What’s New at SARS

28 June 2025 – The following Guides were updated for the 2025 Filing Season. It includes the information and enhancements listed below:

• GEN-PT-01-G01 – Guide for Provisional Tax – External Guide
• GEN-PT-01-G02 – How to eFile your Provisional Tax Return – External Guide
• GEN-GEN-56-G01 – Submit Request for Reduced Assessment RRA01 via eFiling – External Guide
• IT-AE-33-G01 – Tax directive Cease to be resident and Expiry of visas – External Guide
• IT-AE-36-G05 – Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 Income Tax Return for Individuals – External Guide
• IT-AE-41-G02 – Guide to Complete the Lump sum Tax Directive Application Forms – External Guide
• IT-GEN-06-G01 – Guide to the Individual ITR12 Return for Deceased and Insolvent Estates – External Guide
• IT-AE-36-G06 – Guide to submit your individual income tax return via eFiling – External Guide
• IT-AE-46-G01 – How to submit your Individual Income Tax return via the SARS MobiApp – External Guide
• IT-AE-49-G01 – Services offered via the SARS MobiApp – External Guide
• GEN-ELEC-18-G01 – How to Register for eFiling and Manage Your User Profile – External Guide
• GEN-REG-01-G04 – How to Complete the Registration Amendments and Verification Form (RAV01) – External Guide

Filing Deadlines

The Personal Income Tax phase of Filing Season 2025 begins with the issuing of Auto Assessments from 7 July to 20 July 2025.

• Taxpayers who do not agree with their Auto Assessments can file a tax return immediately.

• All other taxpayers who are required to file a tax return may do so from 21 July 2025 until 20 October 2025.

The deadline for non-provisional taxpayers (including auto-assessed taxpayers who wish to file a return) is 20 October 2025. Provisional taxpayers and Trusts must file by 19 January 2026.

Key Enhancements for Filing Season 2025

The sections below summarise the enhancements and additions implemented for this year:

AUTO ASSESSMENT

The Auto Assessment population now includes eligible provisional taxpayers whose tax matters are not complicated and who would have been part of the normal Auto Assessment population had it not been for their provisional tax status.

Taxpayers who are not required to file a tax return but who made a savings withdrawal benefit (“two-pot” withdrawal) from a retirement fund will be included in the Auto Assessment population. This is to ensure that the correct amount of tax is paid on the two-pot withdrawal.

SECTION 6QUAT: REBATE OR DEDUCTION IN RESPECT OF FOREIGN TAXES ON INCOME

Section 6quat of the Act has been amended to allow taxpayers to use the full foreign tax credit for the taxes paid on capital gains in foreign jurisdictions. Previously, only the portion of the foreign tax credit attributable to the taxable portion of the capital gain was permitted. For individuals and Trusts, this amendment is effective from the 2026 year of assessment. The foreign tax credit applies to various types of foreign income, including wages, dividends, interest, and royalties. If the foreign tax paid exceeds the limitation amount, the excess is carried forward to the following tax year.

SECTION 11(nA) and 11(nB)

Previously, the ITR12 tax return combined sections 11(nA) and 11(nB) into one line item under the “Other Deduction/Exemption” container. However, with the new legislative changes, these lines have been separated.

S12H-LEARNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The date for this incentive has been extended from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027.

RST01 ASSESSMENT VALIDATION

The form will accept the source codes (3603 and 3610) with the combination of a directive number.

FOREIGN INTEREST AND FOREIGN TAX CREDITS ON FOREIGN INTEREST CONTAINER

A field titled “Allowable interest expenses incurred in the production of interest received” was introduced within the “Foreign Interest and Foreign Tax Credits on Foreign Interest” container for the taxpayer to capture foreign interest incurred. The interest that may be deducted is limited to the interest received by or accrued to the taxpayer.​

BACKDATED (ANTEDATED) SALARIES AND PENSIONS

A new source code 3623 with the description of “Backdated (Antedated) Salaries and/or Pensions” has been introduced.

