Small Businesses

What’s New?

• See our FAQs for Small Businesses here.
• Tax Relief Measures – See how to qualify for tax relief as a Small Business, and more information.
• Tax Clearance Information – If you require a Tax Clearance Status (TCS) or ‘Tax Clearance Certificate’ click here for a simplified process to apply online. See our translated TCS leaflets here:
  • TCS leaflet in IsiZulu
  • TCS leaflet in Sesotho
  • TCS leaflet in Afrikaans
  • TCS leaflet in Sepedi
  • TCS leaflet in Xitsonga
  • TCS leaflet in IsiSwati
  • TCS leaflet in Tshivenda
  • TCS leaflet in Setswana
  • TCS leaflet in Isindebele
  • TCS leaflet in Isixhosa
    
    
• COVID-19 measures: Small Business relief

• For Small Businesses in need of financial support during this difficult time, refer to the Debt Relief Finance Scheme offered by the Department of Small Business Development, click here or visit the COVID-19 Online Resource and News Portal at www.sacoronavirus.co.za.
• SARS Tax relief measures:
  • Frequently Asked Questions on general Tax Relief Measures
  • Frequently Asked Questions for Employers on Tax Relief Measures
  • See our Tax Relief Webinar video
  • See our Tax Relief Webinar presentation
• Tax Clearance Status: To qualify for Tax and government financial support you need to be tax compliant. Click here on how to obtain your Tax Clearance. Also see our simplified process to apply online.
• Tax Debt payment arrangement: If you want to make an arrangement to pay off your tax debit. Click here to see how to apply for the deferment of debt arrangements.
• Taxpayers are required to make use of our online services to transact with SARS. Click here to learn more.
• FAQs for Small Business.

Small Business Taxes

Complying with your tax obligations as a small business has been made a lot easier over the past few years. Read below for more information:

• If you are starting out and need to register as a company, you will have to contact the Company and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), formerly called CIPRO. Please note that Companies are first required to register with the (CIPC) offices before registering with SARS for an Income Tax reference number, click here for CIPC. Once a taxpayer registered with CIPC, SARS will automatically generate an Income Tax reference number. Taxpayer must then register on eFiling to transact electronically.
• See Registering on eFiling and services available online.
• How to obtain your Tax Clearance Information: As a Small, Micro or Medium Enterprise (SMME), at some point or another you will be required to provide / confirm / share your Tax Clearance information with another entity. This could be to apply for a tender, new contract, good standing or in respect of Foreign Investment. 
   
• Registering for Turnover Tax. Turnover tax is a simplified tax system for small businesses with a qualifying turnover of not more than R1 million per annum. It is a tax based on the taxable turnover of a business and is available to sole proprietors (individuals), partnerships, close corporations, companies and co-operatives. Turnover tax takes the place of VAT (in the instance that you have not decided to elect back into the VAT system), provisional tax, income tax, capital gains tax, secondary tax on companies (STC) and dividends tax. So qualifying businesses pay a single tax instead of various other taxes. It’s elective – so you choose whether to participate. For Tax Tables see below.
• Registering your business for VAT
• Registering for PAYE, UIF and SDL.
• In the case where you are already registered as a company and you meet certain qualifying requirements, you may register as a small business corporation (SBC) in order to get additional tax incentives. One of the incentives for SBCs is a reduced corporate tax rate. Click here to see reduced tax rates for small businesses.

Applicable Tax rates

SBC tax rates for financial years ending on any date between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, see the tax rates here.

If you are not an eFiler yet, you are encouraged to register on www.sarsefiling.co.za to complete and submit your ITR14 online. eFiling is free, convenient and secure. You will also be able to access all SARS correspondence to you, on your eFiling profile.

Also note that if you are an employer, you are required to apply to SARS for registration as an employer within 14 days after becoming an employer for purposes of paying employees’ tax which includes PAYE, SDL and UIF where applicable.     If you want to know more about VAT click here.   To learn more about other taxes click here.   You can also call the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 SARS (7277) for more information or assistance with a specific query.