SARS gifts worth millions of rands for South African taxpayers

With rare tax relief measures from the South African Revenue Service (SARS), South Africans could benefit from millions in potential tax savings and investment incentives in the coming year.

For years, SARS has been improving its collection abilities and increasing its scrutiny of taxpayers. This includes Project AmaBillions, the taxman’s aggressive digital enforcement and debt-collection drive.

Powered by artificial intelligence and thousands of new agents, this project is designed to recover billions of rands in undisputed tax debt.

SARS has also expanded its arsenal of collection tools. For example, it can now issue civil judgments, attach assets, and garnish salaries without further warning if taxpayers fail to respond within 10 days of a final demand.

However, while the revenue service may be getting more aggressive, there have also been several changes that benefit taxpayers.

This was explained by Tax Consulting SA’s senior tax consultants, Rehnu Vallabh and Tshepo Thebyane, who told Daily Investor that there have been major changes in South Africa’s tax landscape over the past year.

These include greater use of prefilled data on tax returns, where information such as investment income is automatically populated to save time and reduce errors.

SARS has also introduced simplified, clearer questions to make the filing process easier to navigate.

The changes also include improved guidance on tax residency status through new fields and prompts, and a more user-friendly medical aid selection process through a dropdown list of approved schemes.

In addition, SARS has expanded its digital communication channels, allowing taxpayers to receive and request key documents such as notices of assessment and statements of account via WhatsApp.

To receive these communications, taxpayers only need to ensure that their mobile numbers are registered on their SARS profile.

The eFiling system has also been upgraded with a refreshed interface, improved navigation, and clearer alerts for overdue returns.

A new declaration questionnaire has also been introduced to reduce verification issues by identifying potential discrepancies earlier in the process.

New tax changes could save taxpayers thousands, if not millions

According to Vallabh and Thebyane, taxpayers can also expect a range of significant tax relief measures in the coming year, alongside continued administrative modernisation by SARS.

Key changes include increases across several capital gains tax thresholds, such as the annual CGT exclusion rising from R40,000 to R50,000.

At the same time, the primary residence exclusion is increasing from R2 million to R3 million, and higher exclusions for deceased estates and small business disposals are also being introduced.

Tax-free savings and retirement incentives will also be expanded, with higher annual contribution limits for Tax-Free Savings Accounts and retirement funds, while the donations tax exemption will also increase.

In addition, personal income tax brackets, rebates and thresholds will be adjusted for inflation, offering further relief to taxpayers.

“Beyond these legislative changes, taxpayers should expect SARS to continue expanding the use of pre-populated tax returns, third-party data collection, and automated compliance processes,” they said.

“As a result, taxpayers will need to place greater emphasis on ensuring that all local and foreign income, investments and assets are correctly disclosed and aligned with information already available to SARS.”

Another major change which recently happened at SARS was the appointment of Dr Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu as the new Commissioner with effect from 1 May 2026, succeeding Edward Kieswetter.

“Dr Makhubu previously served as SARS Deputy Commissioner responsible for Taxpayer Engagement and Operations,” Vallabh and Thebyane said.

“Given his long-standing involvement within SARS leadership, we expect continuity rather than a dramatic policy shift.” According to their understanding, the areas likely to remain priorities include:

• Revenue collection efficiency
• Technology-driven compliance
• Expansion of third-party data utilisation
• Improved taxpayer service delivery
• Enhanced enforcement against non-compliance

“The transition appears to have been structured to ensure continuity in SARS’ modernisation agenda rather than a change in strategic direction,” Vallabh and Thebyane added.