The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has launched the 2026 tax filing season, auto-assessing more than 1.9 million taxpayers and paying out about R8 billion in refunds within the first 72 hours. Auto-assessments run until 12 July, with manual tax return submissions opening on 13 July. SARS has also introduced new digital services, stronger security measures and expanded AI support to simplify filing while warning taxpayers to remain alert to tax scams.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has officially launched the 2026 tax filing season, with millions of taxpayers already receiving auto-assessments and billions of rand in refunds already paid out.
The tax season officially kicked off on July 1 with the start of the auto-assessment period, which runs until July 12. During this time, eligible taxpayers will receive their tax assessments automatically, while those who are not selected will be able to submit their income tax returns from July 13.
The revenue service has already auto-assessed more than 1.9 million taxpayers, paying out about R8 billion in refunds within the first 72 hours of the filing season.
SARS expects to auto-assess more than six million taxpayers this year as it continues to expand its use of digital services and automated tax administration.
