What’s New at SARS

25 September 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 September 2025 – The public is informed about a simulation exercise taking place at the Skilpadshek and Pioneer Border Posts on Tuesday 23 September 2025 for a few hours in the morning. The purpose of the exercise is to bring awareness to border officials and the public regarding the handling of road incidents that involve dangerous goods.  More information in the Trans Kalahari Corridor Secretariat press release. 

22 September 2025 – The Western Cape mobile tax unit schedule for October 2025 is now available.

19 September 2025 – Several legislative and form changes have been introduced to the Income Tax Return for trusts (ITR12T). The trust filing season is starting tomorrow, Saturday 20 September 2025.

Updated guides:

• IT-AE-36-G02 – Comprehensive Guide to the Income Tax Return for Trusts – External Guide
• IT-AE-37-G02 – Step by Step Guide to complete your Trust return via eFiling – External Guide

The enhancements are including but not limited to the following:

Section 1 of the Income Tax Act – Definition of a trust

The definition of a trust has been amended, and it now includes a portfolio of a collective investment scheme and a portfolio of a hedge fund collective investment scheme. 

Section 6quat(1A) (a)(iii) of the Income Tax Act

With effect from 1 March 2025, trusts may claim foreign tax credits on income or capital gains earned abroad. The credit must not exceed the portion of South African tax related to that income. If the foreign tax paid is higher, the excess will be carried forward for up to six years, and SARS will track and maintain these carryover amounts to prevent double taxation. 

Section 25B of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 – Taxation of non-resident beneficiaries of trusts

With effect from 1 March 2025, section 25B was amended to limit the flow-through principle to resident beneficiaries only. This means that all income and capital gains distributed to non-resident beneficiaries will be taxed in the hands of the trust. As a result, trusts with non-resident beneficiaries may be required to submit IRP6 returns to meet provisional tax obligations.

Section 12H of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 – Learnership agreements

The current sunset date of 1 April 2024 was extended to 31 March 2027.

Section 25B(4) – (6) of the Income Tax Act – Limitation of losses

• A new wizard question has been added to address the limitation of losses in terms of section 25B(4) – (6).
• The intention of the question is to ascertain how s25B(4)-(6) impacts on the calculation of net income of a trust and may be used to improve the return in future years for such scenarios.

Beneficial Ownership

• The beneficial owner category has been updated to include an unnamed beneficiary. If this category is selected, details of the unnamed beneficiary(ies) must be included in the free text field provided.
• A new question namely, “Is the founder deceased?” has been added on the beneficial owner section of the return to address a common issue raised where the founder is deceased. This is mandatory to complete if founder is selected as the beneficial owner category. 

Form Wizard and field amendments included but are not limited to:

• Trust details section has been updated to include a question for the trust to confirm if the youngest beneficiary is younger than 18 years at the end of the year of assessment, if the trust is classified as a special (b) trust.
• Capital Gain / Loss section to confirm if the trust is a bewind or vesting trust.
• Trust participation section has been updated to include a question for the trust to confirm if a IT3(t) return was submitted to SARS.
• Taxable in Trust vested and not vested in foreign beneficiary fields has been updated to include “i.t.o. s25B” under all income fields for local and foreign income.
• Farming and Farming Partnership containers has been amended to include new fields as per legislation updates and to make it simpler to complete.
• Special Depreciation and Capital Improvement containers has been moved to after Enhanced Renewable Energy – s12BA container to improve readability and usability.

eFiling enhancements also include:

• A verification message to confirm if the youngest beneficiary is younger than 18 years at the end of the year of assessment, if the trust is classified as a special (b) trust.
• The refresh functionality has been enhanced to include farming information (IT48 and IT48V) from the previous year of assessment.

For more information, see the Trusts webpage.

19 September 2025 – The following enhancements have been implemented for Employer Interim Declarations (EMP501) from 22 September 2025 to 31 October 2025:

• New source codes have been added to the IRP5/IT3(a) certificate;
• Changes to field types and validations;
• Enhancements to EMP501 Reconciliation process;
• Re-introduction of Pro-forma EMP501 Reconciliation;
• Updates to Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) account;
• Enhancements to e@syFile software;
• Validation of ITREG eFiling registration;
• Changes to SARS Letters and Forms.

For more information see the updated guides:

• PAYE-AE-06-G06 – Guide for Codes Applicable applicable to Employees Tax Certificate 2026 – External Guide
• PAYE-AE-06-G07 – Guide for Validation Rules Applicable to Reconciliation Declarations 2026 – External Guide
• PAYE-GEN-01-G05 – Guide for Employers in respect of Employment Tax Incentive – External Guide
• EMP-GEN-02-G01 – A Guide to the Employer Reconciliation Process – External Guide
• PAYE-AE-06-G08 – Guide for Completion and Submission of Employees Tax Certificates 2026 – External Guide
• GEN-PEN-05-G02 – Guide to submit a dispute via eFiling – External Guide
• PAYE-easyFile-G01 – e@syfile™TC Employer Guide – External Guide

19 September 2025 – Kindly note that scheduled maintenance will affect OTPs sent via email on Saturday, 20 September 2025, between 14:00 and 22:00. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

19 September 2025 – Want to know how to claim for a Medical Deduction? Watch our latest Medical Deduction step-by-step video on what you can claim and what can’t be claimed. It will show you how to fill in the medical fields on your ITR12 tax return wizard on eFiling.

