Provisional taxpayers: your runway to 22 January 2027

The non-provisional deadline has passed. If you are a provisional taxpayer — you earn income from a business, freelancing, rental property or investments beyond what PAYE covers — your 2026 income tax return is due by Friday, 22 January 2027.

Three months sounds like a lot. It isn't, once you account for December.

The real calendar

• Mid-December to early January: many businesses, suppliers and banks run on skeleton staff. Chasing a missing statement becomes slow.
• 22 January 2027: 2026 ITR12 due for provisional taxpayers (and ITR12T for trusts).
• 26 February 2027: second provisional tax payment (IRP6) for the 2027 year of assessment, for February year-ends.

Those two dates are close together and both involve an estimate of your income. Doing the 2026 return properly makes the 2027 estimate far easier.

What to gather now

• Full-year income records for any business or freelance activity, with expense support
• Rental income and expenses per property (bond interest, rates, levies, repairs, agent fees)
• Your two 2026 provisional payments (IRP6) and proof of payment
• Third-party certificates: IRP5s, IT3(b) interest, IT3(c) disposals, retirement annuity and medical certificates
• Asset purchases used in the business, for wear-and-tear allowances
• Any foreign income or crypto disposals

Why provisional returns take longer

A provisional taxpayer's return depends on figures that no third party reports: business profit, rental results, and apportionments between personal and business use. That means someone has to prepare those numbers from records. If your records are a shoebox or a single bank statement, budget time for that.

A note on estimates

Your second provisional payment must be based on a reasonable estimate of taxable income for the year. Underestimating can attract penalties, and the rules differ depending on your income level. Start with an accurate view of the year so far rather than last year's figure plus a guess.

Book early

January is the practice's busiest month. Clients who send documents in November get unhurried attention. See our tax returns service — provisional tax submissions start from R1,200 per submission excl. VAT.

Dates as published by SARS for the 2026 filing season. General information only.