ITR12 — The Complete Guide to South Africa's Individual Income Tax Return
The ITR12 is the annual income tax return every liable individual taxpayer in South Africa must submit to SARS. This guide explains what it is, who must file it, what documents you need, and exactly how to complete and submit it — using SARS's own current guidance.
What is the ITR12?
The ITR12 is the Income Tax Return for Individuals — the form every liable South African taxpayer completes once a year to declare their income, claim deductions, and have SARS calculate their final tax liability or refund for the tax year.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 Income Tax Return for Individuals
- Covers the tax year 1 March – 28/29 February
- Filed during Filing Season, which SARS announces publicly each year
- The return is a dynamic wizard, not a static document — it reshapes based on your answers to an initial set of questions
- Most income tax-related figures (PAYE, brackets, rebates, medical credits) are calculated automatically once you complete the return
Do you need to file an ITR12?
Not everyone is required to submit an ITR12. Broadly, you may be exempt if your only income is remuneration from a single employer, your remuneration doesn't exceed R500,000 for the year, PAYE was correctly deducted, and you have no other income or deductions to claim. All of these conditions must apply together — and several common situations (a second job, a travel allowance, rental income, wanting to claim a deduction) mean you must file regardless.
Source: SARS Comprehensive Guide to ITR12; SARS Media Release — Clarification on Filing threshold and dates
If you're uncertain, it's safer to file. There is no penalty for submitting a return you didn't strictly need to — but there is a penalty for failing to file one you were required to submit.
What documents do you need before you start?
You use them to complete your ITR12 accurately, but you must keep them in your own records for 5 years — only submit them if SARS specifically requests them (for example, if your return is selected for verification).
Source: SARS — Supporting Documents for Filing page
| Document | When you need it |
|---|---|
| IRP5/IT3(a) certificate(s) | From every employer, pension fund, provident fund, or retirement annuity fund that paid you remuneration or a lump sum |
| Local and foreign interest, foreign dividend certificates | If you earned any investment income |
| Medical scheme tax certificate | If you belong to a medical scheme |
| Proof of qualifying medical expenses | Not recovered from your scheme, if claiming additional medical expenses |
| Completed ITR-DD | (Confirmation of Diagnosis of Disability) If claiming disability-related expenses |
| Retirement annuity contribution certificate(s) | If you contributed to an RA fund |
| Travel logbook | If you received a travel allowance or an employer-provided vehicle fringe benefit |
| Capital gain transaction records | If you disposed of any asset during the year |
| Commission-related expenditure documents and logbook | If you earn commission income and want to claim related expenses |
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12; SARS — Supporting Documents for Filing page
If you are married in community of property, you need the investment income certificates received by both you and your spouse. If married out of community of property, you only need your own certificates.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12
How the ITR12 wizard works
Unlike a static PDF form, the ITR12 begins with a series of yes/no questions that customise the rest of the return to show only the sections relevant to you. If you're registered for eFiling, you complete this customisation yourself; if you're assisted by SARS, an official will ask you these questions directly.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12
If you answer "No" to a question about a topic that actually applies to you (for example, rental income), that section of the return simply won't appear — and your return will be incomplete, even though you didn't intentionally omit anything.
Typical wizard questions include:
- Did you receive income from more than one source?
- Did you or your employer contribute to a retirement annuity fund?
- Do you want to claim a travel allowance deduction (with a logbook)?
- Did you receive rental income?
- Did you dispose of any capital assets during the year?
- Are you a non-resident, and if so, what type of South African-sourced income did you receive?
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12
SARS pre-fills much of your return using data it has already received — your IRP5/IT3(a) details, medical scheme contributions, and retirement annuity contributions, where the relevant institution has submitted the information on time. You should still check every pre-filled figure against your own certificates, since errors do occur.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12
Step-by-step: completing and submitting your ITR12
Register or log in to eFiling
If you've never registered, you'll need to do so before you can file. See our complete eFiling registration guide →
Request your return
Navigate to Returns → Income Tax → ITR12, select the correct year of assessment, and request your return. Your pre-populated return will open.
Work through the wizard questions carefully
Answer every question accurately — this determines which sections appear (see Section 5 above).
Check every pre-populated field
Compare each figure against your own IRP5/IT3(a), medical aid certificate, and RA certificate. Correct any discrepancies before proceeding.
Declare any additional income
Add anything not already reflected — rental income, freelance income, foreign income, or capital gains.
