2026 tax season in South Africa: When’s the NEXT deadline?

The minutia of the 2026 tax season in South Africa quietly shapes the year for the country’s dutiful taxpayers. The filing period in question covers income earned between 1 March 2025 and 28 February 2026.

As is customary, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) kicked things off the 2026 tax season in South Africa with auto-assessment notices. These were issued on 1 July 2026, to taxpayers whose financial information SARS could quickly process.

SARS has been raking in the cash so far this 2025/26 financial year (ending 31 March 2026). It has already collected a record R2 trillion in net revenue. That’s R155 billion (8.4%) more than the previous year. And some R24.7-billion above the revised Budget 2025 estimate …

2026 TAX SEASON IN SOUTH AFRICA

As The South African has covered extensively, if you agreed with your auto-assessment, there was nothing more to do. However, if you didn’t, you still needed to file a corrected return. Accordingly, manual filing season opened on 13 July 2026. This applies to both non-provisional individuals and provisional taxpayers.

At the time of publishing, we’re now two months into the 2026 tax season in South Africa. The vast majority of taxpayers have already submitted their returns via SARS eFiling, the MobiApp, or in-person at a branch. And soon the window will enter its next phase. Trust filing opens later this week, on 19 September 2026.

WHAT’S STILL TO COME FOR FILING SEASON?

There are a few more important tax deadlines landing before October though:

• 25 September 2026: VAT201 return and payment due for the July/August VAT period.
• 30 September 2026: Optional third “top-up” provisional tax payment for the 2026 year of assessment.

Then the two dates that matter most:

• 23 October 2026: Deadline for non-provisional individual taxpayers, salaried employees who aren’t registered for provisional tax, to submit their ITR12.
• 22 January 2027: Deadline for provisional taxpayers and trusts to file.

WHAT IF YOU MISS 2026 TAX SEASON IN SOUTH AFRICA?

Should you miss the 23 October deadline without a valid extension, SARS can levy administrative penalties against you. These run anywhere from R250 to R16 000 a month, for up to 35 months. It adds up fast, so it’s not a deadline worth flirting with. Conversely, on the back of its best collection year on record, SARS has already reported returning billions back in refunds to timely filers.

But what do you think? Have you completed your duties for the 2026 tax season in South Africa? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …