SARS is using WhatsApp to track down R646 billion

SARS is ramping up tax debt collection through its Project AmaBillions initiative, using additional funding, more debt collectors, and even WhatsApp messages to recover part of South Africa’s R646 billion outstanding tax debt.

Tax Consulting SA’s Team Lead of Tax Debts, Junaid Bhayla, said that with various notable announcements in the 2026 Budget Speech, some may have missed a subtle reminder.

The undisputed tax debt book remains on SARS’ radar, and the taxman remains vigilant when it comes to debt collection opportunities.

“With the objective of recovering tax debt and supplementing revenue, SARS has entered a new phase of enforcement,” Bhayla warned.

Through Project AmaBillions, SARS has received additional government funding and is supported by an increasingly sophisticated digital toolkit.

“With this, SARS is intensifying its efforts to track, contact and recover unpaid taxes. For taxpayers carrying outstanding liabilities, the risk of enforcement is imminent,” Bhayla said.

Recent fiscal updates show that South Africa’s total outstanding tax debt has climbed to R646 billion as at 31 January 2026. This figure continues to weigh heavily on the country’s fiscal position.

“Of that amount, R518.2 billion is classified as undisputed debt, meaning it is legally recoverable and not currently subject to objection or litigation. It is low-hanging fruit ripe for the picking, and SARS are actively pursuing recovery of these debts,” Bhayla said.

Recognising the magnitude of the problem, he said the government has committed significant resources to strengthening SARS’ debt recovery capabilities.

This includes a R7 billion cash injection, which has already led to an additional 1,500 debt collectors being recruited by SARS to focus solely on chipping away at the current debt pool.

Internally, much of this work falls under a broader enforcement strategy known as Project AmaBillions. This initiative targets tax debts and aims to systematically reduce South Africa’s growing tax debt backlog.

With this, SARS aims to collect an additional R20 billion to R50 billion in revenue. It will do so by intensifying debt collection efforts and increasing recovered debt from R95 billion to at least R120 billion during the 2025/26 fiscal period.

This revised revenue estimate has been welcomed by SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, who confirmed that SARS will spare no effort to achieve it and will align strategy and operations to sustain revenue performance and protect the fiscus.

SARS switches to WhatsApp

SARS has, in addition to recruiting debt collectors, strengthened collaboration with financial institutions such as banks, Bhayla explained.

It has also allocated resources to engage legal professionals to pursue civil judgments against non-compliant taxpayers.

None of these steps is taken without warning, as collections are initiated only after Letters of Final Demand are issued.

This communication notifies non-compliant taxpayers of their debts, and advises that should a taxpayer fail to engage with SARS, collection will be pursued.

“Taxpayers should no longer assume that SARS communicates solely through letters or emails, though,” Bhayla said.

As part of its digital transformation, SARS has expanded its communication with taxpayers, including direct contact via WhatsApp and other digital platforms.

“For many people, receiving a message about tax debt through an instant messaging service can be surprising, even unsettling,” he said.

However, Bhayla explained that this approach reflects SARS’s broader strategy to engage taxpayers where they are most active, ensuring that these important notifications are not missed.

“Ignoring these messages or assuming they are harmless could be a costly mistake,” he warned. “SARS is increasingly using technology, data analytics, and third-party information to identify and engage with taxpayers who may have outstanding obligations.”

“In other words, the tax authority is becoming smarter, faster, and more connected than ever before.”

Ignoring SARS will only make things worse

By 31 January 2026, SARS had collected R79.4 billion in tax debt, which, surprisingly, left the revenue authority R15 billion short of its collection targets for the period.

Bhayla noted that the shortfall has been attributed to a combination of both operational and structural challenges.

“Delays in onboarding additional collection staff slowed early enforcement efforts, while increases in disputed tax debts and deferred payment arrangements have reduced the pool of immediately recoverable liabilities,” he said.

“For policymakers, these realities highlight the difficulty of turning historical tax debt into liquid revenue. For taxpayers, however, the message should not be interpreted as a softening of enforcement.”

Instead, this will motivate the revenue authority, as once a tax debt has been legally assessed, SARS has extensive administrative powers to pursue recovery, which its new recruits will undoubtedly enforce.

These powers include the ability to issue third-party appointment notices to banks or employers to deduct money directly from the taxpayer.

SARS can also secure civil judgments and attach movable assets, and initiate broader enforcement proceedings where necessary.

Bhayla said that for many taxpayers, a tax debt does not begin with a large liability and often starts with something small.

“An outstanding return which attracts penalties, an unexpected assessment with a liability attached, and interest which accrues quietly over time,” he said.

While it may be easy to delay dealing with the issue, he warned that this results in the liability snowballing to a level beyond affordability and makes addressing it feel complicated.

However, this can be addressed early and in a structured manner through payment deferral or compromise agreements with SARS, thereby mitigating the risk of collection actions.

One of these mechanisms enables taxpayers to settle their liabilities through viable monthly payments with a deferral agreement.

Alternatively, where there is demonstrable financial hardship, taxpayers may be able to write off all interest and penalties and settle only the capital liability due, through a Compromise of Tax Debt agreement.

“The AmaBillions strategy is not a short-term recovery campaign, but a long-term recovery posture,” Bhayla explained.

It is a structural shift in how the revenue authority approaches outstanding tax debt, signalling that non-compliance will not be tolerated.

“Those who ignore the problem may soon find that the taxman is far harder to avoid than a missed message on a mobile device, as the era of quietly ignoring a tax debt is coming to an end,” he said.