Tax Season 2026: Who Must File, By When, and What Taxpayers Get Wrong

Tax season is open, and for many South Africans it is the one time of year when a missed date costs real money. SARS has already issued automatic assessments to a large number of taxpayers, which creates a false sense of security: an assessment is not the same thing as a correctly filed return, and accepting one without checking it can mean paying more tax than you owe.

The dates that matter

SARS opened the 2026 filing season for individual taxpayers on 13 July 2026, and non-provisional taxpayers have until 23 October 2026 to submit their ITR12 returns. Provisional taxpayers and trusts have more room: their returns are due by 22 January 2027.

Those two dates are the ones most commonly confused. If you earn only a salary, your deadline is October. If you earn income from more than one source and SARS has registered you as a provisional taxpayer, you fall into the January group, and you also carry the responsibility of two provisional tax payments during the year.

Automatic assessments: check before you accept

SARS now pre-populates returns using data from employers, banks, medical schemes and retirement funds. Where the data matches what SARS holds, an assessment is issued without you filing anything.

The problem is that the third-party data is not always complete. Rental income, freelance work, capital gains, foreign income and additional medical expenses frequently do not appear. If you simply accept an assessment that omits income, you carry the risk of an understatement penalty later. If you believe the assessment is wrong, you must file your own return by the October deadline rather than let the assessment stand.

Provisional taxpayers and the 80/20 problem

Provisional taxpayers are judged on how accurately they estimate their own income. If your estimates come in too low, SARS can impose a penalty of up to 20 per cent of the shortfall. If they come in too high, you are simply lending government money interest-free.

The practical answer is to review your estimate in the second half of the year, not in February when the payment is due. For provisional taxpayers with a February year end, the first payment for the year fell due on 31 August 2026, and the second follows by the end of February 2027.

What small businesses keep getting wrong

Three mistakes come up again and again with our business clients.

First, treating the company and the owner as one pocket. A company is a separate taxpayer with its own return, its own rate and its own compliance obligations. Money taken out by a director has tax consequences that need planning, not guesswork.

Second, thin record keeping. SARS expects supporting documents to be kept for five years. When an audit letter arrives, and it can arrive years later, a WhatsApp folder of slips is not a record. Suppliers’ invoices, bank statements and a proper expense summary are.

Third, ignoring the small business concessions that do exist. Small business corporations get favourable graduated rates and accelerated deductions on assets. Turnover tax is available to very small businesses as a simplified alternative. These are not loopholes, they are provisions in the law, and many owners never ask whether they qualify.

Property owners are not exempt

If you sold property during the year, the gain is generally subject to capital gains tax and must be declared. The primary residence exclusion shields gains of up to R2 million on your main home, which covers most homeowners, but the exclusion has conditions and does not apply to a second property or to a property used partly for business.

Interest earned on a bond account, rental income, and the tax treatment of a property held in a trust or company all change the picture. Property transactions bring tax questions that only surface after the transfer is registered, when it is harder to plan.

Practical steps

• Check your eFiling profile to see whether SARS has classified you as a provisional taxpayer
• If you received an automatic assessment, compare it against your own records before accepting it
• Ensure every income source for the year is reflected, including rental and freelance income
• Keep supporting documents for five years, in one place
• If you sold property, raised capital, or run a business, get advice before you file, not after

How We Can Help

We assist individual and business clients with income tax compliance, provisional tax planning, disputes with SARS, and the tax consequences of property and commercial transactions. If you are unsure whether an automatic assessment is correct, or what your business is entitled to claim, speak to us before the deadline passes.