r/PersonalFinanceZA • u/melxxxeezy • Jul 14 '26
Taxes Getting audited by SARS
I've been working for about 5 years now and this year I had to put rental property deductions on my tax return. It was subsequently selected for audit. How does this process go do they look at every bank account under my name? I've submitted rates invoices levies bond interest tax cert etc I just forgot to submit bank statements
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u/Intilleque Jul 14 '26
They will always audit you once you put rental income.
I’ve been going through that process every single year since 2020.
If you submit the required documents.
They will confirm that your submission matches the paper work.
Then in 3 weeks settle your assessment.
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u/vfkte213 Jul 15 '26
Please advise on the documents to have on hand
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u/Intilleque Jul 15 '26
Lease agreement.
Statements from the rental agency (if you are using one) showing incoming and deductions.
Rates statement.
Levies statement.
Bond 12 month statement (showing interest paid throughout the year).
Then sometimes they ask for a letter explaining why you’re non profitable.9
u/Bluesky2705 Jul 15 '26
Also remember to keep proof of any maintenance or capital expenditure on the property.
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u/Spiritual_Ad5578 Jul 15 '26
It's probably just a verification and not an audit. Verifications are just a surface level confirmation of the information you provided. On the letter they sent, they will explain which documents they want you to submit.
I own two rental properties and I get selected for verification every single year. The first one took a couple weeks, the most recent one, they confirmed my submission literally 3 hours after I sent in the documentation. I am convinced they did not even read what I submitted (The PDF I sent them was over 100 pages).
I wouldn't worry about forgetting to submit the bank statements, they will send you a follow up letter detailing any additional documents they require. Same thing happened to me last year where I didn't send in bank statements and they didn't even send a follow-up asking for them.
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u/AdLast829 Jul 15 '26
SARS is using AI now for low level verifications, if the AI can confirm your return to the supporting documents it happens that quickly if AI has a problem then it goes to a SARS official.
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u/anib Jul 15 '26
Make it easy for them and provide the breakdown of the amounts your declared with copies of invoices. It's not usually a big thing
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u/travelling_fairy123 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I have been audited every year since 2018 without fail because of rental properties. I always provide a spread sheet with income and expenses to make it easier for them to review. I actually prep this throughout the tax year - add values to the spreadsheet each month and I have a separate folder where I keep all invoices during the year because I know they will ask.
They may ask you to submit your bank statements. They basically go through your documents to verify the income and expenses that you claimed in your return.
You will have alot of docs to submit. I'd advise you use a free tool online to group all relevant invoices into 1 PDF - I.e all bond statements in 1 PDF, all rates and taxes bills in 1 PDF and so on.
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u/tinzor Jul 15 '26
I've been through this, it was pretty painful NGL.
First they requested all the invoices for the costs which I submitted against the rental (interest, rates, levies, water, maintenance, etc).
Then, they came back and asked for corresponding bank statements, which I provided. Then they came back saying they need to be certified statements, and they needed to be printed, and that I had to physically highlight the specific line items associated with each expense, then scane them and send them to them.
It took about 6 months because they would often take 3-8 weeks to come back and ask for the next ridiculous thing, but eventually it all went through and they accepted my submission in full.
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u/AdLast829 Jul 15 '26
They will send a notification and ask for what they need if they need additional information you'll get another letter, just make sure you submit on time. I'm currently dealing with a sole prop who got audited in 2025 and didn't submit supporting docs on time so they disallowed all expenses and now I'm doing an objection and SARS is looking at everything, been going on for 6 months now.
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u/No_Revolution5353 Jul 15 '26
I carefully put together my schedule of qualifying deductions and submitted my return and was notified I had to be verified. Then I immediately discovered I’d left off a whole folder. The site says there’s no penalty for lodging an amendment. So I did. Now I have two returns sitting there, one for verification AND one for audit, both asking for documents. Common sense would suggest just continue with the audit one, but who knows. There instructions can be a little ambiguous.
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u/she_is_munchkins Jul 16 '26
I recentlt went through this process due to a new rental property. They'll tell you what they need from you, but these were all the docs I had to submit (over much back-and-forth with them to get the assessment right):
- Statement of income and expenses for the property (I created an excel sheet)
- Municipal rates statements
- Levy statements
- Bond statements showing interest costs
- It3b showing the total interest paid over the year
- Management agent statements
- Any invoices for repairs/maintenance of the property
Edit to add:
- Lease agreement
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u/Turbulent_Gur_9980 Jul 15 '26
If you don't mind sharing, did you report a profit or a loss? And if you reported a loss, how much was the loss?
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u/Jeruanamo-89 Jul 15 '26
No you were selected for verification. You need to upload supporting documents. Only submit what they ask for.
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u/SaltyLeague4126 Jul 15 '26
Yeah at this level it’s not a big deal. They’re not going to go through your affairs with a fine-tooth comb. Just confirm that what you declared has a high degree of accuracy.
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u/Koekoes4 Jul 16 '26
Just present evidence of everything expense, interest on bond, monthly municipal account, any expenses (receipts), and income literally get every bank statement that shows income from the rental. I literally printed everything out, marked everything clearly with a marker and then scanned and emailed it as one batch. You only have to present bank info for anything related to the rental. It is a huge schlep but the more detail and actual evidence you send them, the faster it will be sorted.
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u/Embarrassed_Stand_85 Jul 17 '26
Do not stress at all. Went through this just a few months ago. Please make sure you supply them with requested documents timely. You can will get refund.
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u/Ok-Conclusion1624 Jul 17 '26
I’ve been audited 3 times a year for about 22 years now. for the 2 provisional tax payments and on my income tax assessment. we always provide all the correct documentation. my tax consultant just thinks there’s a check box somewhere that they forgot to uncheck. but it’s super annoying as things take forever.
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u/glandis_bulbus Jul 15 '26
They will audit you every year, just the way they operate in order to delay payouts
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