What a SARS auto assessment actually is
A SARS auto assessment is an income tax assessment SARS builds for you, without you filing anything, using third-party data it already holds. That data comes from your employer’s IRP5, your medical scheme, your retirement fund, banks and other financial institutions.
For the 2026 tax year, covering income earned from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026, SARS issued these between 1 and 12 July 2026.
If you did not receive a notification by 12 July 2026, you were not auto-assessed, and you had to complete and submit an income tax return from 13 July 2026.
The part most people get wrong
There is no Accept button.
SARS puts it plainly: log in to eFiling or the SARS MobiApp, check whether all the information is correct, and if it is correct then no further action is required and no income tax return needs to be submitted.
So doing nothing is how you agree. The assessment becomes final on its own.
That is convenient if the figures are right and dangerous if they are not. An assessment that shows a refund can still be wrong, because SARS can only calculate from data it has been given. If a payment was never reported to SARS, it is not in there, and the shortfall surfaces later.
Read it before you let it stand.
How to review it
Log in to eFiling or the SARS MobiApp. Do not use a link in an SMS or email.
Compare every line against your own documents:
- Your IRP5 or IT3(a) from each employer
- Your medical scheme tax certificate
- Your retirement annuity certificate
- Interest certificates from your banks
- Any rental, freelance or trade income you earned
If everything matches and nothing is missing, you are done.
When you must file instead
If information is incorrect or something is missing, SARS says to check all the information on the return, add the missing details, and submit through eFiling or the SARS MobiApp.
Filing opened for edits on 13 July 2026.
Common things an auto assessment will not know about: home office expenses, additional medical costs you paid yourself, travel claims against a travel allowance, rental income and expenses, and freelance or side income.
One thing to understand before you start. When you edit and resubmit, you are filing a full ITR12 that replaces the auto assessment entirely. It is not a partial amendment, and you cannot revert to the original. Make sure the return is complete before you submit.
The deadlines
| Who | Deadline to file a corrected return |
|---|---|
| Non-provisional taxpayers | 23 October 2026 |
| Provisional taxpayers | 22 January 2027 |
There is a separate rule worth knowing: an assessment issued after 27 August 2026 runs on its own 40 business day clock rather than the 23 October date.
Missing the deadline triggers administrative penalties that recur monthly until the return is filed, so this is not a soft date.
Refunds and small amounts
Where a refund is due and your banking details with SARS are correct, SARS pays it out quickly, generally within about 72 hours of the assessment.
Amounts under R100, whether owed to you or owed by you, roll over to the next tax year rather than being paid or collected.
If a refund has not arrived, the usual causes are outdated banking details, a verification request you have not responded to, or an outstanding return from a previous year. Our guide on why a SARS refund has not been paid covers the checks.
Watch for scams during filing season
Filing season is peak phishing season, and the messages are convincing because they arrive exactly when you are expecting one.
SARS states it never asks for passwords, one-time PINs, banking PINs or eFiling credentials by email, SMS or WhatsApp.
Treat every link in a notice as unverified. Go to eFiling yourself by typing the address, or use the SARS Online Query System, rather than clicking through from a message.
New for the 2026 season, SARS can deliver a Notice of Assessment by WhatsApp to taxpayers who do not use email or eFiling. That makes the scam messages harder to spot, not easier, so the rule stands: verify on eFiling, never through the link.
If you still need to file
The filing season deadlines and process are set out separately, and the return itself is the ITR12.
Where to check
Confirm the current filing season dates, your own assessment and any outstanding returns on sars.gov.za or through your eFiling profile. For a dispute or an unusual situation, speak to a registered tax practitioner rather than relying on general guidance.
