The SARS calendar for a self-employed tradie boils down to four rhythms: provisional tax at the end of August and the end of February, the annual ITR12 return (due 22 January 2027 for provisional taxpayers filing the 2025/26 year), VAT every two months if you are registered, and EMP201 by the 7th of every month if you employ staff. Get these into your phone once and most SARS trouble never starts.
Registering for the right taxes
- Income tax: register via eFiling at www.sarsefiling.co.za, the SARS MobiApp, WhatsApp (0800 11 7277), USSD (dial 1347277#) or the SARS Online Query System. You get a tax reference number.
- Provisional tax: no separate registration; activate IRP6 on your eFiling profile under User, then Tax Types (see Provisional Tax Explained).
- VAT: register on eFiling within 21 business days of the month your taxable turnover crosses R2.3 million (compulsory from 1 April 2026), or voluntarily from R120,000 (see VAT for Tradespeople).
- PAYE: register as an employer on eFiling when you first hire; EMP201 returns and payment run monthly.
The master calendar
- 7th of each month: EMP201 (PAYE) if you have staff; if the 7th is a weekend, pay the Friday before
- Last business day of every second month: VAT return and payment (Category A and B vendors)
- Last business day of August (2026): first provisional payment for 2026/27, half the estimated year
- 30 September 2026: optional third provisional top-up for 2025/26, which stops interest on any shortfall
- 22 January 2027: ITR12 annual return for provisional taxpayers (2025/26 year of assessment)
- Last business day of February (2027): second provisional payment for 2026/27
- EMP501 reconciliation: twice a year if you employ, interim around September to October and final around April to May
The TCS PIN: your ticket to tenders
The Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN is a digital certificate of good standing, and without a compliant one you cannot be paid on government contracts or pass most tender compliance checks. On eFiling:
- Tax Status, then Tax Compliance Status, then Activation
- Activate and submit
- Request the type you need: Good Standing or Tender
- If you are compliant, the PIN is issued immediately; print it or have it sent by SMS
Whoever you give the PIN to verifies your status in real time, not as at the issue date, so a debt that arises later shows up. Outstanding returns or debt block the PIN until resolved (see I Cannot Pay SARS).
Auto-assessments
SARS auto-assesses taxpayers it has third-party data for (IRP5s from employers, IT3s from banks). Self-employed tradies are usually excluded, because nobody reports your business income for you. If one does arrive, treat it carefully: SARS cannot know your expenses, so file your own return before the deadline, which overrides it. The 2026 filing season dates: auto-assessments 1 to 12 July 2026; non-provisional individuals 13 July to 23 October 2026; provisional taxpayers 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027.
SARS contact points
- eFiling: www.sarsefiling.co.za
- SARS MobiApp: payments, IRP6 and the TCS PIN from your phone
- Contact centre: 0800 00 7277 (weekdays 08:00 to 16:00, Wednesdays from 09:00)
- WhatsApp: 0800 11 7277
- USSD: dial 1347277#
- From outside SA: +27 11 602 2093
Common mistakes
- Treating the ITR12 deadline as the only one. The provisional payments in August and February are where the money is actually due (see Provisional Tax Explained).
- Letting one missed return block a tender. The TCS PIN check fails on a single outstanding IRP6, often discovered the week the tender closes.
- Accepting an auto-assessment that ignores your expenses. File your own return in time and it overrides.
- Leaving registration until the deadline week. eFiling profile issues take days to resolve; the deadline does not move (see SARS Verification and Audit for what happens after).
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