The South African Revenue Service (SARS) tax deadline for most salaried South Africans is just days away.
If you were auto-assessed and happy with the result, you can relax.
But if you weren’t, or if your assessment was wrong, time is running out.
Here’s who still needs to file: non-provisional taxpayers who weren’t auto-assessed, and anyone whose auto-assessment was incorrect or incomplete.
The deadline for both groups is Friday, 23 October 2026.
WHO IS A NON-PROVISIONAL TAXPAYER?
Non-provisional taxpayers are people who earn a regular salary or wage from an employer, who deducts pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) income tax throughout the year.
SARS says these taxpayers usually have simple tax affairs, with no additional sources of income.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH AUTO-ASSESSMENTS?
The 2026 filing season opened with an auto-assessment period from 1 to 12 July.
According to SAnews, SARS expected to issue around six million auto-assessments during that period.
These went to taxpayers whose tax information had already been provided by their employers and other third parties.
IF YOU WERE AUTO-ASSESSED
If you received an auto-assessment and agree with it, you don’t need to do anything.
But check it carefully first. Your auto-assessment may be wrong if:
- SARS didn’t receive all your tax certificates.
- You earned extra income that doesn’t appear on it.
- It doesn’t include deductions you qualify for, such as retirement annuity contributions or medical expenses.
If it’s wrong, correct it and submit an updated return on eFiling or the SARS MobiApp before 23 October.
If you ignore an incorrect auto-assessment, it becomes your final assessment. After the deadline, fixing it means going through the formal objection process instead.
WHAT ABOUT OTHER TAXPAYERS?
Not everyone has the same deadline:
- Non-provisional taxpayers: 13 July to 23 October 2026.
- Provisional taxpayers: 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027.
- Trusts: 19 September 2026 to 22 January 2027.
You can check the full details on SARS’s filing season page.
WHAT IF YOU MISS THE SARS TAX DEADLINE?
If you’re required to file and miss the deadline, SARS may charge administrative penalties.
That’s why it’s best not to leave it until the last day.
BEWARE OF SARS SCAMS
Tax season is also scam season.
SARS has warned the public about a scam circulating via SMS and email, claiming that recipients are owed a refund and directing them to a fraudulent website to claim it.
Some fake emails appear to come from addresses such as returns@sars.co.za or refunds@sars.co.za.
SARS’s real email addresses end in sars.gov.za.
But don’t rely on the email address alone.
Scammers can also fake, or “spoof”, real SARS addresses to make their messages look genuine.
SARS says it will never ask for your:
- passwords,
- one-time PINs (OTPs),
- banking PINs,
- or eFiling login details,
through email, SMS, social media or telephone.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
- Don’t click on links in unexpected emails or SMSes claiming to be from SARS.
- Log in to eFiling or the SARS MobiApp yourself to check your tax status, rather than following a link.
- Report suspicious messages to SARS’s IT security team at phishing@sars.gov.za.
- Check SARS’s scams and phishing webpage for examples of the latest scams.
HAVE YOU FILED YOUR TAX RETURN YET?
Let us know in the comments below…