What to do if you receive a SARS Additional Assessment

The 2023 tax season started on 7 July 2023, and the deadline to file is October 23 2023 for individual taxpayers. But what do you do if after submitting your return you receive a SARS Additional Assessment?

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You don’t need to worry; a SARS Additional Assessment means the revenue service still requires a few more documents from you. According to the experts at TaxTim, SARS will either send you an email directly with a specific request. Or the SARS Additional Assessment request will come via eFiling, asking for the additional information required.

SARS ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT

After you have submitted your tax return and supporting documents to SARS, they usually take up 21 working days to review them. Once the review is complete, you will either:

• Receive a request for additional documents.
• Receive a Completion Letter.
• Receive a SARS Additional Assessment.

In the case of the latter, says TaxTim, SARS requires you to either email them to the address supplied or to upload via the eFiling portal.

YOUR EXPENSES MAY HAVE BEEN DISALLOWED

In most cases, a SARS Additional Assessment is issued when supporting documents supplied do not match your tax return. Unfortunately for you, this usually means SARS is disallowing some of your expenses and you might owe the revenue service extra tax.

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TaxTim warns that a SARS Additional Assessment can be confusing. In their experience, taxpayers believe they need to pay the amount stated on it. However, it’s important to realise the amount on this assessment must be added to the Original Assessment to give an overall balance of the amount that is owed or refundable.

ALWAYS ASK FOR A STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT

To avoid any confusion, if you receive a SARS additional assessment, always request a Statement of Account to see your final balance. A Statement of Account can be requested in eFiling by navigating to your tax return and clicking on Request Historic Notice.

ALSO READ: SARS eFiling issues: Here’s how you fix the problem

Don’t forget that you have until October 23 2023 to file a tax return.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, tax or legal advice. For further details consult the SARS website or get in touch with a tax specialist.