South Africa: SARS Says R40 Billion Went Back to South Africans Last Year

SARS paid R40 billion in tax refunds last filing season, more than it collected from taxpayers during the same period.

SARS says tax refunds back in South African hands drive the economy and SARS wants to pay them fast.

SARS paid out R40 billion in tax refunds during the last filing season. Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu says that is not a problem. It is the point.

Makhubu told journalists at the launch of Filing Season 2026 on Thursday that the filing period is the one time of year when SARS becomes a net payer. The revenue service collects less than it pays out, and Makhubu says that is by design.

"The filing season is really a net cashout flow, we rarely collect much revenue during this season. We would rather pay out a lot," Makhubu said.

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He said the R40 billion paid out to taxpayers last year does not simply leave the system. It goes back into households and businesses, and that has a wider economic effect.

"R40 billion in the hands of citizens has a multiplier effect, and therefore I'm convinced that as tax administration we need to pay legitimate refunds as quickly as possible in a seamless manner because that money goes to spur the economy even further," Makhubu said.

Filing Season 2026 opens on 1 July. SARS expects to auto-assess about six million taxpayers between 1 and 12 July, using data from employers, banks, medical schemes and retirement funds. Makhubu said the programme has been expanded this year to include an additional 200,000 provisional taxpayers with straightforward tax affairs.

Taxpayers who receive an auto-assessment and agree with it do not need to file. Those who want to add deductions or correct their return have until 23 October 2026 to do so.