Your Client Got It Wrong. The OTO Can Help Fix It.
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It's filing season. Your client accepted an auto-assessment without checking it. SARS sent a penalty notice. Now they want you to fix it, fast. You've escalated it through SARS channels. Twice. And you're still waiting. This is exactly the kind of situation the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) was built for.
The OTO has just published the latest edition of its stakeholder newsletter, Fair Play (Edition 41), coinciding with the launch of the 2026 Tax Filing Season and the OTO's new awareness campaign: "Smart Taxpayers Make a Difference." For practitioners managing client tax disputes and administrative errors, this is worth your attention.
What the OTO's 2026 Campaign Means for Your Practice
The OTO's annual awareness campaign has shifted focus each year. In 2024 it was about being informed. In 2025 it pushed responsible action. In 2026, the message is about impact: informed, timely taxpayer action contributes to a fairer and more accountable tax system for everyone.
The campaign encourages taxpayers, and by extension their practitioners, to:
Know their rights and responsibilities
Act early, before matters escalate
Use the correct channels and processes
Submit accurate returns and respond promptly to SARS requests
Seek independent help when SARS internal channels have been exhausted.
That last point is where the OTO becomes directly relevant to your client work.
What the OTO Does (and When to Use It)
The OTO is an independent, impartial office. It handles complaints about SARS service failures, administrative delays, and procedural issues. It does not replace SARS dispute resolution channels. It kicks in when those channels have failed your client.
According to the Fair Play newsletter, cases that have been stuck for months through normal SARS channels are frequently resolved within weeks once the OTO gets involved. That is a meaningful difference for a client waiting on a delayed VAT refund or a compliance status that is blocking a tender.
The OTO is also free. There is no cost to lodge a complaint, which makes it an accessible option for small business clients who cannot absorb the cost of extended litigation.
As covered in SARS Filing Season Is Open. Here's What to Do First., auto-assessments can be inaccurate, and the window to correct them is limited. If a client accepts an incorrect auto-assessment and then runs into a SARS brick wall trying to fix it, the OTO is the next step.
New This Year: Report Systemic Issues
One of the more significant developments highlighted in Fair Play Edition 41 is the OTO's new online form for reporting systemic issues. A systemic issue is not a single client complaint. It is a recurring problem within the tax administration system that affects many taxpayers.
If you are seeing the same type of error across multiple clients, such as a particular third-party data mismatch, a SARS processing delay that keeps repeating, or a rule being applied inconsistently, you can now report it directly to the OTO at: https://www.taxombud.gov.za/possible-systemic-issues/.
The OTO evaluates these reports based on the impact on taxpayer rights, the seriousness of the matter, and how many people are affected. Your input as a practitioner, working across multiple clients, is exactly the kind of pattern data the OTO needs to trigger structural fixes.
Key Filing Season Dates to Brief Your Clients
The Fair Play newsletter also republishes the 2026 filing season dates, which align with what SARS has officially confirmed:
Auto-assessments: 1 to 12 July 2026
Non-provisional individual taxpayers: 13 July to 23 October 2026
Provisional taxpayers: 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027
Trusts: 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027
As noted in 2026 Tax Filing Season Changes, SARS has also made significant updates to the ITR12 form, introduced auto-assessment for simple provisional taxpayers, and added a Declaration Alert Questionnaire. These changes mean more of your work this season is about checking what SARS already holds, not just capturing data from scratch. Getting that wrong, and then running into administrative delays, is the scenario that leads clients to the OTO.
What the Fair Play Edition 41 Covers
The newsletter covers a range of topics relevant to practitioners. Highlights include:
A piece on the human impact of tax administration errors, written by a SAIPA tax specialist. It makes the point that tax administration problems are not just technical. Delayed refunds can affect a client's ability to pay bond instalments or medical bills. Incorrect compliance statuses can block access to funding or public tenders. The article details the legal remedies available, including Requests for Correction, objections, and appeals, and when to escalate to the OTO.
A SARS perspective piece on the Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP), which provides a structured route for clients to come forward and correct past mistakes before SARS discovers them. The key message: disclose early. If SARS has already started an audit or investigation, the VDP window may close.
A piece from the University of Johannesburg on AI and fairness in tax administration, raising the concern that AI-driven audit selection could encode historical bias and disadvantage certain taxpayer profiles. This is a longer-term issue, but one that practitioners with clients in the informal economy or from historically marginalised backgrounds should be aware of.
A practical article from Deloitte Africa on the most common tax errors across income tax, PAYE, VAT, and withholding tax. It is a useful reference for filing season.
What You Should Do Now
If you are managing a client dispute that has been stuck in SARS channels without resolution, the OTO is the right next step. Lodge a complaint at www.taxombud.gov.za or call 0800 662 837. The service is free.
If you are seeing the same issue repeat across several clients, report it as a potential systemic issue using the OTO's new online form.
If your clients are mid-assessment and something looks wrong, do not let it sit. As the OTO campaign puts it: act early, use the right channels, and keep records of every step. That is not just good advice for taxpayers. It is what protects your practice from liability when things go wrong.
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