SARS is coming after your bank account in 2026
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is expected to intensify its crackdown on tax non-compliance in 2026, with closer scrutiny of taxpayers’ bank accounts remaining one of its most effective tools.
Recent tax statistics and experts suggest that individuals and businesses whose lifestyles or cash flows do not match their declared income will increasingly find themselves in SARS’ sights.
In its 2025 tax statistics highlights, SARS reported collecting a record gross amount of R2.303 trillion during the 2024/25 financial year.
It also paid out R447.3 billion in refunds, the highest refund total ever recorded and an 8.1% increase on the previous year.
Growth in net personal income tax was primarily driven by above-inflation increases in pay-as-you-earn collections in sectors such as financial services, real estate, business services, and community and social services.
Higher-than-expected withdrawals under the new two-pot retirement system also contributed.
While these figures indicate improved revenue performance, SARS has made it clear that compliance enforcement remains a top priority.
The tax authority said it is determined to make it “hard and costly” for taxpayers who wilfully fail to meet their obligations.
During the 2024/25 year, SARS’ compliance programme secured R304 billion in compliance revenue, up from R260.5 billion the year before, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 17%.
Of this amount, R156.1 billion came from direct cash-collection initiatives, while a further R147.9 billion was attributed to strategies aimed at preventing revenue leakage.
According to SARS, this improvement is linked to enhanced compliance strategies and the diligent use of modern technology.
The revenue service added that it is steadily realising its Vision 2030 goal of becoming a smart, modern institution that is trusted and admired.
A key aspect in realising this vision is the use of artificial intelligence, data science and machine learning to identify criminality and non-compliance more efficiently.
These technologies allow SARS to analyse vast datasets containing transactional information linked to specific taxpayers.
SARS’ powers under the Tax Administration Act
Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has previously explained that AI-driven systems dramatically reduce the number of human hours required to analyse data and build legal cases, while also lowering the risk of errors.
Rather than relying on large teams manually reviewing records, smaller groups of technically skilled staff now work alongside automated systems.
Tax Consulting SA has highlighted that these data-driven insights are a major driver of SARS’ recent compliance gains.
The firm noted that SARS can process taxpayer bank statements without prior warning and can also request information from crypto-asset service providers when investigating potential non-compliance.
While many taxpayers may find this intrusive, experts say this level of access has become standard practice for modern tax authorities.
Jashwin Baijoo, associate director at Tax Consulting SA, has previously warned that SARS has the power to instruct banks to withdraw funds directly from a taxpayer’s account to settle outstanding tax debts, without the account holder’s consent.
He added that the courts have consistently upheld SARS’ authority to do so. A court case involving a company under business rescue highlights the extent to which these powers can be exercised.
The company owed around R24 million in VAT to SARS, but failed to formally agree with the tax authority to exclude the debt during the rescue process.
The matter ended up in court, which ruled that the debt remained payable. SARS subsequently recovered the money directly from the company’s bank accounts held at Nedbank and Investec.
Individuals are not immune to similar action. Tax and artificial intelligence specialist André Bothma has warned that, while SARS does not monitor accounts in real time, it has extensive powers under the Tax Administration Act to access and use banking information.
Banks are required to report account details, interest earned, deposits, withdrawals and loans to SARS, allowing the authority to cross-check declared income against actual cash flow.
SARS can demand bank statements or transaction histories during audits, often without prior notice.
Where discrepancies are identified, taxpayers may face penalties, interest or even criminal charges for underreporting.
If tax debts remain unpaid, SARS can freeze or debit bank accounts directly. With billions already recovered through these methods, experts expect bank-account scrutiny to remain a central feature of SARS’ enforcement strategy well into 2026.
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