Tax Season 2026 South Africa: Key Dates

Filing Season 2026 covers the 2026 year of assessment (1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026). SARS issues auto-assessment notifications from 1 July to 12 July 2026, manual filing opens on 13 July 2026, non-provisional individuals must file by 23 October 2026, and provisional taxpayers and trusts have until 22 January 2027. Which date applies to you depends on whether you are auto-assessed, a non-provisional taxpayer, or a provisional taxpayer.

This article is the calendar. It lists each date, says who it applies to, and separates the return-filing deadlines from the provisional-tax payment dates, which run on a different schedule.

The 2026 filing season at a glance

Date	What happens	Who it applies to
1 July – 12 July 2026	SARS issues auto-assessment notifications	Taxpayers SARS selects for auto-assessment
13 July 2026	Filing opens for manual returns on eFiling	Everyone who is not auto-assessed, or who needs to edit an auto-assessment
23 October 2026	Filing deadline	Non-provisional individual taxpayers
22 January 2027	Filing deadline	Provisional taxpayers and trusts

Auto-assessment: 1 July to 12 July 2026

SARS auto-assesses a large group of taxpayers whose affairs it can calculate from third-party data, such as your IRP5, medical scheme and retirement fund certificates, and bank interest. If you are in that group, SARS sends your notice between 1 and 12 July 2026.

If the auto-assessment is correct, you do not have to do anything. If it is wrong or incomplete, for example it misses income or a deduction, you file a corrected return through eFiling. For how the process works and your options once you receive the notice, see our explainer on how SARS auto-assessment works.

Manual filing opens: 13 July 2026

From 13 July 2026 you can file your own return on eFiling. This is the date for anyone who is not auto-assessed, and for auto-assessed taxpayers who need to change what SARS proposed. Waiting until filing opens does not shorten your deadline: the 23 October and 22 January dates are fixed regardless of when in the season you start.

The two filing deadlines

Two deadlines close the season, and the one that applies depends on your taxpayer type.

Non-provisional individuals, broadly people whose income is mainly a salary already taxed through PAYE, must file by 23 October 2026.

Provisional taxpayers and trusts must file by 22 January 2027. You are generally a provisional taxpayer if you earn meaningful income that is not subject to PAYE, such as business, rental or investment income above the relevant limits. If you are unsure which group you fall into, start with our guide on whether you need to submit a tax return.

Provisional tax payment dates are separate

Provisional taxpayers deal with two different kinds of date, and it is easy to confuse them. The 22 January 2027 date above is a return-filing deadline. Provisional tax also has its own IRP6 payment dates, which are when you pay tax across the year, not when you file the annual return.

For the 2026 year of assessment those IRP6 payment dates are:

• First payment: within six months of the start of the year of assessment, by 31 August (or the last business day before it).
• Second payment: by the last business day of February.
• Third payment: an optional top-up that may be made after year end.

These are payment dates under the provisional-tax system, distinct from the filing deadlines. Missing a provisional payment carries its own consequences, which differ from the admin penalty for a late return covered below.

What a missed filing deadline costs

Filing your annual return late triggers a fixed-amount administrative non-compliance penalty under sections 210 and 211 of the Tax Administration Act. The penalty is a set monthly amount based on your taxable income, ranging from R250 to R16,000 per month, and it recurs for each month the return stays outstanding, up to 35 months.

Worked example: four months late at the lowest band

Take a non-provisional taxpayer who was required to file by 23 October 2026 but only files four months later, in late February 2027. Assume their taxable income puts them in the lowest penalty band of R250 per month.

The penalty recurs for each month the return is outstanding:

R250 × 4 = R1,000

So four months of lateness at the R250 band accrues R1,000 in admin penalties. A taxpayer in a higher taxable-income band would accrue more per month, up to R16,000 per month at the top band, and the penalty keeps recurring monthly until the return is filed. Because the charge is monthly rather than once-off, filing sooner directly limits what you owe. For the full picture of penalties and interest, see what happens when you miss the tax deadline.

You can estimate your own income tax for the year with our income tax calculator before you file, so you know roughly where you stand.