19 September 2025 – For the 2025 tax year, Income Tax Returns for Trusts (ITR12T) must be filed on eFiling from 20 September 2025 to 19 January 2026. IT3(t) — returns for trusts which declare amounts vested to beneficiaries’ income — are due by 30 September 2025 for the 2025 year of assessment.

Key updates: trust definition; learnership agreements; foreign tax credits; and new tax rules for amounts given to non-resident beneficiaries. Updated forms improve reporting for farming operations and partnerships, which require clearer declarations about trust structures and beneficial owners.

Dates:

• 31 Aug 2025: first provisional-tax payment (2026 year of assessment)
• 20 Sep 2025: trust tax-filing season opens (ITR12T)
• 30 Sep 2025: deadline for IT3(t) returns and top-up provisional payment (2025 year of assessment)
• 19 Jan 2026: final ITR12T submission deadline (provisional and non-provisional trusts)
• 28 Feb 2026: second provisional tax payment (2026 year of assessment)

Trustees or representatives must register all resident and non-resident trusts for Income Tax and file Income Tax Returns for trusts (ITR12T) as required by the Income Tax Act of 1962. Beneficiaries must declare all trust income on their tax returns (ITR12, ITR12T, or ITR14).

Timely filing is essential. See the Trusts webpage for more information.

18 September 2025 – The facility codes used in Box 30 on the Customs Clearance Declaration (CCD) have been updated to include details of the following companies:

• Degrouping Facility Tri Ridge Freight and Logistics (Pty) Ltd located at O. R. Tambo International Airport; and
• Container Depot Safcor Freight (Pty) Ltd located in Pretoria.

This addition enables Customs to transmit electronic messages communicating the status of the consignment to these facilities.

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

18 September 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 maintenance are scheduled for:

Friday, 19 September 2025 from 18:00 to 23:00

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

17 September 2025 – Any person who receives income other than a salary/remuneration, is a provisional taxpayer.  Most salary earners are therefore not-provisional taxpayers if they have no other sources of income. For more information and to see how to pay Provisional Tax, watch our latest step-by-step video.

16 September 2025 – The KZN mobile tax unit schedule for October 2025 is now available.

16 September 2025 – Income Tax Act, 1962: Updated Tables of Interest Rates

• Table 1 – Interest rates on outstanding taxes and interest rates payable on certain refunds of tax
• Table 2 – Interest rates payable on credit amounts

16 September 2025 – The September issue of the Monthly Tax Digest is now available. In this issue we look at how to update eFiling security contact details and Trust Filing Season.

15 September 2025 – National Legislation: Publication of draft Regulations for Comment

• Draft Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) Regulations
• Draft Revised Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Regulations

Due date for comment: 3 October 2025

15 September 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.

15 September 2025 – SARS is committed to enabling government to build a capable state to advance the wellbeing of all South Africans. Employers play a vital role in this effort. Your commitment to tax compliance directly supports the country’s economic development and growth.

As we approach the Employer Interim Reconciliation period, SARS is dedicated to giving clarity and certainty to make it easy to meet your obligations. This letter helps you navigate the upcoming reconciliation process.

Employers’ Interim Reconciliation Declarations Is Part of Filing Season

The Employer Interim Reconciliation submission period is from 22 September to 31 October 2025. During this time, all employers in the private and public sectors must reconcile their declarations for the first six months of the reconciliation year (1 March 2025 to 31 August 2025) and submit these on eFiling or e@syFile™ Employer. Employers with less than 50 employees may use eFiling.

To submit a correct and complete reconciliation, your EMP501 must reflect:

• PAYE, UIF, and SDL values from your previously submitted EMP201 returns, which will prepopulate in the EMP501. Where these values differ from the interim IRP5/IT3(a) certificates generated, employers must amend the prepopulated figures to the correct amounts.
• Payments made during the period (excluding any penalties and interest); and
• Accurate payroll information together with the IRP5/IT3(a) tax certificates for the period 1 March 2025 to 31 August 2025.

Key Changes for 2025

• Software update: use the new e@syFile. For the 2025 Employer Interim Reconciliation, the e@syFile Thin Client is now the primary submission channel for all employers. The “Flex” version is being phased out and can no longer be used for submissions, except for enquiries about historic data. Employers are encouraged to use the “Retrieve Certificate Detail” function to transfer certificate data from e@syFile Flex to e@syFile Thin Client. A step-by-step guide is available on the SARS website to assist with this process.
• Business Requirements Specification (BRS) updated to version 24.0.2. This update introduced new source codes, changes to validation rules, and amendments to some source code descriptions. Employers and payroll administrators are encouraged to review the updated BRS to ensure their payroll systems and submissions are fully compliant with the latest requirements.

