South Africa's tax filing season is now fully underway after the South African Revenue Service (SARS) concluded its auto-assessment period. Non-provisional taxpayers have until 23 October 2026 to submit their tax returns, while provisional taxpayers have until 22 January 2027. SARS has urged taxpayers to file early, remain alert to scams and ensure they retain control of their eFiling profiles.
The South African Revenue Service's (SARS) auto-assessment period has come to an end, with the revenue service now allowing provisional and non-provisional taxpayers to submit their income tax returns.
The auto-assessment period, which ran from July 1 to July 12 2026, allowed taxpayers with simpler tax affairs to review assessments prepared by SARS using information received from employers, banks, medical schemes, retirement funds and other third-party data providers.
From July 13 2026, the filing season entered its next phase, allowing non-provisional and provisional taxpayers to submit returns. Non-provisional taxpayers have until October 23 2026 to file, while provisional taxpayers have until January 22 2027.
When the revenue service opened this phase of filing earlier this week, it warned taxpayers of possible intermittent connectivity issues affecting its digital platforms, including eFiling and the SARS MobiApp, due to increased traffic as more taxpayers began submitting their returns.
