Tax Compliance on the Rise SARS Thanks Taxpayers for Filing Returns

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has thanked provisional taxpayers and trusts for filing their 2024 Income Tax Returns before the 20 January 2025 deadline.

Key Filing Stats

📌 543,252 provisional taxpayers filed returns, up 4.76% from last year.
📌 84,134 trusts submitted returns, a 22% increase from 2023.
📌 6.8 million non-provisional taxpayers complied, with 4.76 million auto-assessed—a 24.94% jump.

What This Means for Accountants

SARS sees improving compliance, but stresses more work is needed. It urges trusts and provisional taxpayers to stay compliant to avoid penalties.

💡 Trustees to take note: Registered representatives remain personally liable for trust tax compliance, even when using a tax practitioner.

SARS warns taxpayers that non-compliance will be costly, with SARS using AI and data science to boost enforcement.