Add your deductions and credits
Retirement annuity contributions, medical expenses, home office expenses (if applicable), and Section 18A donation receipts.
Calculate and review
Click Calculate to see your provisional result. Review the entire summary carefully before submitting.
Sign and submit
If you're filing for yourself, you'll sign a Taxpayer Declaration. If a registered tax practitioner is filing on your behalf, they sign a Tax Practitioner Declaration instead.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12
Alternative filing channels:
- SARS MobiApp — same functionality as eFiling, available on smartphone/tablet
- SARS branch — book an appointment, bring all your supporting documents, and an official will assist you
- Posted return — request a return be posted to you, complete it manually, and submit it at a branch
Source: SARS — How to submit an income tax return (ITR12) page
Auto-assessment vs. filing your own ITR12
SARS may auto-assess you using third-party data it already holds (from your employer, medical scheme, RA administrator, and bank), without requiring you to do anything first. If you don't receive an auto-assessment notification by 12 July 2026, you are not auto-assessed, and should prepare to file your own return from 13 July.
Source: SARS — Filing Season page
Review every figure carefully against your own documents before accepting. If anything is missing or wrong — rental income, a second job, a home office deduction, or an RA contribution from a smaller provider SARS may not have data for — you must edit and file your own corrected return by the relevant deadline rather than accepting the auto-assessment as-is.
Source: SARS — How does Auto-Assessment work page
File your own ITR12 from 13 July, following the steps above, before the relevant deadline for your taxpayer category.
Source: SARS — How does Auto-Assessment work page
ITR12 deadlines for 2026
| Taxpayer type | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Non-provisional taxpayers | 23 October 2026 |
| Provisional taxpayers and trusts | 22 January 2027 |
Source: SARS — Filing Season page
See the complete tax deadline calendar →What happens after you submit your ITR12
After submission, SARS issues a Notice of Assessment (ITA34). Some returns are selected for verification, in which case SARS will request specific supporting documents.
If your return is selected for verification:
Respond to SARS's request promptly. If you don't respond to a request for supporting documents (after more than one request) within the required period, SARS may raise a revised estimated assessment.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12; Section 95(1)(c) of the Tax Administration Act
You have 40 business days from the date of that assessment to submit the outstanding documents, or you may request an extension on reasonable grounds.
Source: SARS — Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12; Sections 95(6) and 95(7) of the Tax Administration Act
SARS explicitly warns of email and SMS scams that mimic official SARS communication, especially during Filing Season. Report suspected phishing to SARS directly rather than clicking links or providing details via unsolicited messages.
Source: SARS — Filing Season page
Frequently Asked Questions
The ITR12 is the annual Income Tax Return for Individuals that liable South African taxpayers submit to SARS to declare income, claim deductions, and have their final tax liability or refund calculated for the tax year.
No. You use supporting documents — such as your IRP5, medical aid certificate, and RA contribution certificate — to complete your return accurately, but you must not submit them to SARS unless specifically requested. Keep them safely for 5 years.
Review every figure against your own documents. If anything is missing or incorrect — such as rental income, a second job, or deductions SARS doesn't have data for — edit and file your own corrected ITR12 by the relevant deadline rather than accepting the auto-assessment.
23 October 2026 for non-provisional taxpayers, and 22 January 2027 for provisional taxpayers and trusts.
The ITR12 is a dynamic wizard — it begins with a series of yes/no questions that customise the return to show only the sections relevant to your situation. Answering these questions inaccurately means a relevant section may not appear at all, leaving your return incomplete.
If your return is selected for verification and you don't respond to a request for documents (after more than one request) within the required period, SARS may raise a revised estimated assessment. You then have 40 business days from that assessment to submit the outstanding documents, or request an extension on reasonable grounds.
Related guides and tools
Filing guides
Income tax topics
Calculators & tools
Sources and references
All information in this guide is sourced from, or verified against, the following official and authoritative references:
- SARS — Filing Season — sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/personal-income-tax/filing-season/
- SARS — Supporting Documents for Filing — sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/personal-income-tax/filing-season/supporting-documents-for-filing/
- SARS — How does Auto-Assessment work — sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/personal-income-tax/filing-season/how-does-auto-assessment-work/
- Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 — Sections 95(1)(c), 95(6), 95(7)
This page was last reviewed in June 2026. Next review: immediately upon the next Filing Season announcement.