SECTION 13SEX INCENTIVE

This section allows taxpayers to deduct a portion of the cost of newly constructed or improved residential units that are rented out, thereby encouraging investment in residential rental properties.

SECTION 10(1)(i)​

New return fields for “Interest earned date from” and “Interest earned date to” have been added to allow a deceased estate executor to declare any local interest earned.

• These fields will not display in the return for the year of assessment that the taxpayer became deceased, but in the following year of assessment’s tax return.
• Effective from 2024 year of assessment.

MARRIED IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY FOR INVESTMENT DECLARED WITHIN TRUST CONTAINER

A communal estate indicator has been added to the Trust Income section of the ITR12.

SECTION 9H CHANGE OF RESIDENCE TAX ASSESSMENT RESULTS

A taxpayer may cease residency during the year of assessment. When taxpayers complete the return, the date that the taxpayer ceased to be resident as approved through the RAV01 process will prepopulate on the return.

Enhancements:

• The ITR12 and IRP6 form will enable a taxpayer who ceased to be resident during the year of assessment to indicate the income received or accrued and the deductible expenses incurred during the year of assessment.​
• The ITR12 return will display separate sections for residents and non-residents. The return will show if a taxpayer ceased to be a resident. The taxpayer can customise the return according to the RSA-sourced income received. The system will programmatically finalise the return and not route it to manual intervention.

Notice of non-resident status letter enhancement:

• The “Notice of non-resident status” letter will be updated. The status will show if the taxpayer ceased to be ordinarily resident, ceased to qualify under the physical presence test, or ceased to be resident owing to the application of a Double Tax Agreement.​

REQUEST FOR REDUCED ASSESSMENT RRA01

If there is a rejection for Section 93(1)(d) due to prescription, the taxpayer will be allowed to request for Section 93(1)(e) by editing and resubmitting the form. The system will reject requests for reduced assessment if the latest assessment is an estimated assessment and not original assessment (the taxpayer is expected to submit the original return).

REQUEST FOR REDUCED ASSESSMENT (RRA) CASE INVENTORY

To resolve current inventory problems, if a taxpayer has submitted the RRA form on eFiling, but has not attached supporting documents, the system will check if the case is older than the specified configurable number of days, e.g. 21 days. If it is older than the specified number of days, then the case will close automatically.

The RRA form will then be rejected with the message, “Failed to upload supporting documents”. The case will also be cancelled. The taxpayer can resubmit the RRA01 and the existing business and system rules.

REFUND SMS

Taxpayers due a refund less than R100 and who have invalid bank details previously received an incorrect SMS prompting them to update bank details, even though SARS does not pay out refunds less than R100. Such SMSs will no longer be sent.

THIRD-PARTY MEDICAL AID PREPOPULATION

The system will pre-populate matched medical-aid details if the main/principal member is not the payor. The medical-scheme details will be prepopulated into the payor taxpayer’s tax return.

eFILING FIVE-YEAR BLOCKER​

Since the 2024 Filing Season, the eFiling and MobiApp platforms do not allow taxpayers to request, save, or submit returns older than five years. The block applies to original returns and requests for corrections. However, the block will no longer apply to taxpayers with outstanding returns on whom the administrative penalty has not been imposed.

REQUEST FOR EXTENSION POST ESTIMATE

If the extension date requested by the taxpayer has passed by the time that the Request for Extension case is attended to and the extension is granted, the system will add two business days to the requested date before auto-approving.

ENHANCEMENT OF BANKING DETAILS

To enhance user experience with the Registration, Amendments, and Verification Form (RAV01) form and the ITR12 tax return, taxpayers will be presented with a list of their verified banking details available to SARS. Taxpayers must select this information when updating their bank-account details rather than manually capturing them.

REINSTATEMENT OF RSA TAX RESIDENCY

The Registration, Amendments, and Verification Form (RAV01) form will enable a taxpayer who ceased to be an RSA tax resident in the past to indicate the reinstated date on the “Reinstatement Date of RSA Tax Residency” line item. See our recent Latest News item on Registration, Amendment and Verification enhancements on eFiling for more information.

