Do I have to file a tax return?

Not everyone does. SARS sets out exemption criteria each year: where your only income was a salary under R500,000 from a single employer, with PAYE correctly deducted, no allowances (like a travel allowance) and no other income, a return may not be required. Meet every condition and none is due; miss even one and a return is required.

Separately, SARS auto-assesses millions of straightforward taxpayers early each July: it pre-fills the return from employer, bank, medical scheme and retirement fund data and issues the result. If it is correct, nothing more is needed. If it is wrong or incomplete, you edit and submit the return by the deadline.

“I owe no tax” and “I don’t have to file” are two different questions

These get tangled all the time. The tax threshold is the income level below which no income tax is due at all — this year R99,000 under 65, R153,250 from 65, and R171,300 from 75. It comes from the rebates, not a separate concession.

The filing threshold is a different rule about who has to submit a return — even people who do owe tax, because PAYE already collected it. So you can owe tax and not have to file (a single salary under R500,000 with PAYE deducted), and you can owe no tax yet still have to file (for example, a provisional taxpayer running a loss-making side business).

SARS’s exemption criteria, in full

For the current Filing Season, a person need not submit a return where their gross income consisted only of:

Remuneration from a single employer, not exceeding R500,000 for the year, with PAYE deducted;
Interest (not from a tax-free investment) up to R23,800 under 65, or R34,500 from 65;
Amounts from a tax-free investment;
Exempt dividends, where the person was non-resident for the whole year;
A retirement lump sum where tax was withheld under a directive.

The exemption falls away the moment anything else appears: a travel or other allowance, foreign income, a capital gain above the annual exclusion, or any income from renting, freelancing or a business. The rule is all-or-nothing — meet the whole list, or a return is required.

What auto-assessment is and how it works

SARS builds the assessment from data third parties already sent it: employers (IRP5s), banks, medical schemes, retirement fund administrators and insurers. Notices go out by SMS and email in the first half of July, and the assessment is viewed on eFiling or the MobiApp.

If it looks right, no action is needed and it stands. A refund of R100 or more is paid automatically, usually within about 72 hours; an amount owed is payable by the due date, with interest running on anything unpaid.

If it is wrong or incomplete, you edit and submit the full return — an ITR12 — by the filing deadline. For the 2026 season that is 23 October 2026 for non-provisional taxpayers, and 22 January 2027 for provisional taxpayers.

Who always has to file

Some situations require a return regardless of the salary rule:

Provisional taxpayers — anyone with income not fully taxed at source, such as business, freelance or significant rental or investment income;
A capital gain or loss above the year’s annual exclusion (currently R50,000);
Rental, side-hustle, freelance or business income, or more than one source of income;
Any travel, subsistence or office-bearer allowance, or a company-car benefit;
Foreign income, or assets held offshore above SARS’s disclosure threshold;
Remuneration over R500,000, even from a single employer;
Anyone SARS asks to file — an issued or outstanding return has to be completed whatever the criteria say.

When an auto-assessment leaves money on the table

An auto-assessment only knows what third parties reported. It will not see out-of-pocket medical costs, retirement annuity contributions that were not on an IRP5, section 18A donation certificates, or home-office costs. Accepting an incomplete one means those amounts are simply never claimed for that year.

Anyone with such deductions can still file the full return to include them, keeping the supporting documents for a possible SARS check. That is a factual option, not a prompt — the numbers decide whether it is worth the effort.

The consequence of not filing when a return is in fact required runs the other way: administrative penalties from R250 to R16,000 a month, depending on income, can recur for months until the return is in.

The Tax Season timeline

The shape repeats every year, with fresh dates announced by SARS. Auto-assessment notices land in early July; the ordinary filing window for non-provisional taxpayers runs from mid-July to late October; provisional taxpayers have until late January. Knowing which group you fall into is what tells you your real deadline.

Terms used on this page

auto-assessment: An assessment SARS issues without you filing, built from data employers, banks, medical schemes and retirement funds already sent it. If it is correct it stands; if it is incomplete you edit and submit the return yourself.
IRP5: The tax certificate an employer submits to SARS (and gives to you) showing your pay and the PAYE deducted. It is the main data behind an auto-assessment.
eFiling: SARS's free online platform for submitting returns, viewing auto-assessments and making payments.
ITR12: The income tax return form for individuals. "Filing a return" means submitting an ITR12 on SARS eFiling or the MobiApp.
provisional taxpayer: Someone with income not fully taxed at source — business, freelance, or significant rental or investment income — who pays estimated tax during the year and always submits a return.
tax threshold: The income level below which no income tax is due for the year. Different from the filing threshold, which decides whether a return has to be submitted.
filing threshold: SARS's criteria for who has to submit a return. You can owe tax and still be exempt from filing, because PAYE already collected it.

Sources

Reviewed July 2026

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