Are you prepared for the 2025 Tax Season for individuals? This year, tax season has once again kicked off with a round of auto-assessments as SARS tries to improve efficiency, identify discrepancies, and encourage voluntary compliance. Once auto-assessments come to an end, individual taxpayers will be able to commence filing their income tax returns.
The auto-assessment process, while convenient on the surface and whilst working well for very simple returns, can and has lead to errors, delays, penalties, missed deductions, incorrect assumptions, and incorrect assessments, especially where taxpayers don’t fully understand what they are required to declare, what they are able to claim as deductions and how to leverage the SARS process efficiently.
We are receiving numerous inquiries from taxpayers who are unsure what to expect, what to prepare, when to start filing their returns and when the deadlines are for the 2025 Tax season for individuals. If you’re feeling unsure about what to do (or not to do), you’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know about the 2025 tax season for individuals, including what to do if you are auto-assessed, key deadlines and how to avoid the most common filing mistakes.
What Is an auto-assessment?
Auto-assessments are SARS’ way of streamlining the tax process by pre-populating income tax returns, based on information they receive from third parties like:
- Employers (via IRP5s)
- Banks and other financial institutions
- Medical aid schemes
- Retirement funds
- Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs)
Using this data, SARS generates the income tax return and assessment for millions of taxpayers. Sounds simple, right? Not quite. Let’s investigate why.
Be careful when accepting an auto-assessment
While auto-assessments are a helpful starting point, they are not foolproof. Just because you’ve been auto-assessed doesn’t mean you have met your tax obligations. In fact, you still carry the full legal responsibility to ensure the assessment is complete and accurate. Since SARS bases auto-assessments on information submitted by third parties and does not have access to all your information automatically, it is possible that their assessment of your tax affairs could very well be incorrect. Here’s why:
1. Not all income is pre-populated
SARS relies on third-party data, which doesn’t always cover:
- Freelance, trading or consulting income
- Income from informal or side businesses
- Foreign income
- Rental income not processed through agents
- Capital Gains/Losses
2. Deductions could be understated or missing
You must manually claim many of your deductions, especially if they relate to:
- Medical expenses not covered by your scheme
- Travel
- Home office expenses
- Other expenses incurred in the process of earning commission
- Donations or Section 18A certificates (although SARS is attempting to formalise and automate this process)
3. The outcome may be incorrect
It is possible for SARS to calculate a refund or a liability based on incomplete data, resulting in incorrect assessments. Furthermore third parties submitting information to SARS can make mistakes leading to incorrect assessments as well. These mistakes and omissions do not only cause inconvenience, it can result in penalties if not corrected by the taxpayer on time. Therefore, it remains crucial not to accept an assessment or refund at face value. Accepting a refund now without reviewing your assessment in detail could mean repaying it later with interest if SARS finds discrepancies later on. Always review an auto-assessment to ensure you have declared all your income and claimed all of the allowed deductions.
Here’s a summary what you still need to do if you received an auto-assessment:
Step 1: Log into SARS eFiling or the SARS MobiApp
If you’ve been auto-assessed, SARS will send you a notification via SMS or email. You can access your assessment from 7 to 20 July 2025 on eFiling or the SARS MobiApp.
Tip: Make sure your contact details on eFiling are up to date so you don’t miss any alerts.
Step 2: Review your assessment thoroughly
This is the most important step. Verify every detail in your assessment.
Your assessment should reflect the following:
- All sources of income, including:
-
- Freelance or side hustle income (trading as a sole proprietor)
- Investment or interest income
- Rental income
- Trust distributions
- Donations received
- Inheritances received
- Foreign income
- Capital Gains/Losses
- All allowable deductions, should also reflect, including:
-
- Medical aid contributions
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses
- Retirement annuity contributions
- Donations to registered PBOs
- Travel claims (with a valid logbook)
- Home office expenses (if you qualify)
- Trading / business expenses
- Property expenses in cases where there is rental expenses
Important: Remember, SARS only includes what it has received from third parties. If something is missing or incorrect, it is your responsibility to correct it.
Step 3: If everything Is correct – you’re done
If your review confirms that all income and deductions are accurately reflected and your assessment is correct, you have discharged your obligations for the 2025 tax season. SARS will process the assessment, and if a refund is due, it will be paid automatically (usually within a few days).