See the ITR12 form on eFiling prototype here, it will give you an indication of the changes.

Keep an eye on the Filing Season webpage for more information.

27 June 2025 – The latest edition of the Tax Exempt Institutions Connect issue 8 is now available.  This issue informs taxpayers about SARS’s digital channels and the importance of keeping registered details up to date. We cover eFiling features for Tax Exempt Institutions, including improvements to the Auto-Merge function. We discuss features of the SARS Online Query System (SOQS). This issue guides taxpayers on how to update their registered details, including banking information. Lastly, we highlight educational micro-learning videos available on the SARS YouTube channel.

27 June 2025 – The Registration, Amendment and Verification form (RAV01) on eFiling has been enhanced to make it easier for taxpayers to interact with SARS.

The following changes are introduced:

• Enhancement of Banking Details.
• Reinstatement of RSA Tax Residency.

Enhancement of Banking Details

To enhance user experience with the Registration, Amendments, and Verification Form (RAV01) form and the ITR12 tax return, taxpayers will be presented with a list of their verified banking details available to SARS. Taxpayers must select this information when updating their bank-account details rather than manually capturing them.

Reinstatement of residency

The Registration, Amendments, and Verification Form (RAV01) form will enable a taxpayer who ceased to be an RSA tax resident in the past to indicate the reinstated date on the “Reinstatement Date of RSA Tax Residency” line item, see our Cease to be an SA Tax Resident and re-instatement of SA Tax Resident webpage.

The updated guide was published: GEN-REG-01-G04 – How to complete the Registration Amendments and Verification Form (RAV01) – External Guide.

27 June 2025 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is continuing to modernise the management of Air Passenger Tax (APT) as part of the Customs Modernisation Programme. This phase will be implemented on 27 June 2025 and introduces new features designed to streamline online registration, return submission, and overall APT management for airline operators.

Here’s what’s changing:

Passenger Manifests

Airlines will now be able to upload passenger lists directly on eFiling. The system will check the format and content of these files and keep a record of all uploads for tracking and reference.

Registration Updates

Airlines will be able to update their registration details or deregister when necessary. The system will ensure that only authorised users can perform these actions.

Audit and Penalties

The system will automatically trigger audit cases if returns are submitted late or not at all. SARS officials will be able to initiate manual audits when needed. These cases will follow a structured process and may result in penalties being applied.

Communication

All letters and notices, such as proof of registration, requests for documents, and penalty letters, will be sent electronically through eFiling or email. This will support SARS’s go-green approach to communication.

These enhancements to the APT system will provide improved tracking capabilities, enhanced security, and expedited processing times. Additionally, the system will integrate seamlessly with other SARS platforms to facilitate smooth data sharing and efficient workflow management. The implementation of APT Phase 2C represents a significant milestone in SARS’s modernisation efforts, offering a more transparent and user-friendly experience for both SARS and airline operators.

For more information, see the Air Passenger Tax webpage.

27 June 2025 – In alignment with SARS’s strategic objective to modernise systems to provide digital and streamlined online services, the refund claims for the Diesel Refund for Foodstuff Manufacturers Scheme (DRFMS) will be automated under the Customs and Excise Refunds and Drawbacks (CERD) system.  This will replace the current process, which is manual, requiring physical submission of the DA66 form at SARS Excise branch offices. See the letter shared with industry.

For more information, see the Diesel Refunds for Foodstuff Manufacturers Scheme webpage.

27 June 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notices, R6339, and R6340, as published in Government Gazette 52903 of 27 June 2025, are now available.

