TaxTim launches simple direct filing of tax returns to SARS

Online tax assistant TaxTim said it has introduced a simpler alternative for submitting annual tax returns. The engine will allow taxpayers to submit a one-click electronic submission of tax returns straight into the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The announcement was made as South African taxpayers find themselves with less than one month to submit their tax return to SARS, before the 21 November deadline.
 
“A lot of people are confused by not knowing where or how to enter incomes and expenses on their tax returns, or miss out on getting the refunds that are due to them simply because they don’t know better. Instead of presenting difficult forms with hundreds of blocks, TaxTim asks you simple questions one-by-one in an on-screen conversation, then completes and submits your tax return for you.
 
Since we launched in 2011 our goal has always been to make tax as easy as it should be for tax payers, enabling them to be confidently compliant all on their own. Until now we only helped with half of that process. We are very excited to finally offer professional assistance throughout the entire customer journey, from registration through to submission. Now you might ask: “Why eFile when you can T-file?” says director and chief technical officer (CTO) Evan Robinson.
 
The company said that secure electronic submission had been in development for over a year. The company entered into an agreement with SARS in 2013 to become an official vendor and integrate directly with the SARS eFiling platform. The new system had to pass three stages of quality assurance and testing with the SARS technical team before being approved.
 
TaxTim customers can now expect to complete their tax return forms and then immediately submit them via “T-filing”, straight into the SARS system, receiving assessments and any due refunds a day or two later.
 
“To date over 900 000 taxpayers have consulted with TaxTim, and we are glad to see that South Africans are increasingly turning online for help with their taxes. The US market shows a similar trend of growing popularity for consumer tax applications - in 2013 Intuit earned $1.45 billion (R R15.87 billion) from its TurboTax offering. Our goal is to deliver the TaxTim brand via its scalable platform to the African market, and we are negotiating the necessary partnerships to do so,” added director and chief financial officer (CFO) Marc Sevitz.