Your VAT or PAYE application did not fail because the process is broken. It failed because of four mistakes SARS sees on almost every rejected application. At a recent stakeholder meeting, SARS named them out loud. Here is what they said, and what to fix before your next submission.

From 1 April 2026, the VAT threshold increases to R2.3 million. Many small businesses will immediately qualify to deregister. But what looks like a simple compliance decision can quickly become an expensive mistake. When a vendor deregisters, SARS treats certain assets as if they were sold, which means output VAT may suddenly become payable. Before recommending deregistration, accountants should understand the hidden traps.