26 June 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Tax Exemption Guide for Recreational Clubs (Issue 5)

26 June 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: The tariffs amendments notices, scheduled for publication in the Government Gazette, relate to the following amendments:

With effect from 27 June 2025 up to and including 13 January 2026

• Imposition of provisional payment in relation to safeguard duties against the alleged increased imports of flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, clad, plated or coated, with aluminium-zinc alloys, of a thickness of less than 0.45 mm, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7210.61.20 and 7210.61.30 and flat-rolled products of other alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, otherwise plated or coated with zinc, of a thickness of less than 0.45 mm, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7225.92.25 and 7225.92.35 (ITAC Report No. 750)

Effective 27 June 2025

• Amendment to Part 1 of Schedule No. 1 by the substitution of tariff subheading 8504.90 and insertion of tariff subheadings 8504.90.10 and 8504.90.90 to increase the general rate of customs duty on transformer cores, having a power handling capacity not exceeding 50 000 KVA, classifiable under tariff subheading 8504.90 from 5% to 15% (ITAC Report No. 744)

Publication details will be made available later

26 June 2026 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 69 (Issue 4) – Game farming

26 June 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 69 (Issue 3) – Game farming

26 June 2025 – SARS is realising its vision to become a smart, modern organisation with unquestionable integrity, trusted and admired by all. It is working hard to make it easy for taxpayers to comply with their legal obligations.

The 2025 Filing Season for individuals will open on 7 July 2025 and covers these major dates:

• Auto Assessment notices: 7 July 2025 to 20 July 2025
• Individual taxpayers: 21 July 2025 to 20 October 2025
• Provisional taxpayers: 21 July 2025 to 19 January 2026

Trusts can start filing on 19 September 2025 and must file on or before 19 January 2026.

Below are updates for the upcoming Personal Income Tax Season:

Certain Provisional Taxpayers Can Participate in Auto Assessment

For the 2025 Tax Season, SARS will identify eligible provisional taxpayers and invite them to express their interest to receive an Auto Assessment. Eligible and interested provisional taxpayers will be included in the Auto Assessment population.

Section 6quat

With effect from 1 March 2025, section 6quat of the Income Tax Act (the ITA) has been amended for taxpayers to fully use foreign tax credits for the taxes paid on capital gains in the foreign jurisdiction to the same extent in relation to the taxes paid in South Africa on the same gains.

From the 2025 tax year, SARS will maintain any unused foreign tax credits to be carried forward automatically in the subsequent years of assessment, up to six years.

Section 11(nA) and 11(nB)

With effect from 1 March 2025, employers must report sections 11(nA) and 11(nB) of the ITA details on the IRP5/IT3(a) certificate. These changes will affect the ITR12 tax return so that section 11(nA) source code 4042 will be reflected on the IRP5/IT3(a) tax certificate, and a new source code 4058 relating to section 11(nB) will be reflected in the “Other Deduction” field.

Definition of “Provisional Taxpayer” in Paragraph 1 of the Fourth Schedule

With effect from 1 March 2025, a labour broker who received an approved certificate of exemption will be included in the definition of provisional taxpayer. This means that these labour brokers must comply with provisional taxpayer requirements such as submitting IRP6 tax returns.

Section 12H Learnership Agreement

The section 12H (of the ITA) Learnership Agreement termination date has been extended from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027.

Allowable Interest Expenses on Foreign Interest in Terms of Practice Note 31

The “Allowable interest expenses incurred in the production of interest received” line item has been introduced within the “Foreign Interest” container of the ITR tax return to align with Practice Note 31.

Backdated (Antedated) Salaries and Pensions

New source code 3623 and 3673 has been introduced to the ITR12 tax return for backdated (antedated) salaries and pensions.

Section 10(1)(i) interest exemption

For section 10(1)(i) (of the ITA) exemption to be applied correctly, the executor will be able to declare the “Interest Earned Date From” and “Interest Earned Date To” within the investment-income container on the deceased estate tax return where such date exceeds the year of assessment during which the taxpayer became deceased.

Exempt Local and Foreign Dividends

Two new source codes have been introduced for local (source code 4306) and foreign (source code 4307) dividends within the non-taxable container on the ITR12 tax return.

