Pitfalls to avoid in tax season

FILING: DON'T BE 'PROCRASTINATOR' OR 'PANICKER' BY ASSUMING SARS WILL AUTO-ASSESS — EXPERT

- Ina Opperman

It is the time of the year that most taxpayers dread: getting their income tax assessments done and get it done right.

Tax season started on Monday, and the eFiling system at South African Revenue Service (Sars) is already slowing down due to high volumes.

The tax filing season is the period when taxpayers must submit their income tax returns to Sars for the previous tax year, which runs from 1 March to the last day of February of the following year.

Johan Werth, franchise principal and financial advisor from Consult by Momentum, says when it comes to tax season, there are three types of people:

The proactive, who knows what to do and get it done fast;

The procrastinator, who knows what to do but leaves it to the eleventh hour; and