A Tax Clearance Certificate is a certificate issued by the South African Revenue Services to confirm that all your tax affairs are in order.
In order for you to obtain one, all your outstanding tax returns as well as any other funds due to or from SARS must be calculated and paid over or claimed back from SARS.
If your company made no money, you will not be required to pay any taxes, however you will still be required to submit the zero income tax returns, sometimes with supporting documents to the fact, in order for you to obtain a tax clearance certificate.
If your company is new i.e less than 12 months before tax financial year end, you can still obtain a tax clearance certificate without submitting any tax returns, however, you will still need to at least open an efiling profile & appoint a tax representative and process everything properly on efiling, in order for you to obtain a tax clearance certificate.
You might also be required to register for some other tax types such as VAT, UIF, SDL, PAYE and COIDA depending on the special circumstances surrounding your business or if you intent on doing business with the government or some private sector entities.
In all instances, you might need the professional services of a qualified tax practitioner near you.
You can view an example tax clearance certificate by clicking here.
