Jen E Professional Accountants

Filing Season Sprint: 7 Weeks to 23 October

August is behind us. Provisional taxpayers have their first IRP6 submitted. Now the non-provisional filing deadline moves into sharper focus.

Friday, 23 October is seven weeks away.

That sounds like plenty of time. It is not, once weekends, holidays, and the annual eFiling slowdown are factored in.

If you are still to file your 2026 return, here is what to do this week:

📋 Pull together your IRP5, medical aid, and RA certificates
📋 Check that your eFiling banking and contact details are current
📋 Review any auto-assessment SARS may have issued
📋 List any income or deductions SARS would not have on record

Refunds are processed within 72 hours when everything reconciles.

The earlier you file, the sooner it lands.

Need a hand pulling it together? Send us your docs and we will handle the return.

Spring Is Here. So Is the Halfway Mark of the Tax Year 🌱

The 2027 tax year started on 1 March, which means we are already six months in.

Spring is the perfect moment to stop and check how your money is actually tracking, rather than waiting for a year-end scramble.

A quick mid-year review to run this week:

🔸 Compare what you have earned so far against your budget for the year
🔸 Check that your books are up to date, not three months behind
🔸 Set aside for tax now if your income has grown since March
🔸 Look at any debt and ask whether the interest is still worth it

Six months of clarity beats twelve months of guessing.

The earlier you spot a problem, the cheaper it is to fix.

Want a proper mid-year check on your finances?

Let us take a look with you.

Final Call: Provisional Tax Due Monday

Three days to go. If you are a provisional taxpayer and your IRP6 is not yet submitted, this is the weekend to sort it.

Late payment penalties are automatic. A 10% penalty applies the moment the deadline passes, plus interest at the prescribed rate.

The fastest route to compliance:

⚡ Log into eFiling and request your IRP6 for the 2027 tax year
⚡ Enter your estimated taxable income for the full year
⚡ Submit the return
⚡ Make the payment via EFT or eFiling by end of business Monday

If the SARS site is running slow (it usually does on deadline day), do not leave it for Monday afternoon.

Stuck, unsure of your estimate, or short on time? Send us a message this weekend. We will get you submitted before Monday closes.

One Week Until Provisional Tax. Your Final Checklist ✅

Monday, 31 August is one week away. If you are a provisional taxpayer, this is your final week to prepare.

Here is what to have ready:

✅ Your IRP6 return, requested through eFiling
✅ A realistic estimate of your taxable income to 28 February 2027
✅ Records of income received to date, including invoices, rental statements, and interest earned
✅ Any PAYE already withheld, so you can offset it against the estimate
✅ Confirmed banking details for the SARS payment

Two common traps to avoid. Waiting until the weekend to submit, when eFiling gets slow. And rounding your estimate down for comfort, which triggers underestimation penalties.

Prefer to hand this to us? Send your figures today. We will prepare and submit the return with time to spare.

The Tax Break on Interest That Most People Forget

Every South African taxpayer gets an interest exemption. Most people never think to check it.

Here is how it works. If you earn interest from a South African bank account, unit trust, or bond, the first slice is tax-free every year:

🔸 R23,800 per year if you are under 65
🔸 R34,500 per year if you are 65 or older

Anything above that gets added to your taxable income at your marginal rate.

So if your money market or savings account is throwing off interest, some of it may already be taxable, and worth planning around.

If you have used up your exemption, a Tax-Free Savings Account is the next step.

All growth, dividends, and interest inside a TFSA are exempt from tax.

Small tax breaks compound. Let us help you use them properly.

Ready to Grow? Answer These Questions First 🌱

Growth is exciting. It is also where many South African SMEs quietly get into trouble.

New premises, a bigger team, a second location, extra stock. Every expansion decision has a financial shadow. If you have not modelled it, you are guessing.

Before you commit, work through these questions:

📊 What is your realistic revenue forecast, best and worst case?
💼 How long can current cash reserves support the extra spend?
💸 What are your break-even timelines for the new investment?
🚦 Can you fund the growth from operations, or do you need financing?
📈 How will fixed costs change, and can margins absorb them?

Rushed expansion often forces founders into expensive short-term debt. Careful expansion opens doors.

Thinking about scaling up? Let us build a financial model with you before the decision is made.

Provisional Tax: The Estimate That Costs You If You Get It Wrong 🎯

The trickiest part of provisional tax is not the payment. It is the estimate.

Under-declare and SARS bites hard. A 10% late payment penalty applies if you miss 31 August.

If your estimate falls short of the actual by too much, an underestimation penalty of up to 20% can apply on top.

The rules changed on 1 March 2026. If your taxable income is under R1.8 million, you can rely on your last assessed income as a safe estimate.

Above that, the 90% accuracy rule kicks in.

Two habits that keep you safe:

🔸 Estimate conservatively, based on year-to-date actuals plus a realistic forecast

🔸 Keep your workings and supporting records for at least five years

If your income has grown this year, do not lean on last year's numbers alone.

Let us run the estimate with you before you submit.

Women's Day: The Balance Sheets That Never Get Audited 💜

Today South Africa remembers the 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956. Their courage changed the country.

Seventy years on, we honour every South African woman still doing the quiet, uncounted work.

The mother running a household on a stretched budget.

The entrepreneur reinvesting her last profits into the business.

The daughter caring for parents while building her own career.

The graduate breaking ground in industries that once shut her out.

These are the balance sheets that never appear on paper. The hours, the sacrifices, the resilience. All of it holds families and communities together.

Being a women-led firm ourselves, we see this every day in the clients we serve. Women showing up, doing the work, and asking for less credit than they deserve.

Today we see you. Thank you. Happy Women's Day.

11 Weeks to Go: Non-Provisional Filing Deadline Is 23 October ⏰

If you did not receive a SARS auto-assessment in July, you are filing manually this year. The good news is that you still have plenty of time. The better news is that filing early makes the whole thing calmer.

Non-provisional taxpayers have until Friday, 23 October to submit their 2026 returns. That sounds far away in August. It always sneaks up in October.

Three reasons to file this month:

✅ Refunds are processed within 72 hours when everything reconciles
✅ You have time to fix any missing documents without pressure
✅ eFiling is much faster before the October rush

Before you start, double check your banking details, contact info, and any outstanding prior returns.

Want us to handle it? Send us your paperwork and we will run the return.