The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has already paid out billions in tax refunds since the start of the 2026 filing season
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The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has already paid out billions in tax refunds since the start of the 2026 filing season, but taxpayers waiting for their money can check their refund status through the revenue service’s digital channels.
SARS confirmed last week that around 1.9 million taxpayers had been auto-assessed, with about R8 billion in refunds paid out within 72 hours of the filing season opening.
SARS expects to auto-assess around six million taxpayers during the filing season, with the process designed to make filing easier while allowing taxpayers to review their information and confirm that their returns are accurate.
Auto-assessments are pre-populated tax returns created by SARS using information received from third parties, including employers, banks, medical schemes and retirement fund administrators.
While the process is intended to simplify filing, taxpayers remain responsible for checking that the information is correct before accepting the assessment.
However, while some taxpayers have already been auto-assessed and received their refunds, some may still be waiting for their payments to be processed.
You can easily check the status of your tax refund using these digital channels:
IOL previously reported that not everyone will be lucky enough to be included in the auto-assessment system. The revenue service said the process only works where taxpayer information is complete, consistent and verified through third-party data sources such as employers and banks.
"You will not receive an auto-assessment if your personal information is incomplete (you can update your details on eFiling). You will also not be Auto Assessed if you received income other than employment and investment income, e.g. rental income," the revenue service said.
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