Taxpayers who meet their tax obligations play an important role in helping our country to grow and develop.

Here you will find information to help you meet your tax obligations, including information on how to:

• Everything you need to know about Filing Season and Auto-Assessments
• Register as a taxpayer
• Register for eFiling
• Submit a tax return
• What is my Personal Income Tax Return submission status
• Make a payment to SARS
• Raise a service issue
• Report a suspicious activity
• Find out about Advance Tax Directives
• Understand PAYE
• Visit our Tax Calendar
• Find out about Audit
• Understand Admin Penalty
• Raise Objections
• Make an Appeal
• Owing SARS money
• Raise a Debt Query

Large and small businesses have a vital role to play as taxpayers but also as employers.

To find out more about your tax obligations as a business and as an employer, click on the following links:

• Corporate Income Tax (including Capital Gains Tax)
• VAT
• PAYE, Unemployment Insurance Fund and Skills Development Levy
• Dividends tax
• Securities Transfer Tax
• Customs and Excise
• Mineral, Petroleum and Resource Royalty
• Donations Tax
• Turnover Tax
• Transfer Duty

• IsiZulu
• Sesotho
• Afrikaans
• Sepedi
• Xitsonga

SARS places great value on a healthy professional relationship with Tax Practitioners who are key in providing a service to our clients the taxpayers.

23 September 2026 – Latest Tax Practitioner Connect newsletter is now available

This edition highlights key dates and requirements for taxpayers, employers, trusts, and third-party data providers, including Trust Filing Season, bi-annual Third-Party Data submissions, Employer Interim Reconciliation, and the Individual Filing Season deadline. It also covers extended Saturday opening hours at selected SARS service centres. Find guidance on the Voluntary Disclosure Programme, Tax Compliance Status, and international transfers, as well as a new secure option to update contact details on eFiling without logging in. Stakeholders are invited to comment on VAT Modernisation by 16 October 2026. We encourage readers to note the key updates and take the necessary action within the prescribed timeframes.

18 August 2026 – Voice-service channels callback function for Tax Practitioners

As SARS, we are committed to improving our service channels, particularly through technological enhancements.

Over the past few months, we have engaged with stakeholders across various Recognised Controlling Body (RCB) platforms and have carefully considered concerns raised regarding the callback functionality on our voice-service channels. These concerns included instances of dropped callbacks and practitioners not receiving callbacks as expected.

To improve the callback facility, SARS introduced a limit of five (5) active callbacks per tax practitioner at any given time.

Under this proposed change:

• Each tax practitioner can have a maximum of five active callback requests simultaneously.
• Once a callback has been successfully completed, the practitioner may submit a new callback request, subject to the maximum limit of five active callbacks.
• The system will automatically retain the first five callback requests registered.
• Any additional callback requests submitted while five active callbacks already exist will be automatically cancelled.
• This change will expand callback availability, reduce duplicate requests, and improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of our service offering.

SARS appreciates your support and cooperation as we work to improve your service experience.

SARS places great value on a healthy professional relationship with Tax Practitioners who are key in providing a service to our clients the taxpayers.

SARS is therefore committed to:

• Engaging with practitioners continuously and constructively
• Providing access and channels to practitioners
• Specific Service offerings to registered practitioners
• Providing specific communications for Practitioners

SARS’s Customs division plays an integral role in facilitating the movement of goods and people entering or exiting the borders of the Republic.

The Excise division facilitates the levying of duties on certain locally manufactured goods as well as on their imported equivalents.

• Corporate Income Tax (including Capital Gains Tax)
• VAT
• PAYE, Unemployment Insurance Fund and Skills Development Levy
• Dividends tax
• Securities Transfer Tax
• Customs and Excise
• Mineral, Petroleum and Resource Royalty
• Donations Tax
• Turnover Tax
• Transfer Duty

Welcome to Legal Counsel

Legal Counsel’s main purpose is to lead the realisation of SARS’s strategic goals through –

• advice on development of new tax legislation, and on the maintenance of the existing tax legislation
• negotiations on an international level to improve South Africa’s international treaty network
• facilitation and provision of direction on the uniform application and interpretation of all tax legislation administered by SARS
• providing a dispute resolution process for tax, customs and excise disputes, as well as litigation on all tax and customs matters
• providing legal support to officials on regional level
• providing corporate legal service to SARS

