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Media release: Preliminary figures on 2024-2025 Filing Season

Media release: Preliminary figures on 2024-2025 Filing Season

31 January 2025 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) thanks provisional taxpayers and Trusts for filing their annual Income Tax Returns for the 2024 tax year.

The filing season for provisional taxpayers and trusts closed on the 20th January 2025. There overall picture of provisional, trusts and non-provisional taxpayers is the following:

  • Since the opening of the filing season 543 252 provisional taxpayers had filed their annual Income Tax Returns for the 2024 tax year, this is 4.76% up from the 517 356 in the 2023 tax year.
  • Additionally, taxpayers also filed returns that were outstanding from prior tax years. In total 162 690 provisional taxpayers filed returns for the previous years this is down from 242 911 in the 2023 tax year. The ultimate total is 705 942 provisional taxpayers filed their returns.
  • As for Trusts, we received returns from 84 134 taxpayers for the 2024 tax year, which is up from 68 890 for the previous tax year. Moreover, there was 80 132 Trusts return for previous years resulting in the overall total of 164 266 of Trusts.
  • The number of non-provisional taxpayers who filed their Income Tax Returns and those automatically assessed stands at 6 797 055. 4 765 753 were auto- assessed for the 2024 tax year, which is 24.94% up from 3 577 239 from the previous year. As reported before, these taxpayers did not have to do anything, and SARS used vast data sources to auto-assess them and provide and outcome for them.

There is general increase in the number of provisional taxpayers and trusts filing returns. This is encouraging however there is still a long way to go to ensure acceptable levels of compliance in these categories of taxpayers. There is noticeable increase on the filing of returns by non-provisional taxpayers. This comprises the use automatic assessment for non-provisional taxpayers as well those who independently file their returns. This reflects general increase in compliance in this category but undoubtedly, there is still long way to declare that every taxpayer who is supposed to file their return is dutifully fulfilling their legal obligation. Increasingly, SARS will focus in encouraging voluntary compliance in these categories of taxpayers.

In line with its strategic objectives, SARS is fundamentally committed to provide clarity and certainty to enable taxpayers to fulfil their legal obligations. SARS is working to make it easy and simple for taxpayers to transact with the organisation through online platforms such as eFiling. SARS is also making it hard and costly for taxpayers who deliberately do not comply with tax law.

SARS and taxpayers each plays a critical role in South Africa’s public finances. All categories of taxpayers including Trusts, and even economically inactive ones, must register for tax, file returns, and pay on time. Non-compliance with tax law is a criminal offence and will attract penalties and interest.

The representative taxpayers of Trusts should keep in mind that they are legally liable in their official and personal capacity to meet their Trusts’ tax obligations, even when using a tax practitioner to administer the Trusts’ tax affairs. SARS will hold all the trustees of a Trust jointly and individually liable for their Trusts’ tax compliance.

SARS Commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, expressed his gratitude to all taxpayers who have taken steps to fulfil their legal obligations. He said that “while SARS is pleased with the general increase in compliance, it is too early to declare victory. In this regard, SARS will continue to employ the latest technology, artificial intelligence, and data science to foster voluntary compliance by ensuring that transacting with the organisation is an effortless and seamless experience that will lessen compliance burden. This will comport with SARS’s overall mission to realise our promise that ‘the best service is no service at all’”. SARS is doing the utmost to pursue its vision of being a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that can be trusted and admired by all.

For more information, please contact [email protected]