The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has called on employers and third-party data providers to submit accurate and timely tax information
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has called on employers and third-party data providers to submit accurate and timely tax information, warning that poor-quality or late submissions could negatively impact taxpayers.
The submission period began on 1 April and will close on 31 May 2026.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the revenue service said accurate third-party data is critical to ensuring a smooth filing season.
"Traditionally, the spotlight has been filing season for individuals, however, the underlying process that determines if the filing experience for individual taxpayers is smooth or cumbersome, whether it be due to accurate auto-assessments, less queries, or fewer disputes, is the submission period for employers and other third-party data providers", the revenue service said.
"This period runs annually from 01 April to 31 May and requires employers and other mandated third-party data providers to submit remuneration and financial data related to individual taxpayers for the preceding tax year (01 March 2025 – 28 February 2026)".
SARS added that employers and third-party data providers must submit accurate information on time.
"The non-submission or submission of inaccurate third-party data negatively impacted taxpayers, in that they were excluded from the auto-assessment process.
"When third-party data is submitted accurately and timeously, taxpayers can be auto-assessed, providing them with an easier filing experience. It is therefore critical that employers and third-party data providers submit the latest, accurate information on time".
SARS said it has also noted that some employers and data providers are still not fully complying with reporting requirements or are submitting information close to the deadline, making it harder to resolve discrepancies in time.
SARS said it will provide technical support sessions to assist employers ahead of the deadline and urged all data providers to use approved submission channels, including:
SARS urges third-party data providers to use SARS-approved channels, namely:
"Third-party data providers must register for eFiling to activate these channels if not already registered".
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
IOL Business