The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has launched the 2026 tax filing season, auto-assessing more than 1.9 million taxpayers and paying out about R8 billion in refunds within the first 72 hours. Auto-assessments run until 12 July, with manual tax return submissions opening on 13 July. SARS has also introduced new digital services, stronger security measures and expanded AI support to simplify filing while warning taxpayers to remain alert to tax scams.
Image: Gemini AI
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has officially launched the 2026 tax filing season, with millions of taxpayers already receiving auto-assessments and billions of rand in refunds already paid out.
The tax season officially kicked off on July 1 with the start of the auto-assessment period, which runs until July 12. During this time, eligible taxpayers will receive their tax assessments automatically, while those who are not selected will be able to submit their income tax returns from July 13.
The revenue service has already auto-assessed more than 1.9 million taxpayers, paying out about R8 billion in refunds within the first 72 hours of the filing season.
SARS expects to auto-assess more than six million taxpayers this year as it continues to expand its use of digital services and automated tax administration.
"As at the end of 1 July 2026, more than 1.9 million taxpayers were auto-assessed with about R8 billion refunds paid out in 72 hours," the revenue service said.
"The improvements form part of SARS’s commitment to excellent service and its vision to build a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity. SARS aims to give clarity and certainty, and to make it easy for taxpayers to comply with their obligations".
The revenue service stressed that the 2026 filing season forms part of a push to modernise tax administration through digital transformation, expanded data use and automated assessments designed to reduce the administrative burden on taxpayers.
“Our goal is to make compliance effortless for honest taxpayers”, Dr Johnstone Makhubu, SARS Commissioner, said.
“Every enhancement introduced this Filing Season is designed to improve service, reduce complexity, and give taxpayers greater confidence when engaging with SARS. We want taxpayers to spend less time dealing with administration and more time benefiting from our modern digital services”
Many South Africans have already started receiving auto-assessments as the filing season gets underway, with the revenue service urging taxpayers to carefully review their notices before taking action.
Auto-assessments are based on information collected from employers, banks, medical schemes and retirement fund administrators, which is used to pre-populate tax returns.
Taxpayers who receive an auto-assessment must check the information carefully.
If the assessment is correct, no further action is required, and any refund due will be paid directly into the taxpayer’s registered bank account.
According to SARS, the following key enhancements have been introduced for Filing Season 2026:
The revenue service has also urged South Africans to remain cautious of scams, warning that fraudsters often target taxpayers during filing season with fake SMS messages, emails and refund schemes designed to obtain personal or banking information.
“Taxpayers should be cautious of anyone who guarantees a refund or requests sensitive information without proper verification. Protecting personal information remains a shared responsibility between SARS and taxpayers”, Makhubu warned.
“Our message to taxpayers is simple: make use of these digital services, trust the official SARS channels, and let the technology work for you. The easier we make compliance, the stronger our tax ecosystem becomes for everyone”.
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