SARS imposes R381m penalties on taxpayers
SARS has imposed penalties amounting to R381m on 690 000 taxpayers for outstanding returns this year, reports Fin24.
The tax authority confirmed that some 609 000 of these taxpayers had been penalised for having just one return outstanding.
Since December 2022, penalties can be applied for a single outstanding return.
Previously penalties were only imposed on taxpayers with more than one tax return outstanding, but an amendment to the Tax Administration Act – making it possible for SARS to penalise those with just one return outstanding – has resulted in many more taxpayers being penalised.
A SARS spokesperson confirmed that only 86 000 of the around 690 000 taxpayers penalised this year had received penalties for multiple outstanding returns.
The new penalties for single returns outstanding will rake in R243m for SARS over just four-and-a-half months – a lot more than the R138m in penalties imposed so far this year for multiple returns outstanding.
Penalties are applied monthly for tax returns dating back many years.
The penalty imposed depends on your taxable income.
Penalties for failing to file a return even if you don’t owe any tax start at R250 for each month the return is outstanding, and penalties based on outstanding tax can be as high as R16 000 a month every month until the returns are filed.
This has resulted in penalties of tens of thousands of rands for some taxpayers.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
