TAX penalties in SA if you miss the 2023 DEADLINE
If you don’t submit or miss the 2023 deadline, these are the tax penalties in SA you will have to face up to.
With less than a week to go to the deadline, these are the tax penalties in SA if you don’t submit in time. For those of you that still need reminding, the deadline for individual taxpayers in SA is Monday 23 October 2023.
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According to FinGlobal, tax penalties in SA take form of monthly administration penalty fees. These fees apply for each and every month you do not submit your tax return and they are payable directly to SARS.
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TAX PENALTIES IN SA
The aforementioned tax penalties in SA apply for a maximum of 35 months. Continuous non-compliance can lead to criminal prosecution and offenders can be imprisoned for up to two years. FinGlobal says even if you disagree with the penalty fee, you should still submit your outstanding return and dispute the penalty afterwards through the SARS Request for Remission (RFR) process.
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If you miss next 23 October’s income tax return deadline, you will be issued with a Personal Income Tax Administrative Penalty notification. In case you don’t receive notification, you can check if you have one against your profile on the SARS eFiling admin page. A Penalty Statement of Account (APSA) will not be sent with your assessment notice, so the onus is on you to keep track of how much you owe.
HOW MUCH IS THE PENALTY?
Penalties in SA are based on your taxable income. So, if you don’t earn a lot, you won’t owe a lot. However, SARS is going after big tax defaulters in 2023. Therefore, that should be all the incentive you need to submit on time and avoid tax penalties in SA.
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SA TAX PENALTIES BREAKDOWN
These penalties range from R250 up to R16 000 per month until your income tax return is submitted.
| Your taxable income for the year | Monthly penalty |
| R0 – R250 000 | R250 |
| R250 001 – R500 000 | R500 |
| R500 001 – R1 000 000 | R1 000 |
| R1 000 001 – R5 000 000 | R2 000 |
| R5 000 001 – R10 000 000 | R4 000 |
| R10 000 001 – R50 000 000 | R8 000 |
| Above R50 000 000 | R16 000 |
You can pay SARS the following ways:
- EFT (Electronic Transfer) via internet banking.
- At a SARS Customs branch.
- SARS MobiApp.
- SARS eFiling.
- Associated banks (Nedbank, Absa, FNB, Standard Bank, Capitec).
COME CLEAN AS SOON AS YOU CAN
A word of advice, if you know you will default on your tax return this year, you can engage in Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) agreement with SARS. To mitigate against tax penalties in SA, potential defaulters can email SARS at vdp@sars.gov.za or call 0800 864 613 for more information.
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Please note this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, tax or legal advice.