Tax payers move online as deadline closes in

With less than a week to go to submit tax returns, tax payers are flocking online for help in filling out their tax forms before October 31.

This year, for the first time, South African tax payers are filing their returns electronically on the SARS website, and the move to e-filing has had a profound impact on the way people tackle their tax affairs, according to Pieter Wessels, a director of Boshoff Visser.

"E-filing is a very practical means of submission and has led to hundreds of tax payers, who had not previously accessed the web for tax information, to look for other online tools to help in their calculations," he said.

"While there is comprehensive information on the SARS site itself, there is no way of knowing if the figures submitted are correct or have taken into account all possible deductions to minimise your tax liability legally."

A year ago Wessels started piloting a tax calculation website that enables claims to be verified before online submission to SARS. Since its official launch six months ago, the Finalyz system has proved popular with South Africans from all parts of the globe. We have been inundated in the past weeks by hundreds of individuals and small companies looking to do online checks, including a number of ex-pats, said Wessels.

The novel step-by-step system enables the taxpayer to check if taxes payable or refundable by SARS are correct. Wessels and the team of professionals he heads who have the backing of chartered accountants Boshoff Visser, also handle queries through a call centre.

"We have had South Africans from all over the world logging in to calculate their taxes. People now realise the whole process can be done remotely, whether they happen to be in London, Sydney or Cape Town.

"I am very pleased with the move that SARS has made this year to ease the burden of submitting tax returns, but there has to be someone between the man in the street and SARS," said Wessels. A number of book-keepers were also using the site to verify their work for clients, he said.

"E-filing is a means of submission only. What happens on our site and what people seem to want - is advice and a full tax calculation. This process lets you know what youre going to pay taking into account all possible deductions to minimise your tax liability legally."

A nominal fee is charged for the service which assists people completing Form IT12S and those with more complex affairs, such as owners of rental properties, who complete Form IT12C.

"In the long run we hope to interface the Finalyz tax calculation process available on www.finalyz.co.za with SARS e-filing," said Wessels. He said that negotiations were underway and he hoped a seamless system would be up for the next tax season.