Provisional Taxpayer Returns
SARS provisional taxpayer return for the 2026 year of assessment. Covers self-employed and those with non-salary income over the threshold.
Filing deadline
July 31, 2026
- Country
- South Africa
- Tax year
- 2025
- Official
- Tax authority
What is this deadline?
Provisional taxpayers submit IRP6 returns twice a year (August and February). Final annual ITR12 filing window for provisional taxpayers typically runs July – January.
How to file
What people miss
- Provisional vs non-provisional — many freelancers miss the definition and get penalties
- UIF and SDL separate from income tax
- Estimated taxable income on IRP6 must be reasonable — under-estimation penalties apply
Prepare this return with open-source skills
These skills are in the OpenAccountants repo. Add them to your AI agent and they handle the computation.
Use this skill whenever asked about South African income tax for self-employed individuals. Trigger on phrases like "how much tax do I pay", "ITR12", "income tax return", "SARS", "tax brackets", "provisional tax", "IRP6", "rebates", "medical credits", "retirement deduction", "turnover tax", "eFiling", or any question about filing or computing income tax for a self-employed or sole proprietor client in South Africa. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any South African income tax work.
Use this skill whenever asked about South African provisional tax (IRP6) for self-employed individuals. Trigger on phrases like "IRP6", "provisional tax", "SARS provisional", "estimated tax South Africa", "first provisional period", "second provisional period", "third provisional", "underestimation penalty", or any question about South African provisional tax obligations for self-employed persons. Covers first period (Aug 31), second period (Feb 28), voluntary third period (Sep 30), underestimation penalties, basic amount rules, and edge cases. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any South African provisional tax work.
Use this skill whenever asked about South African VAT returns for self-employed individuals or small businesses. Trigger on phrases like "South Africa VAT", "VAT201", "SARS VAT", "15% VAT", "eFiling VAT", "zero-rated SA", "VAT vendor", or any question about VAT filing, computation, or registration for vendors in South Africa. Covers the 15% standard rate, zero-rated and exempt supplies, R2.3M registration threshold, VAT201 return, and bimonthly filing via SARS eFiling. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any South African VAT work.
This page is informational only and not tax advice. Verify dates and requirements against the official tax authority before filing.