Legal Counsel undertakes to –

• make Tariff Amendments available around 15:00 on the Thursday preceding the publication of the Government Notice in the Gazette
• continuously update this area with documents depicting the latest developments
• circulate draft documents for public comment for a minimum of one week
• continuously improve the quality of this area to serve as a proper database for our clients

We offer various digital and physical channels:

• Check My Auto Assessment Status
• Send us an SMS
• Send us a WhatsApp
• Via USSD
• Email us
• Ask our AI Assistant
• Send an Online Query
• Call us
• Make a Virtual Appointment
• Visit a Branch
• Find our Head office
• Find a Customs Contact and Office
• Find an Excise Contact and Office
• Send us a Compliment
• Lodge a Complaint
• Report a Tax Crime

Tax rates are proposed by the Minister of Finance in the annual Budget Speech and fixed or passed by Parliament each year.

The Budget tax guide 2026 will be published on 25 February 2026 when the Minister of Finance delivers his budget speech – keep an eye on the Budget webpage.

To see tax rates from 2014/5, see the Archive – Tax Rates webpage.

In this section you will find the tax rates for the past few years for:

• Income Tax
• Employers
• Transfer Duty
• TurnoveR Tax
• Other Tax
• VAT
• Donations Tax
• Estate Dudy
• Foreign Entertainers and Sportspersons
• Securities Transfer Tax (STT)
• Skill Development Levy
• Unemployment Insurance Contributions
• Tax on Internations Air Travel

The tax years are:

• 2027 tax year is 1 March 2026 – 28 February 2027
• 2026 tax year is 1 March 2025 – 28 February 2026
• 2025 tax year is 1 March 2024 – 28 February 2025
• 2024 tax year is 1 March 2023 – 29 February 2024
• 2023 tax year is 1 March 2022 – 28 February 2023
• 2022 tax year is 1 March 2021 – 28 February 2022
• 2021 tax year is 1 March 2020 – 28 February 2021
• 2020 tax year is 1 March 2019 – 29 February 2020
• 2019 tax year is 1 March 2018 – 28 February 2019
• 2018 tax year is 1 March 2017 – 28 February 2018
• 2017 tax year is 1 March 2016 – 28 February 2017
• 2015 tax year is 1 March 2014 – 28 February 2015
• 2014 tax year is 1 March 2013 – 28 February 2014

Information is recorded from current tax year to oldest, e.g. 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, etc.

To see tax rates from 2014/5, see the Archive – Tax Rates webpage. For more information on tax rates, see the Budget webpage.

The Large Business & International Segment (LB&I) offers specialised services for specific industries: Financial Services; Mining; Manufacturing; Construction; General Sector; Telecommunications; Primary (including State-Owned Entities); and Retail. These individuals are supported by Operations Managers, Consultants, and Service Agents. LB&I also employs an expert debt and accounts-management team, which resolves queries and attends to all compliance and service needs. The Sector Area Lead is responsible for the end-to-end functions in each sector. The Sector Area Lead reports to the Business Area Head of LB&I Operations, under the Director of LB&I. Each sector has dedicated taxpayer Relationship Managers who are the taxpayer’s main point of contact. By contrast, Sector Leads are responsible and accountable for the sector’s operations and are the taxpayer’s second point of contact for escalated matters.

For each of these sectors, LB&I has a dedicated multi-disciplinary team consisting of a Sector Lead and Relationship Manager.

