Millions of South Africans are checking their SARS tax assessments as the 2026 filing season continues,
With the South African Revenue Service (SARS) auto-assessment period drawing to a close, taxpayers are being urged not to rush through their tax returns or assume that the information pre-populated by the tax authority is always complete.
Auto-assessments have made filing quicker for millions of South Africans, but failing to review the information carefully could result in delayed refunds, penalties, additional tax liabilities or SARS verification.
For taxpayers who receive an auto-assessment, the first and arguably biggest mistake is accepting it without checking whether all the information is correct.
Although SARS receives data directly from employers, banks, medical schemes and other third parties, there may still be missing or incorrect information.
