Tax Season 2026 opened on 13 July, following auto-assessment notices issued between 1 and 12 July. Non-provisional individual taxpayers must file by 23 October 2026, provisional taxpayers by 22 January 2027, and companies must file their ITR14 within 12 months of financial year-end regardless of profit or trading activity. Beyond the dates, the real risk for business owners isn't missing the deadline, it's the handful of predictable, expensive mistakes that show up in return after return.
Auto-assessments: 1–12 July 2026 · Filing opens: 13 July 2026 · Non-provisional deadline: 23 October 2026 · Provisional deadline: 22 January 2027 · Company ITR14: due within 12 months of financial year-end, always, even if dormant.
That last point catches out more business owners than any other: a dormant or non-trading company still has a filing obligation. Assuming "nothing happened, so nothing to file" is itself a compliance failure that compounds the longer it's left unaddressed.
Claiming a mixed-use expense, a phone, a car, part of your home, without a documented, consistent apportionment method either understates what you're legitimately entitled to claim or creates a claim SARS disallows on review. Both outcomes cost money: one in tax paid unnecessarily, the other in penalties and interest after the fact.
SARS auto-assessments are built from third-party data the Revenue Service already holds, employer certificates, bank interest, medical scheme contributions. That data typically doesn't capture business deductions, freelance income variability, or expenses specific to running a business. Accepting an auto-assessment without comparing it to your own records can mean quietly leaving a legitimate refund unclaimed.
A dormant company's directors often assume the filing obligation pauses along with trading activity. It doesn't. Missing ITR14 filings accumulate penalties and can complicate CIPC standing, even for a company doing nothing.
Filing an IRP6 estimate you know is too low, purely to reduce what's due right now, is one of the most expensive mistakes a provisional taxpayer can make. SARS's underestimation penalty applies to the shortfall if your estimate falls below 90% of actual taxable income, and SARS has visibility into your real income through third-party data regardless of what you declare.
Filing early isn't just about avoiding a last-minute scramble. It gives you more time to resolve any query SARS raises, and refunds are processed faster for early, complete submissions than for ones filed in the final week under pressure.
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Any individual earning above the tax threshold, business owners with income beyond a single salary, freelancers, sole proprietors, and all registered companies via their ITR14, regardless of whether the company traded or made a profit.
Treating personal and business expenses as interchangeable without proper apportionment or documentation, which either understates legitimate deductions or creates claims SARS disallows on review. Mixing the two without a documented, consistent method is one of the most common and expensive errors.
Yes. A company must file its ITR14 annually regardless of whether it traded or made a profit. Non-trading or dormant companies still have a filing obligation, and skipping it because there's nothing to report is itself a compliance failure.
IRP5/IT3(a) certificates if you're also salaried, records of all business income and expenses, bank statements, a travel logbook if claiming vehicle costs, invoices for capital equipment, and prior year assessments as a reference point for provisional tax estimates.
Yes. Auto-assessments are generated from third-party data SARS already holds, which typically doesn't capture business deductions, freelance income variations, or expenses a business owner is entitled to claim. Accepting one without checking it against your own records can mean leaving a legitimate refund unclaimed.