Sars introduces AI assistant to help taxpayers with inquiries

South Africa's tax authority, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has introduced the Sars AI Assistant to help taxpayers get useful information.

In a post on X, Sars said: "Taxpayers, we have introduced the first phase of the SARS AI Assistant to provide helpful and useful information. “Ask the AI Assistant” at http://sars.gov.za."

The first phase of the new Sars AI (Artificial Intelligence) conversational platform, AI Assistant gives responses in real-time to questions from taxpayers, traders, and travellers. The responses are then based on published information, user guides as well as other Sars systems which are publicly available on the website.

According to Sars, taxpayers can interact online with the AI Assistant platform 24/7.

"As we continue to enhance its capabilities, your feedback on the AI assistant responses received plays a crucial role in shaping its future," Sars said.

Sars has asked the public to try out the AI Assistant and then let tax authority know their thoughts by giving a thumbs up or thumbs down on the answers they receive.

People can access the AI Assistant via the Sars MobiApp or they can find it on the bottom right of the Sars website’s landing page.

Tax collections for 2023/2024

According to the Tax Statistics report from the National Treasury and Sars, tax collections in country has increased from R113.8 billion in 1994/95 to R1.7 trillion in 2023/24.

In the 2023/24 fiscal year, Sars collected:

• R2.2 trillion in gross tax revenue which is R87.0 billion more than the previous year
• refunded taxes worth R413.9 billion, R32.8 billion more than in the year prior
• netted tax revenue amounting to R1.7 trillion, a R54.2 billion increase from the year before

Geographic, demographic, personal income tax, and other analyses of the assessments of the taxpayers who had been assessed by 9 September 2024 for the 2023 tax year showed that:

• 2,361,099 of assessed taxpayers were registered in Gauteng.
• 855,274 of assessed taxpayers lived in the Johannesburg Metro and were taxed on an average taxable income of R484,672.
• 1,775,779 of assessed taxpayers were between the ages of 35 to 44
• Of the taxpayers that were assessed, 3,495,942 were male while 3,148,808 were female.

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