• Groups or companies with turnover exceeding R1 billion
• Groups or companies listed on a stock exchange
• Multinational enterprises (including e-commerce or foreign electronic service providers)
• Financial-services groups or companies with turnover exceeding R500 million
• Mining groups/companies with turnover exceeding R500 million

The Relationship Manager helps taxpayers to comply with their statutory obligations easily and promptly. LB&I Relationship Managers:

• Obtain a deep understanding of the taxpayer’s business, economic drivers, and the risk factors affecting compliance
• Keep taxpayers abreast of any system/process developments and their effects
• Plan the logistics of all interactions with taxpayers
• Educate taxpayers about SARS’s modernisation programmes
• Facilitate training on eFiling/e@syFile and other SARS systems
• Give taxpayers and traders timely and accessible guidance on their tax and customs obligations
• Resolve all taxpayer service queries

18 September 2026 – Trust Filing Season opens on 19 September 2026

Trustees and representative taxpayers should ensure that the trust is registered for income tax; the trust registered details are correct; and all financial records and supporting documents are ready before completing the Income Tax Returns for Trusts (ITR12T). Trustees remain accountable for the trust’s tax compliance, even when assisted by a tax practitioner. Prepare early, verify all information, and submit an accurate ITR12T through SARS eFiling by 22 January 2027.

Key dates for Trust tax matters:

• 31 August 2026: first provisional tax payment for the 2027 assessment year
• 19 September 2026: opening date for ITR12T submissions
• 30 September 2026: deadline for IT3(t) return submissions
• 22 January 2027: final deadline for provisional and non-provisional trust tax return (ITR12T) submissions
• 28 February 2027: second provisional tax payment for the 2027 assessment year

A trust must register with SARS for the taxes that it may be liable for. To register a trust with SARS, you may:

• Register the trust via the SARS Online Query System (SOQS)
• Or visit a Branch – remember to make an appointment first

The Income Tax Return for trusts is called the ITR12T. The form is available on eFiling or may be obtained at a SARS branch and captured by a SARS official on behalf of the representative taxpayer or Tax Practitioner of the trust.

How to submit the ITR12T:

• eFiling: Taxpayers who have not yet registered for eFiling are encouraged to do so as this enables them to complete and submit the return online in a secure environment.
• SARS branch: If you are representing a trust with ten or fewer beneficiaries you may have the ITR12T captured by an agent at the branch. Any trust that distributed or vested amounts to more than 10 beneficiaries during the year of assessment must register and submit the ITR12T via eFiling.

Top Tip: Asking for the ITR12T to be posted to you is no longer an option and trust returns received via post will be rejected.

An estate can arise due to various circumstances. In the context of natural persons, it consists of a deceased estate and/or an insolvent estate as a result of sequestration. In the context of a company or close corporation that is declared insolvent, liquidation takes place.

When a natural person (taxpayer) dies, that person is called a ‘deceased person’ and all his or her assets on the date of death will be placed in an estate. This estate is called an estate of a deceased person (commonly known as a ‘deceased estate’). Assets in a deceased estate can amongst other things include immovable property and movable property, cash in the bank, etc.

The person who administers a deceased estate is called an ‘Executor’. Once the Executor has finalised all the administration in the deceased estate, the remaining assets (after paying all the debts) will be distributed to the beneficiaries.

Upon the death of an individual taxpayer, there are two types of assessments that must be considered: a pre-date of death assessment and a post-date of death assessment. The post-date of death assessment is for income earned and deductions applicable to the deceased estate after date of death (for example rental and/or interest income earned by the deceased estate).

Individuals that are declared insolvent are sequestrated and dealt with under the provisions of the Insolvency Act, 24 of 1936. The effect of sequestration is that the insolvent person is divested of his or her estate which is vested in the Master until a trustee has been appointed, and, upon the appointment of a trustee, the estate vests in the trustee.

An insolvent estate is a “person” for income tax purposes and must register as a separate entity for income tax. It is taxed at the same rates applicable to natural persons, but does not qualify for the primary rebate or the interest exemption.

A deceased estate can also become insolvent and is dealt with under section 34 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1965.

At present, the return that must be completed for deceased or insolvent estates is the same as the income tax return used for individuals (ITR12). This means that there are certain sections on the return that are not applicable to a deceased or insolvent estate.

This is applicable to executors representing individuals who have passed away on or after 1 March 2016, and appointed trustees/administrators where an individual becomes insolvent and income accrued or business was conducted from the date of sequestration.

SARS is committed to working with Government Institutions to ensure high levels of voluntary compliance. We believe in building effective and beneficial partnerships with Government by collaboration, monitoring compliance and resolving Government’s tax affairs. Our priority is to understand and enable Government as both a taxpayer and as a strategic partner in the tax compliance value chain.

