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Tax season 2025 is scheduled to run until 20 October for non-provisional taxpayers and 19 January 2026 for provisional taxpayers.
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Taxpayers who were not auto-assessed by the South African Revenue Services (Sars) can start filing for their tax return from Monday, 21 July.
The taxman completed auto-assessing taxpayers on 20 July, paying out more than R10 billion in tax refunds.
Tax season 2025 is scheduled to run until 20 October for non-provisional taxpayers and until 19 January 2026 for provisional taxpayers.
The taxman said it has already auto-assessed 5.8 million taxpayers for this tax season, which is an increase from the 5 million auto-assessed in 2024.
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Tax refunds paid within 72 hours
Taxpayers are encouraged to file for their tax returns to check whether Sars owes them, is they owe Sars, or if they broke even (no one owes the other).
For tax season 2025, Sars has already paid out R10.6 billion in tax refunds within 72 hours after auto-assessments of taxpayers.
“With Auto Assessment, Sars uses data sourced from third-party data providers to assess taxpayers. In keeping with our aspiration to ‘make tax just happen’, taxpayers do not need to take any action when they receive an auto-assessment.
“For the few taxpayers that may need to update their tax returns with changes in case of outstanding information which Sars does not have, this can be done via eFiling or the Sars Mobi App.”
Tax refund status
The taxman said for those who submit their tax return online, an assessment outcome is issued in under five seconds if all is in order.
However, only tax refunds of more than R100 will be paid into taxpayers’ bank accounts within 72 hours once the assessment is completed.
If taxpayers find out they owe Sars, they are urged to make payments as soon as possible or make payment arrangements.
ALSO READ: Sars records increase in taxpayers who filed returns
Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter noted that the improvement of their digital platforms is saving taxpayers’ time and eliminating the need to travel to Sars centres.
“As we start with Filing Season for those not auto-assessed, I encourage taxpayers to use our digital channels rather than queue at our Service Centres.”
Who must file tax return?
People who must file an income tax return are South African residents and non-residents who earned income in South Africa during the tax year, as well as people who:
- Have capital gains, foreign income, or receive dividends not subject to automatic withholding tax;
- Have multiple sources of income, such as a salary and rental income;
- earn more than the tax threshold for the year, such as over R95 750 for under-65s in the 2025 tax year;
- Want to claim deductions, such as medical expenses, retirement annuities and travel allowances;
- Are provisional taxpayers – usually people who earn income not subject to pay as you earn (PAYE), such as freelancers, sole proprietors, or rental income earners.
Beware of scams
“Sars urges taxpayers to remain extremely vigilant and keep their details confidential. There have been many attempts by scammers to defraud taxpayers.
“Taxpayers are reminded that sars will never ask taxpayers to use any link to engage with it. Taxpayers must protect their eFiling login details and use only registered tax practitioners.”
Information on the latest scams can be found on the Sars website: www.sars.gov.za. To report or request information on phishing, taxpayers can send an email to [email protected].
