SARS Extends Auto-Assessment Correction Deadline for Provisional Taxpayers
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SARS has extended the deadline for provisional taxpayers to correct their automatic assessments. Notice 7958, published in Government Gazette 55438 on 25 September 2026, gives qualifying provisional taxpayers until 22 January 2027 to request a reduced or additional assessment. The new date matches the provisional taxpayer filing deadline, giving you one clear date to work towards.
What the notice says
The Commissioner issued the notice under section 95(6) of the Tax Administration Act, 2011. It extends the date by which a provisional taxpayer who received an automatic assessment may ask SARS for a reduced or additional assessment. The new date is 22 January 2027.
In simple terms: if your provisional client's auto-assessment is wrong or incomplete, they now have until 22 January 2027 to file a return and have it corrected.
Who it applies to
The extension applies only where both of these conditions are met:
The taxpayer is a provisional taxpayer, as defined in paragraph 1 of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1962.
The taxpayer received an automatic assessment under paragraph 3(3) of Notice 7422 (Government Gazette 54598, 30 April 2026), and that assessment was issued on or before 24 November 2026.
If an automatic assessment is issued after 24 November 2026, the extension does not apply. The normal period under section 95(6) will apply instead.
Why it matters
An automatic assessment uses the third-party data SARS already holds, such as IRP5s, medical aid and retirement fund certificates. For provisional taxpayers, that data is often incomplete. Business income, rental income, foreign income and many deductions do not appear in third-party data.
If an incorrect auto-assessment is not corrected, it stands. That can mean your client pays too much tax, or underpays and later faces SARS queries, penalties and interest. As Accounting Weekly has noted before, an auto-assessment should never be accepted without checking it.
This extension gives provisional taxpayers the same deadline to correct an auto-assessment as they have to file their return. That removes the risk of missing a shorter correction window.
What you should do now
List your auto-assessed provisional clients. Check eFiling for each client's assessment.
Record the date of each assessment. Only assessments issued on or before 24 November 2026 qualify for the extension.
Compare each assessment with the client's full tax position. Look for missing business, rental, foreign or investment income, and missing deductions.
File a return where needed. Submit a return by 22 January 2027 to request a reduced or additional assessment.
Plan around the January deadline. The same date applies to provisional taxpayers and trusts, as set out in SARS's Filing Season 2026 dates. Start early to avoid a year-end rush.
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