SARS kicks off 2025 tax filing season

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has officially declared the opening of the 2025 tax filing season, with major updates aimed at simplifying the process for millions of South African taxpayers.
The filing season will run from July 7 up until October 20 for non-provisional individuals, while provisional taxpayers and trusts will have until January 19, 2026 to submit their tax returns.
This year, SARS is making compliance by kicking off the season with an auto-assessment initiative, designed to streamline returns for taxpayers.
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''In line with our strategic objective to make it easy for taxpayers to comply, we have identified a large segment of non-provisional and provisional taxpayers who receive income from one or more sources, from formal and other forms of employment, and whose tax affairs are not complicated. They've been selected to be automatically assessed,' said SARS in a statement.
Between July 7 and 20, selected taxpayers will receive SMSes and emails notifying them that they've been automatically assessed. If SARS's pre-calculated return looks right then the taxpayer does not have to do anything.
However, taxpayers are advised to file a revised return if they believe that SARS has not accurately calculated their return. This can be done through SARS eFiling or the SARS MobiApp by October 20.
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For those not included in the auto-assessment the filing window opens on July 21. This includes taxpayers with multiple income streams, foreign income, or deductions not reflected in SARS's third-party data.
SARS emphasised the importance of early preparation. 'We urge all taxpayers to prepare their documentation early to check their assessments to avoid last-minute delays for those that must submit an income return.'
The agency has also urged taxpayers to ensure that their banking and security contact details are accurate and up to date.
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'If your contact details haven't changed, you don't need to do anything,' SARS confirmed. 'But if you need to update them, make sure your email and cellphone number are correct on eFiling first.'
Those who have not been contacted by SARS are still expected to file manually from July 21.
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