SARS is therefore committed to:

• Provide CLARITY and CERTAINTY for taxpayers and traders of their obligations
• Make it EASY for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations
• DETECT taxpayers and traders who do not comply and make non-compliance HARD and COSTLY
• Work with and through Stakeholders to improve the tax ecosystem

• National Government Departments – institutions responsible for maintaining internal and external security and stability of the country.
• Provincial Government Departments – sub-divisions of government which share political, fiscal and economic powers with the national government.
• Local Government Institutions – local government departments responsible for a range of vital services for people and businesses in demarcated areas. Municipalities fall within Local Government.

There are 278 municipalities in South Africa, comprising of 8 metropolitans, 44 districts and 226 local municipalities. Categories:

• Category A: Metropolitan municipality
• Category B: Local Municipality
• Category C: District Municipality

The definition of a Government Institution includes:

• National Government Departments per Schedule 1 of the Public Service Act
• Provincial Government Departments per Schedule 2 of the Public Service Act
• National Parliament and Provincial Legislatures
• Local Government: Municipalities and Municipal Entities
• Public Entities as listed in the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA)
• Public FET Colleges, Universities, Public Hospitals, Public Schools, Public Museums and Public Pension Funds

The accounting officer (Municipal Manager, Director General or Superintendent General) is the representative taxpayer for a Government Institution and must ensure that registered particulars are up to date, returns are filed and paid on time, and the correct tax is being paid.

This page is dedicated to Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) Taxpayers. SMMEs are vital to South Africa’s economy – they account for approximately 34% of GDP and employ about 60% of the workforce.

The SMME Taxpayers Division in SARS represents the needs and interests of this sub-segment and supports entrepreneurs to meet their tax obligations easily.

Turnover Tax aims at reducing and simplifying tax compliance for small businesses. Qualifying businesses with annual turnover of up to R2.3 million may register. The first R600 000 of turnover is tax free. Rates are capped at 3%.

Turnover Tax replaces Income Tax, Provisional Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Dividends Tax with one simple return for qualifying micro businesses.

• Small Business Corporations (SBC) – reduced progressive income tax rates for qualifying companies with turnover up to R20 million.
• VAT Registration Threshold – raised to R2.3 million, so fewer small businesses need to register for VAT.
• Capital Gains Tax exemption on disposal of a small business – increased to R2.7 million for qualifying disposals.
• Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) – encourages the employment of young people.

As part of the introduction of the Income Tax Exempt Institutions online application, SARS provides a brief description of each of the Exemption Types and a checklist to assist applicants with the requirements to apply for Income Tax Exemption.

SARS has introduced an online application system for Income Tax Exempt Institutions on eFiling and at all SARS branch offices. Existing exempt institutions can maintain registered particulars, apply for additional exemption status (such as Section 18A), or request withdrawal of an existing exemption.

Nature of Entity Types that CAN apply for exemption include:

• Association of Persons (Voluntary Association) – PBO Section 10(1)(cN), Recreational Club Section 10(1)(cO), Small Business Funding Entity Section 10(1)(cQ), Professional Body
• Institution, Board or Body established by law – Section 10(1)(cA)(i)
• Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs)
• Certain Public Institutions (Public Schools, Universities, Public Hospitals, Museums, etc.)

Entities that cannot apply for exemption include: Sole Proprietors, Partnerships, Closed Corporations, Personal Liability Companies, and ordinary companies that are not PBOs.

Before applying, entities must:

• Appoint a Registered Representative
• Register for Income Tax (if the entity does not yet have an Income Tax number)
• Register for eFiling
• Ensure all supporting documents are complete
• Have bank account details in the name of the applying entity

Applications can be submitted via eFiling or at any SARS branch office. SARS has developed simplified application checklists to help entities prepare the required supporting documents.

In this section of the website we look at each tax.

We hope to keep it simple and to answer these five main questions for each and every tax.

On each tax page we included the latest documents and forms for each tax. If you can’t find any document you’re looking for try our FIND A PUBLICATION system. If that form still eludes you then why not try our FIND A FORM system. And on each page we have added a few FAQs. And guess what if you can’t find that answer we also have a FIND AN FAQ section.