Filing season 2026
SARS tax deadlines 2026
Every date SARS expects something from you this season, for the tax year 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026, and what it costs to miss each one. Each row links to the SARS page it was checked against.
Individuals and trusts
Filing season is when you submit your personal return, the ITR12, for the tax year that ended on 28 February. SARS opens it in July and the closing date depends on whether you are a provisional taxpayer.
| Who | Deadline | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-assessment notices | 1 to 12 July 2026 | Nothing to miss. If you agree with the notice you are done. If you do not, file a return by your deadline below. Source |
| Individuals who are not provisional taxpayers Estimate your refund | 13 July to 23 October 2026 | A fixed administrative penalty of R250 to R16,000 for every month the return stays outstanding, up to 35 months, set by your taxable income. Source |
| Individuals who are provisional taxpayers Estimate your refund | 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027 | A fixed administrative penalty of R250 to R16,000 for every month the return stays outstanding, up to 35 months, set by your taxable income. Source |
| Trusts (ITR12T) | 19 September 2026 to 22 January 2027 | A fixed administrative penalty of R250 to R16,000 for every month the return stays outstanding, up to 35 months, set by your taxable income. Source |
Auto-assessment: what the notice means
From 1 to 12 July 2026 SARS assesses a large share of salaried taxpayers without a return. It takes the IRP5 from your employer, the interest certificates from your bank, the contribution certificate from your medical scheme and your retirement fund, works out the tax, and sends the result by SMS or email. A refund of R100 or more is paid to the bank account SARS has on file, usually within 72 hours.
If the figures are right, you are done. Nothing to file. The notice is only wrong when SARS could not see something: medical bills the scheme did not cover, business kilometres from a logbook, a home office, rental income, or freelance work on the side. Your IRP5, medical scheme certificate, retirement fund and RA contributions and bank interest are already in it. In that case SARS’s advice is to file the return as normal: open the pre-filled ITR12 on eFiling, add what is missing and submit. The deadline is the one in the table for your taxpayer type, not the notice window. The refund calculator shows whether adding those items changes the answer enough to be worth the effort.
Not everyone gets a notice. If you were not auto-assessed and you earn anything beyond one salary, file by 23 October 2026.
Provisional tax (IRP6)
You are a provisional taxpayer if you earn income that has no PAYE on it: rent, freelance work, a director’s fee from your own company, or interest above the exemption. Provisional tax is paid twice a year in advance, on an estimate, and the annual return settles the difference. These dates are for a February year end, which is every individual and most companies.
| Who | Deadline | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| First IRP6 (half the year’s estimated tax) Work out the payment | 31 August, six months into the tax year | A 10% penalty on the late amount, plus interest at the prescribed rate until it is paid. Source |
| Second IRP6 (the balance) Work out the payment | Last business day of February, the end of the tax year | The same 10% and interest, and a 20% underestimation penalty if the estimate comes in too low. Source |
| Third IRP6 top-up (optional) | 30 September, seven months after year end | No penalty. It is voluntary. Paying it stops interest running on any shortfall from the second payment. Source |
Companies
A company files an ITR14 once a year and two IRP6 returns during the year, dormant or not. A company with a year end other than February counts its dates from its own year end.
| Who | Deadline | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Company income tax return (ITR14) File your company tax return | 12 months after the financial year end | A fixed administrative penalty of R250 to R16,000 for every month the return stays outstanding, up to 35 months, set by your taxable income. Source |
| Company IRP6 payments File your IRP6 with Govchain | Six months into the financial year, at year end, and a top-up six months after | A 10% penalty on a late payment, plus interest, and 20% on an underestimate at the second period. Source |
Employer and VAT returns
These do not move with filing season. Once you are registered for PAYE or VAT the returns fall due whether or not anything happened in the period.
| Who | Deadline | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| EMP201 (PAYE, UIF and SDL) Run payroll with Govchain | 7th of the following month, or the business day before | A 10% penalty on the PAYE paid late, plus interest. A month with no employees still needs a nil return. Source |
| VAT201 File VAT returns with Govchain | Last business day of the month after the tax period on eFiling. The 25th if you file on paper or pay outside eFiling | A 10% penalty on the VAT paid late, plus interest. Source |
| EMP501 interim reconciliation | 21 September to 31 October 2026 | A penalty of 1% of the year’s PAYE, rising by 1% a month to 10%. Source |
| EMP501 annual reconciliation | 1 April to 31 May 2027 | The same 1% a month, to a maximum of 10% of the year’s PAYE. Source |
What a missed deadline costs
For income tax returns the cost is the administrative penalty: a fixed amount, from R250 to R16,000, charged again every month the return stays outstanding, for up to 35 months. The amount is set by your taxable income in the last assessed year, and SARS raises it on companies and trusts as well as individuals. A dormant company that has never filed can sit on the lowest rung for years and still owe more than the return would have cost. The admin penalty calculator puts a number on it for your case.
For payments the cost is a percentage. Late PAYE, VAT and provisional tax carry a 10% penalty on the amount paid late, and interest runs at the prescribed rate from the due date until the money arrives. You can ask SARS to remit a penalty, and the request needs a reason.
Behind on a company return?
Govchain prepares and files the ITR14 and both IRP6 returns for your Pty Ltd, current year or the years you missed, and tells you what SARS says when it is assessed.
More free tools
- Tax refund calculatorEstimate your SARS refund or amount owed from your IRP5, RA and medical costs.
- Provisional tax calculatorEach IRP6 payment for the year, with the SARS due dates and the underestimation rule.
- Company tax calculatorThe tax on your profit at 27%, on the SBC scale or as turnover tax.
- PAYE calculatorYour monthly take-home pay after PAYE and UIF, with pension, bonus and medical aid.
Dates checked on 21 September 2026 against SARS Filing Season, SARS guide to provisional tax, SARS provisional tax, SARS: when must the ITR14 be submitted, SARS EMP201, SARS VAT201 guide and SARS PAYE. SARS announces the next season’s dates around June each year and this page is updated when it does. Latest changes are on our SARS notices page.