Do I upload these documents when I file my return?

No. You use them to complete and check your return, then keep them. SARS only asks you to submit supporting documents if it selects your return for verification, which happens after you file.

Which documents does SARS already have?

SARS receives your IRP5 or IT3(a), most IT3(b) and IT3(c) certificates, your medical scheme contribution data, and your retirement annuity contributions directly from the institutions. These are usually pre-filled on the return. You still add items like your travel logbook figures and section 18A donation receipts.

What if an employer has not submitted my IRP5?

The amount will be missing from your pre-filled return. Use your own copy of the certificate to enter the income and PAYE, and follow up with the employer, because their submission is what SARS matches against. Do not leave the income off simply because it did not appear.

Do I need a logbook to claim a travel allowance?

Yes. A logbook is compulsory for a travel allowance claim, and without it the claim is disallowed. It must record your business kilometres for the year.

How long must I keep the documents?

Keep your supporting documents for five years from the date you file. If SARS verifies a claim, you produce the relevant document from that store. For the step that follows a verification, read how to submit supporting documents to SARS, and to make sense of the assessment you receive after filing, see understanding your ITA34.

- https://www.sars.gov.za/tax-rates/medical-tax-credit-rates/ - https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/personal-income-tax/tax-season/travel-e-logbook/ - https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/personal-income-tax/filing-season/

Documents You Need to File Your Tax Return in South Africa

Before you file your individual tax return on SARS eFiling, gather your IRP5 or IT3(a) from each employer, IT3(b) certificates for interest and dividends, IT3(c) certificates for capital gains, your medical scheme tax certificate, your retirement annuity contribution certificate, a travel logbook if you claim a travel allowance, and any section 18A receipts for donations. SARS pre-populates several of these from third-party data, so much of your return arrives already filled in. Your job is to check what is there and add what is missing.

You usually do not upload these documents when you file. You keep them, use them to complete and check the return, and produce them only if SARS asks you to verify a claim.

The core checklist

Document	What it covers	Who issues it
IRP5 / IT3(a)	Salary, PAYE deducted, allowances, employer contributions	Each employer
IT3(b)	Interest and dividends earned	Banks, investment houses
IT3(c)	Proceeds and gains on disposals (capital gains)	Investment platforms, brokers
Medical scheme tax certificate	Contributions paid and dependants covered	Your medical scheme
Retirement annuity certificate	Section 11F contributions for the year	RA fund or insurer
Travel logbook	Business kilometres, if you receive a travel allowance	You keep it
Section 18A receipts	Donations to approved public benefit organisations	The organisation

Get one IRP5 or IT3(a) from every employer you worked for during the year of assessment, including part-year jobs. The 2026 year of assessment runs from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026, so a job you left in mid-2025 still produces a certificate for that year.

What SARS pre-populates, and what you add

Most of the certificates above reach SARS directly from the institution that issued them. When you open your return, SARS has already loaded the IRP5 or IT3(a) from your employers, most IT3 certificates from your banks and investment houses, your medical scheme contribution data, and your retirement annuity contributions. This is the same third-party data that drives auto-assessment.

That does not make your own copies pointless. You still need them to check the pre-filled figures against source documents, because a missing or late certificate from one institution leaves a gap SARS cannot see. You add the rest yourself:

Business kilometres from your travel logbook, to support a travel allowance claim.
Section 18A donation receipts, which are not always reported to SARS on your behalf.
Any income or deduction an institution did not report, or reported incorrectly.

If the pre-filled return and your certificates disagree, the certificate from the issuer is your evidence. Correct the return to match your documents, and keep the documents.

Why the medical scheme certificate matters: a worked example

The medical scheme tax certificate is worth singling out, because it is what substantiates your medical scheme fees tax credit under section 6A. This credit is a fixed monthly amount per person covered, set for the 2026 year of assessment as follows: R364 for the main member, R364 for the first dependant, and R246 for each additional dependant.

Take a main member with one dependant, covered for the full year. The monthly credit is:

R364 + R364 = R728 per month

Over a full 12-month year:

R728 x 12 = R8,736

That R8,736 comes off your tax for the year, not off your taxable income, so it is a direct reduction of what you owe. You can only substantiate it with the medical scheme tax certificate, which shows who was covered and for which months. Without the certificate, a verification of the claim fails and the credit can be reversed.

Keep your documents for five years

You keep the supporting documents rather than filing them. SARS can select your return for verification and ask you to submit them afterwards. As a rule, keep your supporting documents for five years from the date you file, so that any claim you made can be backed up if SARS asks.

Note the two different moments. This checklist is about the documents you gather before you file, to complete the return correctly. Submitting documents to SARS is a separate step that happens after filing, when SARS raises a verification. If you reach that stage, see how to submit supporting documents to SARS.

Reading the certificates before you file

The IRP5 repays a careful read, because its source codes drive your assessment. If you are not sure what each field means, our guide on how to read your IRP5 walks through the codes and where each amount lands on the return. Once you have gathered everything, you can sanity-check the likely outcome with the income tax calculator before you file.