The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has tightened security ahead of the 2026 filing season, warning of fraudsters promising faster refunds for taxpayers.
The Revenue Service has warned fraudsters that it has strengthened security measures ahead of the 2026 filing season.
Auto assessment will begin from the 1st of next month for taxpayers with less complex cases, and whose information has been completely provided by employers and other third-party data providers.
The comprehensive filing period for provisional and non-provisional taxpayers will begin from July 13.
SARS Commissioner Johnstone Makhubu said the new phased approach would help manage the flow of taxpayers and reduce unnecessary pressure on service channels.
“As we launch this filing season, there are also bad actors in the ecosystem that are already contacting people and selling them all kinds of schemes to be able to get unfair refunds out of the system. And we want to send out a warning to say that we are watching and our systems are ready to catch those types of bad actors.”
He said the refunds of eligible auto-assessment taxpayers will be paid within 72 hours.
“We have improved assessment transparency, providing clearer communications to taxpayers about assessments and their outcomes. By attempting to make the communications we send you more clear, we have increased the need to contact us after you have been informed of an outcome or assessment.
“Security enhancements are another area we have looked at. We need to ensure that no person can access another's profile in an unauthorized manner. Therefore, we have put in place a number of controls, strengthening controls around access, communication and fraud prevention. We have implemented biometrics on e-filing and MobiApp.”
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