Here’s why some taxpayers will not receive refunds after filing their tax returns
· Citizen
The 2026 South African Revenue Service (Sars) tax season is set to kick off on Wednesday with auto-assessments, followed by manual filing of tax returns from 13 July until 23 October 2026 for non-provisional taxpayers and 22 January 2027 for provisional taxpayers.
Not every taxpayer is required to file a tax return, and even those who are will not necessarily receive a refund. Outcomes depend on a range of individual circumstances, so some taxpayers may receive a refund, while others may receive no refund or even owe additional tax.
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Tax season is the annual window when people report their income to Sars so their taxes can be reviewed, adjusted or finalised.
Taxpayers who need to file
Taxpayers who earn income that isn’t fully taxed at source, or who have multiple income streams, business income, or meet certain thresholds, are generally required to file tax returns.
According to Sars, if any of the below questions apply to you for the tax year 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026, you will need to file a return.
- Did you conduct any trade in South Africa?
- If you are a South African tax resident, did you conduct any trade or employment outside South Africa?
- Did you receive an allowance, such as a travel, subsistence, or office-bearer allowance? This can be found in the IRP5/IT3(a).
- If you are a South African tax resident, did you hold any funds in foreign currency or owned any assets outside South Africa that have a combined total value of more than R250 000 at any stage during the tax year?
- Did you have capital gains or capital losses (if you are a South African tax resident, capital gains or capital losses exceeding R40 000)?
- If you are a South African tax resident, was any income or a capital gain from funds in foreign currency or assets outside the Republic attributed to you?
- If you are a South African tax resident, do you hold any participation rights in a controlled foreign company?
- Did you receive an income tax return or were you requested to submit an income tax return for the tax year?
- If you are a South African tax resident with a micro business, did you have a taxable turnover for turnover tax?
Taxpayers who will receive tax refunds
Andre Bothma, head of tax at TaxTim, told The Citizen that even if two people are earning the same salary in the same position, they will not typically both receive tax refunds after filing.
“People assume that if two people earn the same salary, they should receive exactly the same tax refund,” he said. “Same money in, same money back, but that isn’t how South Africa’s tax system works.
“Imagine Mpho and Joe. They work for the same company, have the same job title, earn the same salary, and their employer deducts PAYE from their pay every month using the same tax tables. On paper, they look identical.
“Then tax season arrives. Mpho submits his return and receives a refund of R2. Joe submits his return and receives a refund of several thousand rand. How is that possible?”
How Sars gives tax refunds
Bothma said Sars assesses a taxpayer’s entire financial year, including outside the office.
“For instance, Joe contributes to a retirement annuity. Mpho doesn’t. Joe made donations to a registered charity and kept his section 18A certificates. Mpho didn’t.
“Joe owns a rental property that he must declare. Mpho doesn’t. Joe sold some shares during the year, which means Sars has to work out capital gains tax. Mpho didn’t sell anything.
“By the time Sars issues an assessment, Mpho and Joe are clearly not the same taxpayers, even though they sit next to each other at the office,” Bothma added.
Factors impacting final calculation
Other factors listed by Bothma that can impact the final calculation are:
- Medical scheme changes during the year;
- Interest from investments;
- Freelance work on the side;
- Travel claims if there’s a logbook;
- Home office expenses if the requirements are met.
A refund is based on all the information Sars has for that taxpayer. A refund means too much tax was paid during the year. The tax agency gives back what it shouldn’t have collected in the first place.
“And the opposite is also true. If someone has to pay Sars after submitting their return, it doesn’t automatically mean they’ve done something wrong,” he noted.
“It usually means too little tax was withheld during the year, or that additional taxable income wasn’t picked up in the monthly PAYE calculation.”
Auto-assessments
An auto assessment is when Sars works out your tax return for you using information already received from your employer, banks, medical schemes, retirement funds and insurers – simply meaning you may not need to complete or submit a tax return yourself.
Taxpayers selected for auto assessment will receive an SMS or email from Sars between 1 and 12 July 2026. The notification from the tax agency will indicate whether you need to pay Sars or are due a refund.
One can also check their status online by visiting the Sars Online Query System (SOQS) and clicking ‘My Auto Assessment Status’.
Taxpayers who did not receive a notification by 12 July 2026 will need to file from 13 July.
A better tax season?
Bothma said the tax agency’s auto-assessments should be genuinely better this year following enhancements made.
According to him, enhancements include pre-filled third-party data, such as investment income; a simplified return with clearer questions; a dropdown of approved medical-aid schemes to reduce errors; delivery of assessment notices via WhatsApp; and a new declaration alert questionnaire intended to reduce the number of returns flagged for verification.
He has cautioned that taxpayers must go through their auto-assessments thoroughly before accepting them.
“Sars can only assess what it can see. If income or deductions aren’t in the data Sars receives, your assessment won’t include them, so it’s your responsibility to fix it.”
Data from third parties
A Sars auto-assessment is generated from information supplied by third parties, including IRP5 data from employers, medical-aid certificates from medical schemes, retirement-annuity certificates from funds and investment-income certificates from financial institutions.
Pre-filling these reduces admin and helps most people get it right the first time.
But the tax agency highlights this on its auto-assessment page: “You must make sure that your assessment is complete. For example, if you received rental income or other income, or have deductions in addition to what we reflected in your assessment, you must file a tax return.”
Missing information from auto-assessments
Common items that may be missing include:
- Freelance, side-hustle or other self-employment income;
- Rental income;
- Foreign income;
- Section 18A donations to approved organisations;
- Qualifying out-of-pocket medical expenses;
- Home-office expenses;
- Business travel claims against a travel allowance;
- Direct retirement annuity contributions not reported by a fund.
“Missing income and missing deductions are two different problems,” said Bothma.
“Missing income can lead to under-declaration, and Sars queries down the line. Missing deductions means you are leaving money on the table. So be sure to check it carefully for correctness.”
What to check
Bothma said before accepting, taxpayers should confirm that the income, deductions and personal details in the assessment match their actual position for the tax year.
However, where the third-party data itself is wrong, say a medical aid or an IRP5 figure, taxpayers cannot simply edit it on the return.
Sars requires the original provider (the employer, medical scheme or fund) to correct the information and resubmit it. Only deductions and income that Sars didn’t have can be added by the taxpayer when they file.
“If you do not respond to your auto-assessment, Sars treats that as agreement, and the assessment stands,” he said.
“Any refund of R100 or more is paid automatically, which Sars says happens within 72 hours, provided there are no banking, compliance or verification issues. If you don’t agree, you can file a corrected return through your preferred tax filing channel.
“Your best approach is to take a few minutes to check the numbers against your real situation,” said Bothma.