The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has opened the 2026 tax filing season, with more than 1.9 million taxpayers already receiving auto-assessments and about R8b in refunds paid within 72 hours, reports Roodepoort Record.

SARS expects more than six million taxpayers to receive auto-assessments this year, using information supplied by employers, banks, medical schemes, retirement funds and other third-party providers to pre-populate tax returns.

Taxpayers selected for auto-assessment between Wednesday (July 1) and 12 are advised to wait for official SARS communication before reviewing their assessments via eFiling, the SARS MobiApp or other authorised digital channels.

According to SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu, this year’s filing season includes several digital improvements aimed at making the filing process simpler and more secure.

Among the changes are more accurate auto-assessments, expanded self-service options through eFiling and the SARS MobiApp, stronger security measures such as biometric and two-factor authentication, support through the Lwazi AI virtual assistant, and the ability to upload supporting documents and receive notifications via WhatsApp.

“Our goal is to make compliance effortless for honest taxpayers. Every enhancement introduced this filing season is designed to improve service, reduce complexity, and give taxpayers greater confidence when engaging with SARS. We want taxpayers to spend less time dealing with administration and more time benefiting from our modern digital services,” said Makhubu.

Stay alert for scams

SARS has urged taxpayers to remain vigilant against phishing scams, fake refund schemes and unregistered tax practitioners during filing season.

The revenue service said it will never request passwords, one-time pins (OTPs), banking PINs or eFiling login credentials via email, SMS, social media or telephone. Taxpayers should use only official SARS channels and verify the credentials of any tax practitioner before sharing personal information.

“Taxpayers should be cautious of anyone who guarantees a refund or requests sensitive information without proper verification. Protecting personal information remains a shared responsibility between SARS and taxpayers,” Makhubu warned.

He encouraged taxpayers to make use of SARS’ digital services and rely only on official communication throughout the filing season.

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