Letitia Visser & Associates

Trusts are reminded of their obligation to submit income tax returns - with this also applying to trusts that have had no economic activity in the respective tax year.

In instances where a trust has been deregistered with the Office of the Master of the High Court, trustees should request SARS to deregister the trust for income tax purposes in order to prevent the imposition of the newly introduced non-compliance administrative penalties.

It is important for trustees to remember that they must first establish and regularise the trust’s tax compliance status with SARS before approaching the Master for termination (to ensure that all their tax affairs are in order prior to being deregistered).

1) Auto assessment: Wednesday, 1 July 2026 to Sunday, 12 July 2026
2) Non-provisional individual taxpayers: Monday, 13 July 2026 to Friday, 23 October 2026
3)Provisional taxpayers: Monday, 13 July 2026 to Friday, 22 January 2027
4) Trusts: Monday, 13 July 2026 to Friday, 22 January 2027

For additional details on what has changed in the 2026 filing season, follow this link - https://www.sars.gov.za/latest-news/get-ready-for-filing-season-2026/

SARS auto assessments for 2026 – changes, dates and what will be missing from your filing SARS auto assessments will start rolling out this week, and taxpayers have been warned to double-check these things.

🚨 Be alert. Fraudsters are pretending to be SARS to scam taxpayers.

Remember: SARS will NEVER send you bank account numbers for payment. Always use official SARS payment channels and VERIFY before you act. Stay Informed! Protect Yourself: https://bit.ly/3oblw6l

We can help!

SARS is quietly changing the game on trust compliance.

New administrative penalties for outstanding 2024 and 2025 trust returns are being issued, but the real shock lies in how they are calculated. In some cases, SARS is reaching back nearly a decade, using taxable income from as far back as 2016 and 2017 to determine today’s penalty bracket.

That single detail can dramatically shift exposure, pushing monthly penalties into far higher tiers than many trustees expect, even where trusts have been inactive for years.

Read the full article to understand how historic assessments are now driving current SARS penalties and what this could mean for your trust: https://bit.ly/4o3gC9P

As featured in eNCA, Moneyweb and Polity.

Taxpayers are warned of the latest scam where fraudsters (either via SMS or email) make claims that amounts are owed to SARS. These communications are often titled ‘Settlement notification’ or ‘Final demand’, with requests that a link is clicked to facilitate payment. Should you wish to verify whether any amounts are indeed due to SARS, it is advisable that you verify via e-Filing as opposed to clicking any links. Follow this link for an example of this scam.

https://www.sars.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/Docs/Scams/SARS-SCAM-394-Tax-Settlement-Notification-13-May-2026.pdf

From 1 May 2026, SARS will begin imposing administrative penalties for the non-submission of Trust income tax returns (ITR12T). This marks a significant shift in Trust compliance enforcement, affecting all types of trusts - active, dormant, and passive.
https://bit.ly/3Qgeu1t