SARS makes big change for tax season 2025

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has discontinued the printing and posting of system-generated letters, which means taxpayers need to make sure their digital profiles are up to date and also be on high alert for scams.

As part of its information package around filing season 2025, the taxman has flagged phishing scams as a considerable risk to be aware of.

As with previous years, the revenue service expects scam and fraud activity to ramp up in the coming weeks and months as communication between SARS and taxpayers increases.

The chances of electronic fraud and scams should also be top of mind, as SARS is moving fully to electronic notice delivery.

Effective 31 May 2025, SARS will no longer print or post system-generated letters. All correspondence will now be delivered electronically to a taxpayer’s eFiling profile and other digital channels.

“Eliminating physical mail distribution allows SARS to improve operational efficiency, reduce reliance on third-party vendors, deliver correspondence faster and more reliably, and become more environmentally sustainable,” it said.

With communication now fully digital, taxpayers should watch out for more email and SMS scams, which gain in popularity around tax season.

SARS noted that in the run-up to filing season, scammers will make many attempts to mimic what it does and get hold of taxpayers’ personal details or to pay money into an account.

The taxman keeps an updated scams page where South Africans can view all current and previous types of scams.

For individual taxpayers, scams usually take the form of letters of demand, warnings of blacklisting or correspondence related to tax filings and returns.

These tend to come from emails that appear to be related to SARS—like [email protected] or [email protected]—and carry the revenue service’s branding, with things like reference codes and the like.

The scams typically try to instil a sense of fear or panic in the victim, sometimes threatening them with fines and penalties, in the hopes of getting them to thoughtlessly hand over critical information.

Other types of scam emails also target businesses, relating to customs tax or outstanding amounts owed.

Scam information to take note of

In most cases, the emails either prompt recipients to click a link or have a PDF attached, looking to farm user data and details.

SARS has urged South Africans not to follow through with any of these prompts.

Some of the fraudulent messages and emails have been doing the rounds, focusing on these areas:

• Threats of SARS issuing court summonses against taxpayers
• Threats of SARS blacklisting taxpayers
• Threats of SARS issuing stop orders on accounts
• Notice of outstanding amounts owed to taxpayers
• Notice of outstanding amounts owed to SARS
• Notice of delayed payments pending FICA review

Examples of these scams can be seen on SARS’ scams page.

To best protect themselves from such scams, SARS noted that taxpayers should be aware of the following:

• Do not open or respond to emails from unknown sources.
• Beware of emails that ask for personal, tax, banking and eFiling details (login credentials, passwords, pins, credit/debit card information, etc.).
• SARS will never request your banking details in any communication you receive via post, email, or SMS. However, for the purpose of telephonic engagement and authentication, SARS will verify your personal details. Importantly, SARS will not send you hyperlinks to other websites—even those of banks.
• Beware of false SMSes.
• SARS does not send *.htm or *.html attachments.
• SARS will never ask for your credit card details.

To report or to get more information on phishing, please send an email to [email protected].

Don’t ignore official communication from SARS

One trap taxpayers should not fall into is ignoring official communication from SARS, thinking it may be a scam.

With communication becoming fully digital, taxpayers should prepare to handle system-generated letters and communication.

These often contain time-sensitive information, such as:

• Audit notifications and verification requests
• Final demands or payment reminders
• Requests for supporting documentation
• Assessment adjustments or penalty notices
• Dispute or objection outcomes

Ignoring or missing these letters can have significant implications, including penalties, legal enforcement, loss of tax compliance status or missed refunds and appeals.

Taxpayers could also find themselves liable to pay SARS. The country’s tax laws fully empower SARS to take action against non-compliance, including taking money from a taxpayer’s bank account to settle debts.

Jashwin Baijoo, Associate Director at Tax Consulting SA, previously explained that SARS can direct a bank to withdraw funds from an account to settle a tax debt without the account holder’s consent.

Baijoo further noted that court rulings favouring the Revenue Service have consistently upheld its position.

A BusinessTech reader recently explained how SARS drained their bank account to cover their tax liability after they ignored letters of demand and calls from the revenue service, thinking it was a scam.

Baijoo stressed that taxpayers cannot ignore SARS or expect tax problems to resolve themselves.

Ignorance is also not an excuse, and it remains the taxpayer’s responsibility to follow up with the taxman if they suspect they are being scammed.

All communication with taxpayers, including letters of demand and notices, will appear in their accounts on eFiling or the SARS MobiApp.

Tax season 2025 dates