21 April 2026 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS), in line with its strategic objectives to provide clarity and certainty and make it easy for taxpayers to transact with the organisation, is assisting all employers and other third-party data providers to improve their data declarations. The submission period for these entities kicked off 1 April 2026 and runs to 31 May 2026.
Traditionally, SARS has focused on helping individual taxpayers during filing season. Now, SARS is also prioritising the submission period for employers and other third-part data providers. This period runs annually from 1 April to 31 May and requires employers and other mandated third-party data providers to submit remuneration and financial data related to individual taxpayers for the preceding tax year (1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026).
Third-party data providers that must submit third-party data include all employers; financial institutions; SARS-approved section-18A-approved entities; co-operatives; medical aid schemes; and trusts. A detailed list of third-party data providers who are mandated to submit is available here.
SARS relies on the data from employers and other third-party data providers to pre-populate and auto-assess the personal tax returns of individual taxpayers. SARS Auto Assessment allows individual taxpayers merely to confirm the details on their tax return before submitting. Pre-population of third-party data is the first step to SARS’s auto-assessment of roughly 6 million taxpayers every year.
The non-submission or submission of inaccurate third-party data harms taxpayers, in that they are excluded from Auto Assessment. When third-party data is submitted accurately and timeously, taxpayers can be auto-assessed, providing them with an easier filing experience. It is therefore critical that employers and third-party data providers submit the latest, accurate information on time.
SARS has noted that some employers and third-party data providers appear not to be fully aware of their reporting obligations and have not adapted to comply with the evolving regulatory requirements. Some employers and third-party data providers wait until too close to the deadline to submit the necessary information, which sometimes makes it difficult to resolve data discrepancies before the submission deadline.
During the 2025 tax-filing season for individuals, incomplete data accounted for the following verifications:
- 27 436 verifications were created due to missing or unmatched retirement contributions.
- 81 588 verifications created due to missing or unmatched employer IRP5 data.
- 16 819 verifications created due to missing or unmatched medical data.
For the 2026 season, SARS is aiming for behaviour change by making employers and third-party data providers “pre-filing ready” and letting them submit earlier than in previous years. Technical support sessions will be held where SARS subject matter experts will assist with submissions.
SARS urges third-party data providers to use SARS-approved channels:
- eFiling: Data can be submitted through an online submission form, with a limited volume of 20 certificates per submission for IT3(t) and 50 certificates per submission for IT3(d).
- ConnectDirect® accommodates an unlimited volume of data submissions.
- Secured File Gateway (HTTPS) accommodates files smaller than 10 MB.
- e@syFile™: Employers, tax practitioners, and payroll administrators may download a new and enhanced version of e@syFile™ Employer from the eFiling website at sarsefiling.co.za before submitting their declarations.
Third-party data providers must register for eFiling to activate these channels if not already registered.
Further guidance on the business requirement specifications (BRS) and user guides are available here.
Employers may refer to Annual Employer Declaration process.
For further information, please contact [email protected].