Section 9H Change of Residence

From the 2025 tax year, RSA tax-resident and non-resident taxpayers will be presented with a specific ITR12 and IRP6 tax-return type based on taxpayer registration status available with SARS, i.e.:

ITR12

• RSA tax resident will be presented with the resident wizard questionnaire.
• Non-resident will be presented with the non-resident wizard questionnaire.
• Taxpayers who ceased RSA tax residency during the year of assessment will be presented with the resident and non-resident questionnaire.

IRP6

• RSA tax resident will be presented with the resident return.
• Non-resident will be presented with the non-resident return.
• Taxpayers who ceased RSA tax residency during the year of assessment will be presented with resident and non-resident return.

Trust Income Changes

From the 2025 tax year, SARS will apply a 50% communal estate where income from a trust is declared, and the taxpayer is married in community of property.

Unused Balances such as Section 11F, Section 18A, Section 20

SARS will print the note given below on the ITA34, in instances where unused balances are not automatically carried over to the subsequent year of assessment:

SARS did not consider your carryover/brought forward amount(s) as the current return is under the verification review. SARS will initiate the amendment of the return to take the carryover/brought forward amount into account once the verification case is finalised.

Enhancement of Banking Details

To enhance user experience with the Registration, Amendments, and Verification Form (RAV01) form and the ITR12 tax return, taxpayers will be presented with a list of their verified banking details available to SARS. Taxpayers must select this information when updating their bank-account details rather than manually capturing them.

Reinstatement of RSA Tax Residency

The Registration, Amendments, and Verification Form (RAV01) form will enable a taxpayer who ceased to be an RSA tax resident in the past to indicate the reinstated date on the “Reinstatement Date of RSA Tax Residency” line item.

Keep an eye on the Filing Season webpage for more information.

25 June 2025 – Achieving our Vision of a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that is trusted and admired is of paramount importance. Pivotal to the delivery of our vision are our digital platforms and technology infrastructure. To provide clarity and certainty, make it easy for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations and building public trust and confidence, our technology assets must demonstrate the highest levels of availability, robustness, and security.

In accordance with our Vision and Strategic Objectives, which include modernising our systems to provide Digital and Streamlined online services, we are hard at work ensuring that our digital platforms and technology infrastructure are available, robust, and secure, by performing regular upgrades, enhancements, and maintenance.

Considering the above, SARS Digital platform upgrades are scheduled for:

Friday, 27 June 2025 from 18h00 to 22h00.

During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling, Tax and Customs Digital Platforms.

25 June 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Guide to the Urban Development Zone Allowance (Issue 10)

25 June 2025 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Customs Clearance Declaration (CCD) has been updated to cancel the depot facility DTCP Warehousing (Pty) Ltd with code R2. 

SC-CF-19-A02 – Facilities Code List – External Annexure 

24 June 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 90 (Issue 3) – Year of assessment of a company: Accounts accepted to a date other than the last day of a company’s financial year

24 June 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962

• Interpretation Note 19 (Issue 6) – Year of assessment of persons other than companies: Accounts accepted to a date other than the last day of February

24 June 2025 – Interpretation Notes

• Interpretation Note 90 (Issue 2) – Year of assessment of a company: Accounts accepted to a date other than the last day of a company’s financial year
• Interpretation Note 19 (Issue 5) – Year of assessment of persons other than companies: Accounts accepted to a date other than the last day of February

24 June 2025 – The East London mobile tax unit schedule for July to September 2025 is now available.

23 June 2025 – The state provides state warehouses for the safekeeping of goods. These are managed by Customs. The purpose of this list of unentered goods is to notify the importer, exporter and any other person that has interest in the goods that the goods have been taken up into the State warehouse and if they remain unentered they will be disposed in accordance with the provisions of the Customs & Excise Act.

See the latest Customs Weekly List of Unentered Goods here.

23 June 2025 – SARS is aware of websites claiming that salaried workers can receive tax refunds of R8000.00 if they file before 30 July. This information is not accurate, and deadlines stipulated are incorrect. Tax assessments vary based on individual circumstances. For accurate information, visit the official SARS website at sars.gov.za and avoid third-party websites. Filing season deadlines are available here.

Example of a fake news website: