SARS warns South Africans to check their banking details

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has warned taxpayers to double-check their banking details before the 2025 tax season.

The service is planning to process a significant number of auto-assessments in 2025, and said that taxpayers should ensure their details are up to date for a “hassle-free filing experience”.

SARS will start rolling out auto-assessments from 7 July 2025, which means that taxpayers have until 6 July to ensure their details are correct.

If a taxpayer agrees with their auto-assessment, then it is unnecessary to ‘accept’ the assessment. If a refund is due, it will automatically be paid into the registered bank account.

If these banking details are not correct at the time of the auto-assessment, and refunds due will not be successfully processed and taxpayers will have to get in contact with SARS.

SARS has created a dedicated page for checking on the status of an auto-assessment. This can be accessed here.

However, it said that taxpayers should wait for the SMS/email notice before logging in to eFiling or the MobiApp to check.

When receiving notice of an auto-assessment, taxpayers should log into eFiling or the SARS MobiApp and view it.

SARS said all the data it used to calculate the assessment will be presented.

“If you agree with the assessment, check if a refund is due to you or if you owe SARS. If a refund is due, then there is nothing more you have to do — you can log out and wait for the refund, which you can expect within approximately 72 hours, provided your banking details with SARS are correct,” it said.

If a taxpayer owes SARS, they can make the payment via eFiling or the SARS MobiApp on or before the payment due date. The payment due date of the amount owed to SARS is displayed on the “Notice of Assessment” (ITA34).

If a taxpayer does not agree with the assessment, they will have to access their tax return via eFiling or the SARS MobiApp, and complete and file a return on or before the due date.

Make sure your contact details are correct

In addition to the requirements for processing auto-assessments, taxpayers also need to ensure that their contact details are correct and up to date.

This is because SARS has discontinued the printing and posting of physical letters and moved entirely to digital correspondence.

Taxpayers whose contact details are not correct risk missing crucial communication from SARS, which could result in penalties and other consequences.

System-generated letters from SARS 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

Missing these deadlines could result in penalties in cases of enforcement notices, or other consequences, such as being flagged as non-compliant, which could impact future filings.

To mitigate these risks, taxpayers should ensure that they have the following details up to date:

• An active and accessible email address linked to their SARS profile
• Updated mobile numbers for notifications
• Correct details of the registered representative for entities
• Regular access to your SARS eFiling account or MobiApp

Taxpayers can check their details on the SARS eFiling system by following these steps:

• Log in to sarsefiling.co.za
• Click on ‘SARS registered details’
• Click on ‘Maintain SARS Registered Details’.
• Select the item you want to update:
  • My Addresses
  • My Bank Accounts
  • My Email Addresses
  • My Trading Name Details
  • My eFiling Security Details

If the details are correct and up to date, you are all set to receive a refund in your bank account if one is due.

If your banking or other details are incorrect or have changed, you can edit/change them on their respective screens.

Important: Remember to click on ‘Done’ and then ‘Submit’ once you have updated the details, or they will not register on the system.