By: Natasha Archary

It’s tax season, a time of year which sees many South Africans at their wits end as they try to make sense of filing their tax returns.
If you were one of the fortunate few who were selected by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for an auto-assessment, you can rest easy knowing that you are off the hook from submitting a tax return, unless you which to dispute the assessment of course.
As the process of filing can be daunting, Senior Tax Specialist at Allan Gray Carrie Norden joins Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz to share some tips on how to get on top of your tax return this filing season.
“Before filing season opened there were a few things one could have done to prepare, and the first thing would be to make sure that your information is updated with SARS.
This includes your contact information, email address, physical address, and other important documents such as your proof of medical aid, tax certificate etc.
Having this in order before you login to the SARS e-filing or mobi site can make the process simpler.
Tax residency is also very important because this impacts how you are liable for tax in South Africa.”
Senior Tax Specialist at Allan Gray Carrie Norden
Carrie reminded listeners of the 2024 tax season dates as follows:
- Auto-assessment notices: 1 July 2024 to 14 July 2024
- Individual taxpayers (non-provisional): 15 July 2024 to 21 October 2024
- Provisional taxpayers: 15 July 2024 to 20 January 2025
- Trusts: 16 September 2024 to 20 January 2025
A 2023 survey by GoBankingRates found that the top tax concern among young people between the ages of 18 – 24 is making a mistake with their tax submissions.
Almost 27% of youth, or Gen Z as they are commonly referred, are fairly inexperienced with the world of taxes and finances in general.
Plus, making mistakes on your tax return could not only mean missing out on certain write-offs, but potentially, facing penalties.
Common tax mistakes young people make
- Not knowing whether you’re a dependent
- Not paying taxes on unemployment
- Failing to write-off business expenses
- Under-reporting your income
- Ignoring messages from SARS
- Forgetting to file
- Spending too much
- Missing deductions, credit and refunds
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
Also read: Thinking of evading your tax obligations? Think again!


