South Africa Loses Nearly 200,000 Registered Taxpayers In One Year As Citizens Debate Causes

• The National Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review's data revealed that South Africa lost more registered taxpayers
• Personal income tax remains the largest revenue source for the government at R844.8 billion, followed by Value-added tax (VAT)
• South Africans weighed in on the shrinking tax base, sharing reasons why and who was to blame for the problem

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG - South Africa’s already narrow tax base is under growing pressure, new data from the National Treasury shows.

The National Treasury’s latest data showed that the country has lost almost 200,000 registered taxpayers over the last year, putting further strain on the existing tax base. The data, which was contained in the National Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review, showed that South Africa lost 196,721 registered taxpayers.

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Expert discusses impact of Budget Speech for South African citizens

The National Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review was published on Wednesday, 25 February 2026.

How many South Africans pay tax?

According to the latest data, South Africa now has 14,248,895 registered individuals in the income tax system. A registered individual is someone who has been formally issued a tax reference number by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

This poses a concern, as the country already has a very narrow tax base, with a small number of citizens paying the majority of the tax.

There is some slight good news, as in the 2026/27 financial year, South Africa is expected to have 5.9 million registered individuals below the income tax threshold. That is lower than the 6.6 million individuals in the previous financial year. This simply means that more people are eligible to pay tax due to above-inflation salary increases.

Personal income tax is still government’s largest revenue source

Personal income tax remains the government’s largest revenue source, accounting for R844.8 billion of the revenue. Value-added tax (VAT) brings in R521.4 billion, and corporate income tax earns the government R364.3 billion.

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National Treasury confirmed that going into the next financial year, 8.3 million people will pay personal income tax, which is much higher than the 7.9 million personal income taxpayers in the last financial year.

SARS is also continuing to intensify its efforts to regulate and tax social media influencers in the country's growing digital market.

South Africans weigh in on decrease in taxpayers

Online users have reacted to the news that there will be fewer registered taxpayers, with some blaming the government for it.

Red_Baron1234 said:

“And they are still going to lose many more.”

Like it is stated:

“Don't be scared. They will make sure ministers and tribal kings will get pay raises. It is scary that the only way to reverse this is to hire only on merit and get completely rid of affirmative action and BEE. Yet there is zero chance the ANC will do that; they will discriminate against the very people who can save them all, even if it means total destruction, and we are already long past the point of no return regarding total destruction.”

Null hypothesis added:

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EFF welcomes tax relief but slams Enoch Godongwana's budget speech

“Awesome work, ANC. Amandla. Soon, it will only be civil servants of SA who are paying personal income tax, and the government will pay their own salaries from those taxes. This is like a leech, feeding off itself.”

Guy noted:

“Can you believe it, that even with the industries and mines in SA, corporate tax is not even half of personal income tax? Unbelievable.”

Andre Stols exclaimed:

“All the ANC’s fault.”

Expert discusses impact of the budget speech

Briefly News reported that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech has left questions about how the average citizen is affected.

Godongwana announced tax reliefs and increases to most of the social grants under the Department of Social Development.

Professor Elda Du Toit from the University of Pretoria shared her opinion on how the budget impacts South Africans in both positive and negative ways.

Source: Briefly News