Step 4: If something is missing or wrong – Submit a revised return
If you spot any errors, missing deductions or unreported income, you must file a corrected tax return before the relevant deadline (as detailed below).
Important: Ignoring an incorrect assessment may lead to under-declaration penalties, SARS audits/verifications, or repayment demands. You remain responsible to ensure your return is accurate, even if the error was SARS’s or a third party’s.
Key Deadlines for the 2025 Tax Season
These are the 2025 income tax season filing deadlines for individuals:
Non-provisional taxpayers typically include salaried employees with no significant additional income or deductions whilst Provisional taxpayers are those taxpayers who receive income outside of employment (e.g. rental income, freelance/trading income or investment income).
Tip: If you’re earning more than R30,000 per year from non-salary sources, like rental income and investment income, you’re likely a provisional taxpayer. In this case you should register as a provisional taxpayer, submit your returns and payments to SARS accordingly. Provisional tax is due before the end of Aug and Feb each year.
It is important to remember that you should determine if you are a provisional taxpayer every year since it is dependent on your type and quantity of income received for that year. If you declare and pay this incorrectly or at the wrong time, you could be liable for penalties. For assistance to determine if you’re a provisional taxpayer, or with calculating your liability, you can reach out to us here: https://www.pinnacleconsult.co.za/contact-us/
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I have to file a tax return if I’m auto-assessed?
If you’ve been auto-assessed and your information is complete and correct, you don’t need to take further action. However, if anything is missing or incorrect, you must file a corrected return before the deadline.
What should I do if I don’t agree with my auto-assessment?
You have to submit a corrected tax return, based on the complete and accurate information available. If you do not take action before the tax deadline, SARS assumes the auto-assessment is correct and any discrepancies identified later could result in penalties.
Will I be penalised if my auto-assessment is incorrect?
Yes you could. Unfortunately, you remain legally liable for your tax affairs, even if SARS pre-populated the tax return incorrectly based on information provided by third parties. That’s why it is so important to review your assessment and not accept it at face value.
I don’t know what to look for on my auto-assessment. Where can I get help?
If you are unsure what to look for, what types of income to declare or what deductions are available to you, we recommend you speak to a professional, especially if you have multiple income sources, complex deductions, or previous year complications. You can reach out to us for help here: https://www.pinnacleconsult.co.za/contact-us/
What do I need to prepare for my tax return?
Even if you’re accepting an auto-assessment, it’s wise to retain these documents:
- IRP5/IT3(a) certificates from employers
- Medical scheme tax certificate
- Retirement annuity contribution certificate
- Investment income tax certificates (IT3(b))
- Proof of donations (Section 18A)
- Logbook for travel claims
- Supporting documents for home office or business expenses
- Bank statements for manual income verification
Note: Keep all supporting documentation for a minimum of five years from the date of submitting your tax return. Even if your supporting documents is not requested now, SARS may request it from you later and if you are unable to supply the documents, you could lose certain deductions, face additional assessment and penalties.
What happens if I ignore an auto-assessment?
If your auto-assessment is incorrect and you don’t submit a correction, you may face:
-
- Understatement penalties
- Interest on unpaid tax
- SARS audits or verifications
If you owe money and don’t pay or don’t pay on time, SARS may issue garnishee orders, deduct funds from your bank account, or seize your assets.
Where can I get more information?
If you need any more information about the 2025 tax season for individuals, you can read about it here:
How We Can Help
At Pinnacle Business Consulting, we’re here to help you navigate the complexities of tax season confidently and correctly.
Whether you’re:
- Unsure how to review your auto-assessment,
- Have additional income to report or deductions to claim,
- Need help submitting a revised return,
- Require assistance with a verification,
- Have to dispute penalties, or
- Simply want peace of mind that everything’s in order,
We’ve got you covered.
Our services include:
- Reviewing and verifying auto-assessments,
- Submitting tax returns and revised returns,
- Claiming all eligible deductions,
- Provisional tax guidance, liability calculations and submissions,
- Disputes, corrections, payment arrangements and responding to SARS communication,
We’ll make sure you don’t pay more than you are actually liable for, and that your return is complete, compliant, and on time.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 tax season might be more streamlined than previous years, but automation doesn’t replace accountability. SARS can only work with the information they have. You are still responsible for ensuring you declare everything you legally should. Take the time to review your assessment. If you’re unsure, reach out to us. Don’t leave your tax to chance. It could end up costing you a lot more that it should.