Filing Season Is Open — But Your Timeline Is Different
Every July, SARS opens filing season and the reminders start: file now, beat the rush, check your auto-assessment. Most of that messaging is written for salaried employees. If you're a provisional taxpayer — a freelancer, contractor, or independent professional — your filing season works differently, and following advice meant for employees can cost you money.
The return itself is the same ITR12. What differs is the deadline, the data SARS already holds about you, and what the assessment actually does once it lands.
Why the Auto-Assessment Wave Skips You
In early July, SARS issues auto-assessments to taxpayers whose income it can fully reconstruct from third-party data: IRP5 certificates from employers, medical scheme contribution certificates, retirement fund certificates, and bank interest reports.
Your trade income doesn't appear in any of those feeds. No client submits a certificate to SARS saying what they paid you (unless they withheld PAYE, in which case you should have an IRP5 from them). Your deductible expenses — home office, travel, equipment, professional subscriptions — are invisible to SARS until you declare them.
That means two things:
- You will almost certainly not be auto-assessed. If you somehow receive one and you earned trade income, do not simply accept it — an auto-assessment that omits your business income is not a free pass, and accepting it while knowingly leaving out income creates a serious compliance problem.
- The quality of your return is entirely in your hands. Nothing is pre-populated for the part of your return that matters most.
The Extended Deadline Is Not a Reason to Wait
Provisional taxpayers file later than everyone else — the window historically runs into the second half of January of the following year, compared with October for non-provisional eFilers. The exact dates are announced each season, so confirm them on the SARS website rather than assuming last year's dates.
The extension exists because business records take longer to finalise. It is not a reason to postpone. Two practical arguments for filing early:
- Refunds come to those who file. If your 2025/26 provisional payments exceeded your final liability, that refund sits with SARS until your ITR12 is assessed.
- Your assessed 2025/26 taxable income becomes your next basic amount. The figure on this assessment feeds directly into the estimates SARS pre-populates on future IRP6 forms. Filing early means your provisional tax planning for the current year rests on real numbers, not projections.
There's also a hard compliance reason: the August IRP6 for the current 2026/27 year is due on 31 August, and preparing your ITR12 forces you to finalise exactly the income and expense picture you need for a defensible estimate. Doing both in one sitting is the efficient move.
What to Gather Before You Open the Return
For the 2025/26 year of assessment (1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026), assemble:
- Income records — invoices issued and amounts actually received, reconciled to bank statements. If any client deducted PAYE, get the IRP5.
- Business expense records — receipts and a categorised summary: home office costs, travel (with your logbook), equipment, software, insurance, professional fees, bank charges.
- Retirement fund certificates — your s11F deduction depends on contribution certificates from your RA or pension provider.
- Medical scheme certificate and out-of-pocket receipts — for the s6A and s6B credits.
- Both IRP6 returns — your August and February submissions and proof of payment, so you can verify SARS has credited them.
- Interest and investment certificates — IT3(b) and IT3(c) certificates from banks and brokers.
The Schedule That Matters
Trade income and expenses go into the local business, trade and professional income section of the ITR12. Answer the opening wizard questions accurately — telling the wizard you earned business income is what unlocks the right schedules. Understating the number of income types to keep the form short is a classic error that forces a correction later.
How the Reconciliation Works
Provisional tax is a prepayment system, not a separate tax. Your ITR12 assessment calculates your actual liability for the year, then credits every provisional payment you made. Three outcomes are possible:
- You underpaid — the shortfall is due, potentially with interest.
- You overpaid — SARS refunds the difference after any verification.
- You estimated well — the settlement amount is small either way. This is the goal, and it's what disciplined year-round tracking buys you.
If the assessment doesn't reflect a provisional payment you made, don't panic — pull your proof of payment and the IRP6 history on eFiling and request a corrected assessment. Payments occasionally mis-allocate, and the paper trail resolves it.
Verification Is Normal — Be Ready for It
Returns with trade income are verified more often than salary-only returns. A verification is not an audit: SARS asks for the documents behind specific figures, usually within 21 business days. If your expense claims are backed by receipts, a logbook, and a tidy summary, verification is an inconvenience, not a threat. If they aren't, deductions get disallowed and penalties enter the picture.
The habit that makes filing season painless isn't a July habit at all — it's the record-keeping you do from March to February. If this season feels harder than it should, treat that as the signal to fix the system now, while the new tax year is still young.