SARS CIT Changes 2026: ITR14 Validations and New Fields
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SARS issued notice announcing a series of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) system enhancements and related legal changes that will take effect from 7 December 2026.
The changes are intended to align SARS systems with legislative amendments, improve return validations and support more accurate assessment outcomes.
Key changes for companies
Donations, assessed losses and policyholder fund transfers
The Income Tax System (ITS) assessment calculation will be updated to clarify the sequence in which qualifying donation deductions and the assessed-loss limitation are applied when calculating taxable income.Section 24JB – dividends
The ITR14 will contain new validations and fields relating to certain dividends that become taxable where they are linked to hedging instruments measured at fair value for accounting purposes.Sections 8F and 8FA – hybrid debt and FLAC instruments
The wording of the existing ITR14 field will be amended and a validation question added to help prevent qualifying FLAC instruments from being incorrectly added back.Section 12V – electric and hydrogen vehicle incentive
New disclosure fields will be added to the ITR14 tax computation to allow qualifying taxpayers to claim the section 12V deduction. SARS will also introduce an additional information container and a validation to ensure the full available benefit is claimed.Controlled Foreign Companies and exit-charge rules
The IT10B schedule will be integrated into the ITR14. Taxpayers required to complete an IT10B will no longer need to attach it as a supporting document when submitting the ITR14. Instead, the required information will have to be captured directly on the ITR14.Section 42 – asset-for-share transactions
A new validation question will be added to the ITR14 concerning transactions involving listed shares, to ensure that the applicable tax rules are correctly applied when assets are exchanged for shares.
What accountants should do
Accountants and tax practitioners preparing company tax returns should familiarise themselves with the revised ITR14 fields and validations before the changes go live on 7 December 2026. SARS has also advised stakeholders to prepare for transitional adjustments where applicable.
These changes will be particularly relevant to practitioners dealing with assessed losses, corporate restructurings, CFCs, hedging arrangements, hybrid debt instruments and companies claiming the electric and hydrogen vehicle incentive.
For queries, SARS advises stakeholders to contact their dedicated SARS stakeholder-management representative or relationship manager, or consult the SARS website.
