Salary, freelance work, rental income or a change in your circumstances can make a return less straightforward. Vatco helps you organise the relevant records, review what SARS already holds and prepare the agreed personal tax work with clear supporting evidence.
Your requirements · A clear scope · Your next step
A personal tax review should consider the whole year, not only the certificate from your current employer. Changing jobs, starting freelance work, renting out a property or receiving investment income may add information that needs attention. Tell us about these changes before a return is prepared so the relevant questions are asked early.
The ITR12 is the individual income tax return. Whether you must submit and how an auto-assessment should be handled depends on your actual circumstances and the current SARS requirements. An old salary figure quoted on a website is not a reliable stand-alone test for every individual.
Gather the complete year, including any earlier employer.
Explain each income source and the period it relates to.
Start with the actual SARS notice and what you believe is missing or incorrect.
Swipe across to compare all columns.
| Cost item | Price or basis | What to allow for |
|---|---|---|
| Vatco personal return support | Quoted by assessment year and income complexity | Employment-only work differs from rental, freelance, foreign-income or additional schedule preparation. |
| SARS eFiling platform | R0 platform access | Professional preparation, tax payable and corrective work remain separate. |
| Historical years or assessment correction | Separately quoted against the existing record | The years, notices, third-party errors and supporting material determine the scope. |
| Tax payable or expected refund | Determined by the assessment and verification | Professional fees are separate from SARS tax. Neither a fee nor a calculation guarantees a refund payment. |
The service fee, any amount payable to the authority and additional work are separate. The table identifies the scope to confirm before you proceed.
Compare the documents with your own understanding of the year rather than assuming that every prefilled item is complete and correct.
We use the information to identify the relevant work, not to promise that every expense will reduce tax. A claim should be supported by the facts and applicable rules before it appears in the return.
Keep employment certificates together, including records from earlier employers in the same year.
Add the relevant investment, medical scheme, retirement and donation information where applicable.
For freelance or rental activity, prepare an income-and-expense schedule supported by the underlying records.
Separate personal spending and explain amounts that cover more than one purpose.
Where a claim depends on particular conditions or evidence, provide that material rather than only a total entered in a spreadsheet.
Make a separate note of unusual transactions or changed circumstances, such as a property sale, foreign work or a lump-sum payment. These may require additional review beyond a basic employment-only return.
Keep the full notice and the actual response requirement so a review starts from the current assessment stage.
We first confirm the year, task and records available, then identify missing information and any matters outside a straightforward return.
The return is prepared using the relevant information and authorised access.
After submission, review the assessment and any request for supporting documents.
Keep the return, calculation and correspondence together.
An employment-only return can involve different work from a year containing rental activity, self-employment or foreign income. Describe the situation honestly when asking for a quote. The useful measure of scope is the information and issues involved, not a promise that everyone will receive the same refund.
Use the completed review to improve next year’s records. Keep receipts and schedules organised during the year, update relevant personal details and retain correspondence where you can find it. If non-employment income is recurring, ask whether provisional tax needs attention separately. A good handover should leave you understanding what was submitted and what you still need to do.
No. The result depends on the income, allowable claims, payments and applicable rules for your circumstances. The purpose of the service is an accurate, supported return or review. A refund shown in a preliminary calculation is also different from a verified payment received in your bank account.
You may need a review if you are unsure whether the information reflects your year. Compare the assessment with your records and identify missing or incorrect details. The next action depends on the issue and current SARS process, rather than automatically filing another return.
Do not assume that. The treatment depends on the applicable conditions and evidence. Tell the team about the arrangement and provide the relevant records so the potential claim can be assessed. An expense appearing on a bank statement does not by itself establish a deduction.
Provide information for every relevant income source in the year, including earlier employers and the side activity. A return prepared from only the most recent employment certificate may not reflect the full picture. Separate business records should explain income, expenses and any shared personal costs.
We can review the request and the return already submitted, then agree a defined response scope. Keep the actual SARS notice and source evidence. The response should address what was asked rather than send a large unstructured bundle or alter records to match an unsupported claim.
State the year, income sources, whether SARS has issued an assessment and any outstanding correspondence. Mention rental, business, investment or foreign activity early. That lets the team explain the preparation needed and whether the request goes beyond a basic personal return.
Go deeper with guidance from the relevant authorities.
Individual returns and filing requirements.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEReviewing auto-assessment information and current process guidance.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEOfficial confirmation that eFiling platform use is free.
Open the resourceShare your requirements with Vatco.
Confirm the scope, documents and fees before proceeding.
