Tax compliance status is what most small businesses actually need from SARS day to day. It gates tenders, contracts, funding, some licences and often a landlord’s approval, and it can be lost by a single unfiled return.
This page covers how compliance status works, how to fix non-compliance, and what to do when SARS raises an assessment or starts collecting.
Business Requirements at a Glance
What compliance status generally requires.
- All returns filed for every tax type the entity is registered for
- All amounts due paid, or covered by an approved payment arrangement
- Registration for every tax type the entity is required to be registered for
- Registered particulars up to date — address, banking details, public officer, contact details
- No outstanding debt other than under an arrangement
- A registered public officer for a company
- Access to SARS eFiling for the entity
- A tax compliance status PIN generated and shared where required
Registration and Legal Requirements
The compliance status PIN replaces the old paper certificate. You generate a PIN on eFiling and give it to the third party, who uses it to view your status in real time. That means status is checked continuously rather than at a point in time, and a lapse is visible immediately.
Every registered tax type counts. An unfiled PAYE declaration makes the entity non-compliant even if income tax and VAT are current. Check all of them.
Registered particulars matter more than people expect. A company must have a registered public officer, and outdated details are a common reason status fails. Keep the public officer, banking details and address current on eFiling.
Fix non-compliance in order: file every outstanding return first, even nil returns, then deal with the debt. Filing is what usually restores status fastest, because a debt under an arrangement does not block it while an unfiled return does.
Request a payment arrangement where you cannot pay. SARS considers deferred payment arrangements under the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011, and an entity with an approved arrangement can be compliant.
Documents and Ownership Information Required
What is needed.
- CIPC registration documents and a current company profile
- Certified ID copies for every director, member or partner
- Beneficial ownership information as filed with the CIPC
- A SARS tax reference number for the entity
- A business bank account in the entity’s name
- Annual financial statements and management accounts
- Records of all income and expenses with supporting invoices
- Payroll records, where the business employs anyone
- SARS eFiling access with the entity’s profile correctly linked
- Appointment of a public officer for a company, registered with SARS
- Current registered particulars — address, banking details and contacts
- All outstanding returns, including nil returns
- Documentation supporting any payment arrangement request
Tax, Licence and Compliance Requirements
Respond to verification and audit letters within the period stated. SARS issues verification requests with deadlines, and failing to respond leads to an assessment based on the information SARS holds, which is rarely favourable.
Dispute properly and on time. The Tax Administration Act provides for objection and appeal within prescribed periods, and those periods are applied strictly. A late objection generally requires condonation, which is not guaranteed.
SARS has strong collection powers. These include appointing a third party — your bank or a debtor — to pay over amounts owed. Those steps follow notice, and engaging before they start is far better than reacting afterwards.
Estimated assessments can be issued where returns are outstanding, and they are frequently higher than the true liability. The remedy is to file the actual returns and dispute the estimate within the prescribed period.
Voluntary disclosure exists. The Tax Administration Act provides a voluntary disclosure programme offering relief from certain penalties for taxpayers who come forward before an audit begins. If there is an unfiled position you know about, disclosing before SARS finds it produces a materially better outcome. Take advice first.
Keep records for the prescribed period from submission of each return, and longer where an audit, objection or appeal is open.
Use a registered tax practitioner for disputes and disclosures. Practitioners must be registered with SARS and a recognised controlling body, and that registration can be verified.
Free support exists for small businesses through the Small Enterprise Development Agency for registration and basic compliance.
Process, Deadlines and Ongoing Obligations
Check your compliance status on eFiling now rather than when a customer asks for it. Fix what is outstanding in order — returns first, then debt — and keep the registered particulars current.
Generate the compliance status PIN and know where it is. A contract lost because a PIN could not be produced on the day is an avoidable loss.
- Check compliance status on eFiling before a customer asks
- File every outstanding return first, including nil returns
- Then arrange the debt — an approved arrangement can restore status
- Keep registered particulars and the public officer current
- Check every registered tax type, not just income tax
- Respond to verification and audit letters within the stated period
- Object within the prescribed period — late objections need condonation
- File actual returns to displace an estimated assessment
- Consider voluntary disclosure before an audit begins, with advice
- Generate and keep the tax compliance status PIN available
Frequently Asked Questions
How is compliance status checked now?
Through a PIN you generate on eFiling and give to the third party, who views your status in real time. That means a lapse is visible immediately rather than at a point in time.
What is the fastest way to restore status?
File every outstanding return first, including nil returns. An unfiled return blocks status, whereas a debt under an approved payment arrangement generally does not.
What if SARS issues an estimated assessment?
File the actual returns and dispute the estimate within the prescribed period. Estimated assessments are frequently higher than the true liability.
What is voluntary disclosure?
A programme under the Tax Administration Act offering relief from certain penalties for taxpayers who come forward before an audit begins. Take advice before using it.
Compliance requirements, dispute periods, collection powers and disclosure programmes are set in the Tax Administration Act and by SARS, and are revised. Confirm current requirements with SARS or a registered tax practitioner.