 761 231 tax returns from individual taxpayers for the first month of Tax Season 2010.
At the same time last year SARS had received 584 742 individual tax returns, which means that 176 489 (23 percent) more taxpayers have filed this year compare to the same time last year.
Electronic submissions of returns totalled 746 555, while 14 676 taxpayers have made manual, or postal submissions. More than 600 000 of these returns have been assessed.
SARS Commissioner Oupa Magashula attributes the successful start of filing season to an improved compliance culture by taxpayers who have noticed the benefits of filing their returns early in the filing period.
These benefits include the faster turn-around times in assessing returns and quicker refunds to taxpayers.
“I would like to thank all taxpayers who have filed early and trust that other taxpayers will also heed our call to file now and avoid the congestion that occurs as the various deadlines approach,” Commissioner Magashula said.
Taxpayers are reminded of the following deadlines for Tax Season 2010:
- The deadline for postal submissions (paper tax returns) for provisional and non-provisional taxpayers is the last working day of September – 30 September 2010
- The deadline for electronic submissions through SARS branches and eFiling for non-provisional taxpayers and trusts is 26 November 2010
- The deadline for electronic submissions through SARS branches and eFiling for provisional taxpayers and trusts is the last working day of January – 31 January 2011
As always, SARS staff in our contact centre and our branches around the country will be on hand to assist taxpayers with their obligations. The SARS Contact Centre number is 0800 00 72 77.
Source: South African Revenue Service
