If you qualify for provisional taxpayer status, it is your responsibility to register and to ensure that you get a tax form from the Receiver of Revenue.
If you are not sure whether you should be registered as such, Colin Wolfsohn, tax partner at Grant Thornton Kessel Feinstein, offers these guidelines:
* If you receive income from sources other than remuneration in excess of R1 000, you need to register as a provisional taxpayer. For example, if you earn interest income of more than R3 000 (the first R2 000 is tax free), then you must register as a provisional taxpayer.
* If you earn taxable income from a business, farm or rental income, you must register as a provisional taxpayer.
* If you are registered as a provisional taxpayer and your employer is deducting employees tax, this does not mean that you don't have to submit a provisional tax return.
"For example, if you earn a salary of, R50 000, but are also earning interest in excess of R3 000, you are still required to register as a taxpayer and submit a provisional tax return."
* Directors of private companies or members of close corporations must also register as provisional taxpayers, he says, but certain exemptions apply if you are 65 years or older and if your income for the year of assessment does not exceed R50 000.
If you fall into this category, you need not submit a provisional tax return as long as you are not a director of a private company, a member of a close corporation, or not deriving income from any business.
Wolfsohn says the forms issued by the Receiver of Revenue make life easy for taxpayers in that the last assessed taxable income is pre-printed on the form with the requisite calculation.
This taxable income figure is called the "basic amount" and will reflect the information Revenue have on hand according to you last income tax return.
Wolfsohn advises taxpayers to study the figures pre-printed on the form, especially "employees tax deducted by the employer", as this would relate to a previous year and not the current year.
If you feel that the taxable income figure reflected on the form is far higher than what you are currently earning, you are entitled to base your estimated taxable income on a lower figure, he says.
"However, you need permission from the Receiver of Revenue to do this and should attach a letter, explaining your personal circumstances, to the provisional tax form."
Wolfsohn says the rationale of basing your estimated taxable income on the last assessed amount, is that the Receiver of Revenue understands that it is difficult to estimate with accuracy your estimated taxable income. They allow you to base your provisional tax on your last assessed taxable income as your estimated taxable income for the current year.
In calculating the provisional tax, the estimated taxable income for the year must be calculated. The tax for the year is then calculated by two for the half year covered and any balance of tax owing, is paid to the Receiver of Revenue.
The second payment in respect of the year ended February 28, 1999 is due on the last working day of February 1999.
Wolfsohn says you must not lose sight of the fact that another provisional tax payment might well be due on September 30, 1998, being the third 1998 provisional tax payment.
"This payment is due by individual provisional taxpayers whose taxable income for the year ended February 28, 1998 exceeds R50 000."
There are no penalties for late payment of your third 1998 provisional tax. But, non tax deductible interest of 15 percent is levied with effect from October 1, to when payment is received.
* The due date for provisional taxpayer returns expired on August 31.