SARS Auto-Assessed 1.9 Million SA Taxpayers, Experts Warn of Missed RA Deductions
- SARS auto-assessed more than 1.9 million South African taxpayers this filing season and paid around R8 billion in refunds within 72 hours
- Taxpayers who were auto-assessed can submit a corrected return via eFiling from 13 July until 23 October 2026
- A financial expert warned that retirement annuity deductions are among the most commonly missed items in auto-assessments
Source: Facebook
South Africans who received an automatic tax assessment from the South African Revenue Service this month have until 23 October 2026 to submit a corrected return if anything looks off, and experts say one deduction in particular is slipping through the cracks.
From 13 July, taxpayers who were auto-assessed can log onto eFiling and amend their returns. SARS processed more than 1.9 million auto-assessments during this filing season and has already paid out roughly R8 billion in refunds, with most landing in accounts within 72 hours. The total number of assessments expected to be issued this season sits above six million.
What taxpayers should double-check
Pedri Reyneke, CEO of Multilink Financial Services, said the speed of the process does not guarantee accuracy. He explained that the system can only work with data it has actually received, and anything sitting outside that pipeline will simply not appear.
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Retirement annuity contributions are among the deductions most likely to go missing. This tends to happen when contributions were made through a provider in a different tax year or outside the standard payroll process. Under Section 11F of the Income Tax Act, these contributions are deductible up to 27.5% of remuneration or taxable income. From 1 March 2026, the maximum annual deduction also increased from R350,000 to R430,000.
Source: Facebook
Other areas that may need attention
Retirement annuities are not the only blind spot. Home office expenses, travel claims supported by a logbook, rental income and freelance earnings are generally not captured through SARS' third-party data feeds, meaning taxpayers need to declare these themselves. Corrected returns can still be submitted through eFiling until 23 October 2026, even after an assessment has already been accepted.
3 Other Briefly News stories about SARS
- SARS raised the compulsory VAT registration threshold from R1 million to R2.3 million, effective 1 April 2026.
- South Africans who withdrew from the Two-Pot retirement system could be in for a surprise this tax season.
- Tax experts warned South African employees that SARS treats personal use of a company vehicle as additional taxable income.
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Source: Briefly News
