Since the opening of the 2024/25 filing season, 543 252 provisional taxpayers had filed their annual income tax returns for the 2024 tax year – a 4.76% increase from the 517 356 returns for the 2023 tax year, says the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

Additionally, Sars notes that 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. A total of 705 942 provisional taxpayers filed their returns.

As for trusts, Sars says it received returns from 84 134 taxpayers for the 2024 tax year, which is up from 68 890 for the previous tax year.

Moreover, there were 80 132 trust returns for previous years resulting in the overall total of 164 266 trust returns for the year.

The number of non-provisional taxpayers who filed their income tax returns and those automatically assessed stands at nearly 6.8-million, with 4.77-million of those being auto-assessments for the 2024 tax year.

The number of auto-assessments increased by 24.94% compared with the 3.58-million auto-assessments 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 an outcome for them,” says Sars.

It notes that there is a 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.”

Sars says there is a noticeable increase in the filing of returns by non-provisional taxpayers. This comprises the use automatic assessment for non-provisional taxpayers as well as those who independently file their returns.

The company expresses that this reflects a general increase in compliance in this category but, undoubtedly, there is still a long way to declare that every taxpayer who is supposed to file their return is dutifully fulfilling their legal obligation.

Increasingly, Sars says, it will focus on encouraging voluntary compliance in these categories of taxpayers. 

“In line with its strategic objectives, Sars is fundamentally committed to providing 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 says it is also making it hard and costly for taxpayers who deliberately do not comply with tax law.

Sars and taxpayers each play 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, it warns.

SARS notes that 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 says it will hold all the trustees of a trust jointly and individually liable for their trusts’ tax compliance.

“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, AI, 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,” says Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter.

“This will comport with Sars’s overall mission to realise our promise that ‘the best service is no service at all',” he adds.

Sars says it 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.