SARS issues urgent tax return warning to 850,000 South Africans
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued a final warning to taxpayers, urging them to finalise their tax returns before the close of the 2025 filing season.
Tax filing season for non-provisional taxpayers will end on Monday, 20 October 2025, with SARS urging South Africans with outstanding returns to file before then.
The service said it has “made every effort to simplify and support the filing process”, warning that filing a tax return isn’t voluntary; it is a legal obligation.
Except for specific circumstances—such as those earning less than R500,000 a year—South Africans are legally obligated to file their taxes. Failure to do so could result in fines and penalties.
With just three days left before the deadline, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said taxpayers should take advantage of the remaining days to file their returns.
“Failure to submit a return by the deadline is a serious offence, and non-compliance can lead to administrative penalties and interest charges,” SARS said.
“As part of our strategic focus to encourage voluntary compliance and enforce the law, SARS will continue to identify and act against those who do not meet their tax obligations.”
SARS said that approximately 80% of taxpayers have filed their taxes before the deadline, including around 6 million who were auto-assessed.
However, this also means that a significant number of taxpayers still have not submitted their returns.
SARS’s data shows that 7.9 million non-provisional taxpayers have already filed their tax returns, with more than 854,000 still outstanding.
The revenue services noted that many taxpayers wait until the last minute to file their returns, hoping to meet the deadline.
However, it warned that rushing to do so invites errors, misjudgements, unnecessary stress, and long queues at SARS branches.
“Submit returns while there is still time to think clearly and avoid mistakes,” it said.
Tax season 2025 dates
| Income Taxpayer | Open | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Assessments | ||
| Individual | 20 October 2025 | |
| Provisional | 19 January 2026 | |
| Trusts | 19 January 2026 |
Limited room for mistakes
The warning from SARS to avoid mistakes comes in the context of a draft interpretation note published by the revenue service this year that makes it clear that it is no longer going easy on errors in filings.
According to Tax Consulting SA, many taxpayers assume that any assessment error can be swiftly corrected, but this is not the case.
Provisions in South Africa’s tax laws afforded taxpayers an opportunity to fix genuine, undisputed errors, such as miscalculations or data entry mistakes, without the cost and complexity of a formal dispute.
However, SARS has noted that the provision has been misused to reopen substantive disagreements or revive time-barred objections.
The draft interpretation note reinforces that this route applies only to clear, uncontested factual errors and not to interpretive or debatable issues.
“Only obvious, factual mistakes qualify (for correction), and SARS must be ‘satisfied’ before any reduced assessment is made,” Tax Consulting said.
SARS interprets “readily apparent” to mean that the error must be visible at face value, capable of being confirmed without extensive verification or interpretive debate.
The term “undisputed” requires that the mistake is not open to reasonable challenge and is accepted by SARS as factually correct.
Examples include:
- A taxpayer who inadvertently duplicated a disallowed expense or entered the wrong figure from a certificate, and/or
- An incorrect donation amount where the Public Benefit Organisation reissued a corrected section 18A receipt.
By contrast, complex reclassifications or claims requiring interpretive judgment will not qualify.
SARS recognises that both errors of commission (doing something wrong) and omission (failing to do something) may qualify, provided they are objectively verifiable and uncontested.
However, taxpayers cannot use section 93(1)(d) to retroactively adjust prior assessments for later events, such as contract cancellations in subsequent years, as these do not constitute errors.
Tax Consulting noted that timing is also an important factor.
“SARS may process a reduced assessment under section 93(1)(d) even after the standard three-year prescription period, provided it became aware of the error before the period expired,” it said.
“Requests must be lodged in writing or via eFiling using forms RRA01 (for individuals) or RRA02 (for companies), with clear reasons and supporting evidence.”
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