Enforcement of Income Tax Numbers

From the February 2026 employer filing season, Income Tax numbers will be strictly enforced in e@syFile™ Employer. Employers will no longer be able to submit reconciliations without valid Income Tax numbers for all employees. Please refer to BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation for 2025 / 2026 for the latest rules.

To prepare:

• Use the ITREG/BundleReg process on eFiling or e@syFile™, the Tax Reference Number Enquiry Service on eFiling, or visit a SARS Service Center (with an appointment) to register or request employees’ numbers.
• Use Tax Reference Number (TRN) Enquiry Services on eFiling
• Individuals can register or retrieve their own tax numbers on the SARS website under the “Individuals” section.

Failure to comply will result in administrative penalties. Employers are urged to take proactive steps now to avoid delays in submissions, rejection of reconciliations, or penalties being applied.

Submission Channels

To make the reconciliation process easier, SARS provides different submission options for different-sized employers.

• Employers with 50 or fewer employees can use either SARS eFiling or e@syFile™ Employer. If the employer has 50 or fewer IRP5/IT3(a) certificates, a tax-certificate file can be generated from the payroll system and this file can be imported into SARS eFiling.
• Employers with 50 employees or more are required to use e@syFile™ Employer to file their EMP501 declarations.
• Employers with five or fewer IRP5/IT3(a) certificates can visit their nearest SARS Service Centre, where a SARS agent will help capture the EMP501 and related certificates. Please remember to book an appointment before visiting a SARS Service Centre.

 Accuracy and Timely Filing Are Critical

Submitting accurate declarations on time leads to a smooth reconciliation process and helps avoid unnecessary penalties, such as:

• Possible penalties and interest for incorrect calculations. Incorrect calculation of the monthly PAYE liability could result in the imposition of both penalties and interest. This includes corrections made on the EMP501 reconciliation, because any shortfall is attributed to the last month of the reconciliation period.
• Late submission penalties. Employers must submit an accurate EMP501 using e@syFile™ Employer or SARS eFiling by 31 October 2025 to avoid penalties.

Consequences of Non-compliance

Failure to comply with reconciliation requirements carries serious consequences:

• Late submission of an EMP501 will result in administrative penalties equal to 1% of your annual PAYE liability. This penalty increases by 1% for every month the return remains outstanding, up to a maximum of 10%.
• ETI employers with unused ETI will forfeit the ETI for non-submission or where the employer has a non-compliant status.
• Employers who wilfully or negligently fail to submit EMP201 or EMP501 returns will be guilty of an offence. Upon conviction, they will be liable for a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.

 What Constitutes a Criminal Offence?

Employers will face a fine or imprisonment for up to two years if they:

• Fail to deduct employees’ tax (PAYE) from remuneration or fail to pay the deducted tax to SARS within the prescribed period;
• Do not deliver IRP5 or IT3(a) certificates to employees or former employees within the prescribed deadlines; or
• Use employees’ deducted tax for purposes other than paying the correct amount to SARS.

Remember to Check Your Submission Status

Employers must check the status of submissions regularly after submission to ensure that their EMP501 was correct and accurate when filed with SARS. The PAYE Dashboard should also be consulted. This step offers employers certainty that they have no outstanding obligations.

More Information

For  more information about completing manual certificates, employers can go to the e@syFile™ Employer User Guide or access the Step-by-Step Guide to the Employer Reconciliation Process.

12 September 2025 – As the 2025 tax season is nearing its deadlines, staying up to date with the latest tools and deadlines is essential for efficient tax management. In this edition, we introduce the innovative SARS Tax Return Status Dashboard, designed to give taxpayers, representatives, and practitioners real-time insight into the progress of Personal Income Tax returns – eliminating the need for lengthy calls or in-person visits. You’ll also find important information regarding Trust Income Tax updates, including key dates and procedural details to ensure you remain compliant and prepared. Read on for a streamlined overview of these essential topics and make the most of the resources available to you this tax season.

12 September 2025 – As the 2025 tax season is nearing its deadlines, staying up to date with the latest tools and deadlines is essential for efficient tax management. In this edition, we introduce the innovative SARS Tax Return Status Dashboard, designed to give taxpayers, representatives, and practitioners real-time insight into the progress of Personal Income Tax returns – eliminating the need for lengthy calls or in-person visits. You’ll also find important information regarding Trust Income Tax updates, including key dates and procedural details to ensure you remain compliant and prepared. Read on for a streamlined overview of these essential topics and make the most of the resources available to you this tax season.

12 September 2025 – Customs and Excise Act, 1964: Publication details for tariffs amendments notices R6594, R6595, R6596 and R6597, as published in Government Gazette 53334 of 12 September 2025, are now available.