SARS auto-assessment 2026, explained
A SARS auto-assessment is a tax assessment SARS works out for you from the data it already holds, before you file anything. For the 2026 filing season SARS sends auto-assessment notifications by SMS or email between 1 and 12 July 2026. If the figures are right, you do nothing. If they are wrong or incomplete, you file a corrected return through eFiling or the SARS MobiApp.
It is not a final, unchallengeable verdict. It is SARS's best estimate from third-party data, and the responsibility for getting it right still sits with you.
Where the numbers come from
SARS builds the auto-assessment from third-party data submitted to it: your IRP5 or IT3(a) from employers, interest and investment certificates from banks, contribution data from medical schemes, and contribution and annuity data from retirement funds. It simulates an assessment from those records and presents the result.
That design has one obvious gap. SARS can only assess what it has been told. Anything that does not arrive as third-party data, rental income, freelance or side income, a home-office claim, certain out-of-pocket medical costs, will not be in the auto-assessment at all.
What to check before you accept
Treat the auto-assessment as a draft to verify, line by line, against your own records:
- Personal and banking details. A wrong bank account is the single most common reason a refund never arrives. Confirm the account on file is yours and active.
- Your IRP5. Check that every employer for the year is listed and that the income and PAYE match your final payslip or IRP5 certificate. If you changed jobs, you should see more than one.
- Medical aid. Confirm the medical scheme contributions and the number of dependants are right, because they drive your medical tax credit.
- Anything not on third-party data. If you earned rental, freelance or investment income that is not reflected, or you have a legitimate deduction SARS could not know about, the auto-assessment is incomplete and you must file a full return.
Sanity-check the tax itself
You can verify the headline tax figure yourself. Take someone with taxable income of R360,000 for the 2026 year of assessment. That falls in the second bracket (R237,101 to R370,500), so the tax before rebates is R42,678 plus 26% of the amount above R237,100:
- R360,000 less R237,100 = R122,900
- 26% of R122,900 = R31,954
- R42,678 + R31,954 = R74,632
- Less the primary rebate of R17,235 = R57,397 tax for the year
If your IRP5 shows PAYE of more than R57,397 was withheld, you are owed a refund; if less, you owe SARS. That is the logic the auto-assessment runs, and you can reproduce it.
Accept or reject
If you agree with the auto-assessment, there is nothing further to do. The assessment stands and any refund is processed.
If you disagree, do not ignore it. Log in to eFiling or the MobiApp, open the return, edit it so it reflects your complete and correct position, and submit. SARS then issues a fresh assessment on the corrected return. You can also check your status at any time through the SARS Online Query System under "My Auto Assessment Status".
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to accept a SARS auto-assessment?
No. If you agree with it you can simply leave it, and it becomes your assessment. If you disagree, you file a corrected return through eFiling or the MobiApp by the filing deadline, and SARS reassesses you on what you submit.
What happens if I do nothing?
If the auto-assessment is correct, doing nothing is the intended outcome and any refund is paid out. The risk is doing nothing when it is wrong: if income is missing, you remain liable for the correct tax, so silence on an incomplete assessment can leave you under-declared.
Why was I auto-assessed but my colleague was not?
SARS auto-assesses taxpayers whose affairs it can fully reconstruct from third-party data, typically straightforward salary earners. People with income or deductions that do not arrive as third-party data are more likely to be asked to file a normal return instead.
Can I still claim deductions after an auto-assessment?
Yes. If you have deductions SARS did not include, such as a retirement annuity contribution or qualifying medical expenses, you reject the draft by filing a corrected return that includes them, rather than accepting the auto-assessment as is.
When will I know if I was auto-assessed?
For the 2026 filing season SARS issues auto-assessment notifications by SMS or email between 1 and 12 July 2026. You can also check your status directly on the SARS Online Query System.
Check the number before you accept
Before you accept an auto-assessment, it helps to know what your tax should be. Our Basic income tax and PAYE calculator applies the 2026 SARS individual tax table, the primary rebate and the medical tax credit to your own figures and shows each step, so you can compare its result with the one SARS sent you. If you are not sure you even needed to be assessed, our guide on whether you need to submit a tax return sets out the rules, and once your assessment lands our explainers on reading your ITA34 and why a refund can be delayed take you through what comes next.
SARS sources:
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