Dear Reader

In this Bulletin:

•    SARS’ business hours could mean trouble for you
•    Why this date is so important
•    Seven pieces of information that MUST appear on your IRP5 forms

SARS’ business hours could mean trouble for you

We all know that SARS keeps regular business hours. Thank goodness, because who could tolerate a weekend tax audit?…

But this is something you should keep in mind when it comes to paying taxes.  If the tax deadline falls on a Monday,  be wary of leaving your returns and payments until the last minute on the Friday before it.
If the payment is delayed (or the bank takes longer to clear the transaction),  you may miss the deadline… 

Why this date is so important

I know you’re wondering where I’m going with this public service announcement. So here it is: The deadline for both provisional tax and for the first bi-annual employer submission is 31 August 2010.

That’s two major tax deadlines, on the same day. And it’s just 52 working days away…

The July issue of Tax Watch will tell you exactly how to prepare for these deadlines so don’t miss it. In the meantime, here’s a quick refresher on the employer IRP5 requirements. Remember, while these will only be compulsory from September (if not next year), SARS is going to put pressure on you to start doing this now…

Seven pieces of information that MUST appear on your IRP5 forms:
 

1. Employee’s physical address – and they want this in a very specific format, namely: Unit number; complex name; street number and street name; suburb; city and postal code.
2. The bank account details of the employees you pay via EFT (electronic transfer). This includes bank name, branch and branch code, and bank account number. Also, be sure to state who owns the account. SARS is trying to increase the accuracy of its data so, for example, it can avoid refunding taxes to the wrong people.
3. Company address where the employee is based, with the company telephone number and division. If you’re a labour broker, then your employees are out of the office (working at clients) a lot! In this case, give SARS your office details (as the employer), but give the telephone number of the client where your employee will be based.
4. Tax reference number: All employees must be registered with SARS, regardless of how much they earn. SARS just wants to keep track of who you employ. It’s only when they earn above the R60 000 per annum mark that means they need to file a tax return.
5. For foreign employees, provide a passport number. You must also state the country of issue of the passport. SARS wants to know where your foreign employees are from.
6. Tax certificate number: Every taxpaying employee must have a tax certificate number, consisting of 30 digits (the employer’s PAYE number; the transaction year; and a unique identifier of 16 digits).
7. Period of employment: You must indicate for how long you’ve employed your employee. This must appear on the IRP5 for each employee.

If you’ve got all this, you’ll be in SARS’ good books this tax season!

Before I sign off, here's a quick notice from Lenell, who's coordinating the Ultimate Tax Survival Workshop: If you have sent in your registration form, but haven't yet received a confirmation email and payment invoice, please call her on tel 011 699 6543.

Fulvia Becatti

Managing Editor: Practical Tax Handbook & Practical Vat Handbook