Tax season opens on the 1st July. Just one friendly tip to help you not to be in trouble with SARS.
It is important that you agree with your tax consultant upfront regarding consultation fees s/he will be paid. Avoid being charged or quoted “contingency fees” – these are fees based on how much you will be ‘refunded’ by SARS. Consultants who do this will basically give you a percentage they charge linked to your refund. It often tempts them to manipulate the system for you to get a bigger refund hence their % is also bigger. SARS frequently pick up manipulated submissions and audits them for fraud. This could have dire consequences for you, should it be uncovered that YOU made an exaggerated fraudulent submission in order to receive an unlawful refund by SARS!

TAX Consultation fees should be based on the amount of work your consultant will do. Here are the guidelines:
1. Quality Assurance: Some return only require Quality Assurance where your consultant ensures all information is appropriate and according to what your employer has withheld from you during the year. (Comparing what’s on the IRP5 to the SARS E-Filing system)

2. Travel Allowance: Some people receive Travel allowance / reimbursed Travel allowance from their employers. This submission requires some documents to be prepared and uploaded. In this case prepare to pay a bit more.

3. Rental (and other) Income: If you have rental and/or other sources of income, this submission attracts SARS audits. It is a requirement that some essential documents be uploaded. Organising the documents and referencing can justify a consultation fee being bit more than for normal return, where just Quality Assurance was only done.
The bottom line: avoid “contingency fees” . Avoid being cheated into a fraudulent submission that could get you in trouble.

Lastly once tax work has been done for you please Pay your Tax Consultant, on time. Their work is mostly between July and November. From a competent and ethical Tax Consultant you can expect efficient service and peace of mind! 😉
For stress-free Consultations see the Flyer below…

Your Tax Consultant – Xolani Msomi 😊