How to submit QPDs with Nil returns

So you were excited about starting a business, you've registered your company but are yet to start trading. QPDs are due and you know you have to submit your returns but haven't started making money. You have two options, one is to get a consultant to do it for you. The other is to do it yourself. Quite scary, intimidating or whatever word you choose to call it, but I’m hoping your outlook will have drastically changed by the end of this article. You can choose to go with a consultant, which is recommended when you are making significant income, but you can also simply do it yourself at no cost and I will show you exactly how. 

What are QPDs?

QPDs stands for Quarterly Payment Dates. These are estimates of your taxes on projected annual profits that are paid in quarterly instalments. So when the year begins, you make forecasts of how much your business will make in that year, and then break down the total estimated tax into smaller tax units that you will be paying every quarter. The breakdown is as follows 

Quarterly Payment Dates (QPD's) 

In the instance that you do not make as much as you had expected in a certain quarter, there is room to make adjustments and the same applies when you exceed projections. When one fails to submit their QPDs ZIMRA will estimate and charge them accordingly.

What are nil returns?

This is when a business has not made any income, probably because the business was not operating. The business therefore submits an ITF12B form with a taxable income of zero(nil).

The following steps will outline how to submit QPDs with nil returns.

Steps to submit your NIL RETURNS

The following steps are applicable if your business is not yet trading.

1. Get an ITF 12B form. You can download one here

2. Fill in the Quarter for which you are submitting returns. Is it the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th quarter? Also add the year as shown below.  

3. Enter your personal details

4. Write NIL on your estimated annual net profit or loss. Ignore the addition and deductions section

5. Enter your Taxable income as Nil

6. Enter your Quarterly Payment due as Nil as well

7. Enter your name, designation and signature.

 8. Submit your Forms and copies to the nearest ZIMRA office. In Bulawayo, this is at Mhlahlandlela government complex.

Congratulations. You have just submitted your nil returns. That wasn’t so bad after all, was it?