How to check if you owe money to SARS

Millions of South Africans are checking their SARS tax assessments as the 2026 filing season continues, but while many taxpayers are receiving refunds, others may discover that they owe money to the revenue service.

The tax season officially kicked off with SARS rolling out its auto-assessment process, which has seen millions of taxpayers assessed using information submitted by employers, banks, medical schemes and retirement fund administrators.

While many taxpayers have already received refunds, those who have not received payments or who are unsure about their tax position can check whether they owe SARS money through the revenue service’s digital channels.

How to find out if you owe SARS money

There are five ways to find out how much tax debt you owe:

• Log on to eFiling and request a statement of account.
• Log on to the SARS MobiApp and request a statement of account.
• Request a balance statement and/or statement of account for Personal Income Tax by sending an SMS to SARS on 47277. (This service can be accessed with or without data/airtime.)
• SARS USSD Channel by typing, on your mobile device, a string of characters which comprises an asterisk (*), followed by a few digits and ending with a hashtag (#) and dialling.  Balance (Space) ID number/Passport number/ Asylum Seeker number

• Steps on how to request tax services via the SARS USSD Channel:
  • Step 1: Initiate USSD by dialing *134*7277#
  • Step 2: Select the service you require
  • Step 3: Taxpayer Verification – SARS will request you to complete either your ID/Passport/Asylum Number
  • Step 4: Tax Resolution – Upon successful verification by SARS, a response will be displayed

The revenue service has previously warned that failing to settle tax debt can have serious consequences.

"Kindly note that it is a criminal offence to submit a return without making the necessary payment in terms of Section 234(2)(d) read with subsection (k) of the Tax Administration Act (TAA).

"It is a criminal offence for a person to wilfully and without just cause to fail or neglect to withhold and pay to SARS an amount of tax as and when required under a Tax Act as per section 234(2)(k) of the TAA."

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