SARS Request for Correction: how to fix a return you already filed
If you spot a mistake on an income-tax return you have already submitted, the fix is usually a Request for Correction (RFC) on eFiling, not a dispute. You open the submitted return, choose "Request for Correction", edit the figures, and submit again. SARS treats the corrected version as your return and raises a fresh assessment. A dispute is for when you disagree with how SARS assessed you, which is a different process.
The catch is that the RFC option is not always available. Once SARS has started checking your return, the button is greyed out, and from that point you have to object instead of correct.
When to use a Request for Correction
Use an RFC when the error is yours and you simply need to resubmit the right figures: a left-out IRP5, a medical or retirement-annuity claim you forgot, a number captured incorrectly, or income you omitted. Because the corrected return replaces the original, this is the clean way to put your own return right before any dispute is needed.
You can submit more than one RFC on the same year if you find further errors, as long as the option is still open.
How to submit it on eFiling
- Log in and open the return. Go to your Income Tax Work Page for the year you need to fix.
- Choose "Request for Correction". The button sits with the return's other options. Selecting it opens an editable copy of the return you submitted.
- Edit the figures. Correct the wrong fields, add the missing certificate or claim, and check the rest still matches your documents.
- Submit. The corrected return is filed and SARS raises a new assessment (a new ITA34) on the updated figures.
- Check the new ITA34. Confirm the result is what you expected, because the corrected assessment, not the first one, is now the live position.
When the button is greyed out
The RFC option closes once SARS is reviewing the return or has assessed it in a way that locks it. You will typically find it unavailable when:
- the return has been selected for verification or audit,
- SARS has raised an estimated assessment because you did not respond to a request for documents,
- an objection, appeal or other dispute is already in progress on that year, or
- SARS has otherwise finalised the assessment in a way that does not allow self-correction.
In those situations you cannot quietly correct the return. You have to lodge a formal dispute, starting with an objection, and explain the change there. That is a deliberate control: once SARS is looking at a return, changes go through the dispute process so they can be reviewed, not edited away.
A worked example
Take someone who filed for the 2026 year of assessment with taxable income of R420,000, but forgot to claim a R30,000 retirement-annuity contribution that is deductible under section 11F (well within the R350,000 annual cap). Claiming it reduces taxable income to R390,000. Both figures sit in the third bracket (R370,501 to R512,800).
Tax as originally filed, on R420,000:
- R420,000 less R370,500 = R49,500
- R49,500 x 31% = R15,345
- R77,362 + R15,345 = R92,707
- Less the primary rebate of R17,235 = R75,472
Tax after the correction, on R390,000:
- R390,000 less R370,500 = R19,500
- R19,500 x 31% = R6,045
- R77,362 + R6,045 = R83,407
- Less the primary rebate of R17,235 = R66,172
The RFC drops the tax by R75,472 less R66,172, which is R9,300. If the same PAYE was withheld, that R9,300 becomes a refund once the corrected assessment is finalised. This is exactly the kind of own-error an RFC is built for, and why catching it before SARS opens a verification keeps it simple.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SARS Request for Correction?
It is the eFiling function that lets you fix a return you have already submitted by editing and resubmitting it. SARS treats the corrected version as your return and raises a new assessment on the updated figures. It is for correcting your own mistakes, not for disputing how SARS assessed you.
Why is the Request for Correction button greyed out?
Because SARS has locked the return for self-correction. That happens when the return is under verification or audit, when SARS has raised an estimated assessment, or when a dispute is already running on that year. Once it is locked, you must object rather than correct.
Can I submit more than one Request for Correction?
Yes, you can submit further corrections on the same year while the option remains available. Each corrected return replaces the previous one and triggers a new assessment. The option closes if SARS later selects the return for review or otherwise finalises it.
What is the difference between a correction and an objection?
A Request for Correction fixes your own return and produces a new assessment without a formal dispute. An objection is the start of the dispute process, used when you disagree with how SARS assessed you and the return can no longer be self-corrected. You generally try the RFC first; if it is unavailable, you object.
Will a correction trigger a refund or an amount owing?
Either, depending on the change. A correction that lowers your taxable income, like adding a missed deduction, can produce a refund once the new assessment is final. One that adds income or removes a claim can produce an amount owing, which is due on the corrected ITA34.
After you correct a return
The corrected ITA34 is now your live assessment. Our explainer on reading your ITA34 helps you check the new result line by line, and our guide on reading your IRP5 helps you confirm the income and PAYE figures you are correcting against. If the RFC option is closed and you have to dispute instead, see how to object to a SARS assessment. To check what the corrected figures should produce, our Basic income tax and PAYE calculator applies the 2026 table and rebate step by step.
SARS sources:
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