How to Check if You Owe SARS Money

To check whether you owe SARS, log in to eFiling (or the SARS MobiApp) and open two things: your latest ITA34 notice of assessment and your Statement of Account. The ITA34 tells you the result of your last assessment and whether an amount is payable, and the Statement of Account shows the running balance on your tax account. A debit balance means you owe SARS; a credit balance means SARS owes you.

The amount you owe, and the date by which to pay it, are displayed on the Notice of Assessment (ITA34). Pay on or before that due date and no interest is charged, which is why the ITA34 is the first document to read.

Read your ITA34 first

The ITA34 is the notice SARS issues after assessing your return. It shows the net result: either an amount payable to SARS, an amount refundable to you, or nil. If it shows an amount payable, that is what you owe on that assessment, and the notice also carries the payment due date. Do not assume a generic deadline; the due date shown on your own ITA34 is the one that counts, and meeting it keeps the balance interest-free.

To open it on eFiling:

1. Log in and go to your income tax work page.
2. Open the most recent assessment (the ITA34) under your notices or assessed returns.
3. Read the net amount and the due date on the notice.

Then check your Statement of Account

The ITA34 is the result of one assessment. The Statement of Account (also called a statement of the account) is the fuller picture: it lists the transactions on your tax account over a period, including assessed amounts, payments you have made, and any penalties or interest, and it gives you the current balance.

Read the balance line:

• A debit balance is an amount you owe SARS.
• A credit balance is an amount in your favour, which SARS pays out as a refund when the conditions are met.

To request it on eFiling, open your income tax account and look for the "Request Historic Notice" or statement of account option, choose the period, and generate the statement.

What happens if you leave a debit balance unpaid

Interest runs on tax owed to SARS at a prescribed rate set by the Minister and published in the Government Gazette. That rate moves with the repo rate, so it changes from time to time; with effect from 1 March 2026 it is 10.25% per year on outstanding tax. Interest is charged on the outstanding balance, so the longer a debit balance sits, the more it costs.

If the balance is in your favour instead, SARS pays a refund only where it is more than R100, and only once the assessment is finalised, your banking details are correct, there is no other debt or outstanding return, and no verification or audit is in progress.

A worked example

Suppose your ITA34 shows an amount payable of R4,200 and you do not pay it by the due date on the notice. Interest accrues on the outstanding R4,200 at the prescribed rate of 10.25% per year in force from 1 March 2026.

Over a full year the interest would be:

R4,200 × 10.25% = R430.50

Spread across twelve months that is roughly:

R430.50 ÷ 12 = R35.88 per month

So a R4,200 debit left unpaid grows by about R35.88 for each month it stands, on top of the R4,200 you already owe. Paying the R4,200 in full by the due date on the ITA34 avoids that interest entirely; paying part of it reduces the balance the interest is charged on.