Page 6 - KZN Buisiness Sense - Page One - Susan Abro

SARS KNOWS WHAT’S IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

– AND IT’S COMING TO COLLECT

Heather Flack, Business SARS COMPLIANCE PROGRAMME REVENUE assets, and in serious cases
Leader, Flair Accounting of non-compliance, pursue
THE TAXMAN’S NET IS GETTING WIDER criminal prosecution.
ow third-
party 400 KEY HIGHLIGHTS From March 2026, the net
Hdata is R523bn undisputed debt (Dec 2025) ◄ widens further. SARS has
turning every PIT debt surged R27bn in one month ◄ released final specifications for
deposit, 350 1 700 new SARS staff hired ◄ the Crypto-Asset Reporting
transfer and 7.5bn extra budget for enforcement ◄ Framework, integrating
side-hustle cryptocurrency transactions into
into a line 300 R301.5bn the same global transparency
item on architecture that already
the taxman’s radar – and what R260.5bn captures traditional banking.
Durban business owners need to 250 Offshore accounts, digital
do about it. R224bn wallets, and crypto exchanges
are now structured data points
I received an email from SARS that flow directly into SARS’s
on a Tuesday morning and 200 risk-profiling models.
found something that stopped REVENUE (R Billions)
my coffee mid-sip. It was a The Age Of Compliance Is Here
Notice of Audit from SARS, 150 For KZN’s business
detailing my personal bank R131.6bn community, the message is both
accounts, with their account a warning and an opportunity.
numbers and the exact amount 100 The warning: if your declared tax
of deposits received in each one position does not align with the
for the period 1 March 2024 to data SARS already holds, 2026 is
28 February 2025. 50 the year you will hear about it.
Apparently, the total deposits SARS has hired 1 700 new staff,
received in my account did not secured billions in additional
tally with the salary declared on 0 funding, and made it explicitly
my tax return. I was required 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 H1 2025/26 clear that enforcement against
to submit a detailed explanation Source: SARS Annual Reports, Tax Consulting SA | Business Sense / Flair Accounting individual taxpayers – the
of every deposit that was on my ‘easiest point of entry’ – is the
personal bank statement for priority.
every bank account. budget, the revenue service 2024/25 alone – a 15.8% year- Marketplace. The burden is on The opportunity? Get ahead
Now luckily, because I am a is no longer sifting through on-year increase. In the first you to prove it. of it. Separate personal and
damn good accountant, I had spreadsheets manually. It is half of 2025/26, a further This is the critical shift. SARS business banking. Ensure
a full record of everything cross-referencing your declared R131.6 billion has already is no longer playing detective. every deposit in your personal
(including the birthday income against the deposits been secured. The compliance With structured third-party account can be explained and
collections done for various flowing through your accounts machine is not slowing down; it data flowing in from every documented. Engage a tax
friends, refunds received from with surgical precision. Where is accelerating. major financial institution, the professional not as a luxury, but
my mom-in-law for purchases the numbers don’t match, a revenue service now operates as a necessity. Where historical
I had made for her, and loan letter arrives. And increasingly, What This Means For Kzn from a position of knowledge. non-disclosure exists, proactive
repayments received from a that letter is followed by action. For KZN business owners, the It asks questions it already voluntary disclosure is infinitely
friend etc etc). Every deposit. implications are immediate and knows the answers to. The less painful than an enforced
Every transfer. Every receipt The Numbers That Should Keep personal. Durban’s economy audit letter that arrives is not audit. Payment arrangements
had to be accounted for. And I You Up at Night runs on a spine of owner- a fishing expedition – it is a and compromise agreements
did. The audit was, eventually, Consider three figures that managed businesses – logistics confrontation with data. remain available to taxpayers
finalised without adjustment, paint the full picture of where operators servicing the port, who engage in good faith before
and I moved swiftly along. SARS is heading in 2026. manufacturers along the N3 Real Powers, Real the Letter of Final Demand
corridor, hospitality owners on Consequences arrives.
The Taxman’s X-Ray Vision First: R523 billion. That is the North Coast, professionals
the total undisputed tax debt Let’s be clear about what SARS My personal audit took two
Under Section 26 of the Tax sitting on SARS’s books as of in Umhlanga and Ballito, can and cannot do. Despite months to resolve. It cost me
Administration Act, banks, December 2025. Not estimates. traders in Warwick Junction. social media hysteria in late hours of time sifting through
insurers, medical schemes, Not disputed amounts. Money Many of these operators have 2025, SARS does not monitor accounts, hauling out records,
fund administrators, and built their businesses using your bank account in real time.
a growing list of financial that taxpayers have already a patchwork of personal and There is no live tracking system, loan agreements and slips. But I
am one of the lucky ones. I had
been assessed for, accepted or
institutions are legally required business accounts, receiving no instant alerts when you
to submit detailed records to failed to challenge, and simply client payments into whichever receive a deposit. Tax experts all the records. Many Durban
SARS. These IT3 returns cover haven’t paid. When a debt account was convenient, have confirmed unequivocally business owners sitting on the
same ticking clock, do not.
interest earned, investment book reaches half a trillion shuffling funds between entities that no such technology has been
disposals, insurance payouts, Rand, enforcement is no longer they control, and treating the announced, legislated, funded, The taxman can see your bank
pension contributions, trust optional – it is inevitable. personal current account as a or built. account. The only question left is
distributions, and more. Your Second: R27.2 billion in a de facto business float. whether what he finds matches
bank doesn’t just tell SARS how single month. Personal income But what SARS can do is what you told him. 
much interest you earned on tax debt leapt from R88.3 billion SARS’s third-party data formidable. Banks submit
your savings account — it also in November 2025 to R115.5 now makes that patchwork third-party data on a scheduled T: +27 (0)31 207 1572
reports total deposits into your billion in December. That is not transparent. When your bank basis – covering account details, M: +27 (0)76 555 7529
account, total withdrawals, and seasonal noise – it is a signal reports that R1.5 million flowed interest, deposits, withdrawals, E: heather@flairaccounting.co.za
loan activity too. that household-level compliance through your personal account and loans. SARS can request W: www.flairaccounting.co.za
full bank statements during an
but your tax return declares
This is not new. What is is cracking under pressure, R800 000 in income, SARS’s audit without prior notice. It
new is SARS’s ability to and individual taxpayers are AI flags the discrepancy. It can instruct your bank to freeze
weaponise this data. Armed now the low-hanging fruit for doesn’t matter that R700 000 funds or debit your account
with artificial intelligence, SARS enforcement. was inter-account transfers, directly to settle a tax debt. It
machine-learning algorithms, Third: R301.5 billion. That loan repayments from a friend, can pursue garnishee orders
and a freshly allocated is what SARS’s compliance or proceeds from selling against salaried employees,
R7.5 billion enforcement programme generated in your bakkie on Facebook register civil judgements, attach

6