Good day Valued Taxpayer and Stakeholder
Please see attached Government Gazette 53589 which implements the following changes to S18A tax deductible receipts:
- Income tax reference number no longer optional
- Information relating to bona fide donations of property made in kind:
- An adequate and accurate description of the donation of property made
in kind; - The deemed amount of the deduction of a donation of property made in
kind determined under section 18A(3) or (3A) of the Income Tax Act;
- An adequate and accurate description of the donation of property made
Dear Valued Stakeholder,
Please take note that the issues experienced with the submission of the ITR12T were rectified on Saturday, 1 November 2025. Below follows a table with the more important matters that were rectified through the update to the tax return:
| No | Issue | Description | Result of fix being implemented |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | Validating age limit on type (b) special trust. | When the User or Taxpayer requests their trust tax return, and the trust is a type (b) special trust, they will be requested to confirm if the youngest beneficiary is still under the age of 18. The pop-up message currently appears across all trust types, even when the trust is not classified as type (b) special trust. This will now be rectified to only appear when the trust classification is type (b) special trust. | The question “is the youngest beneficiary younger than 18 years of age?” will now only appear for type (b) special trusts. Taxpayers that select “no”, will be redirected to the RAV to rectify the classification of the trust. |
2) | Tick-box – “is the founder deceased” results in non-availability of Beneficial Ownership containers. | The provision of Beneficial Ownership information should only be removed for the founder if the founder is deceased. The containers for all other beneficial ownership categories (trustees, beneficiaries, etc.) should be available for completion. | The question “is the youngest beneficiary younger than 18 years of age?” will now only appear for type (b) special trusts. Taxpayers who select “no”, will be redirected to the RAV to rectify the classification of the trust. |
| 3) | Pre-population of Beneficial Ownership information. | Beneficial Ownership information does not populate when the return is requested. | Beneficial Ownership information will be correctly pre-populated when the return is selected. |
| 4) | Beneficial Ownership information not displayed correctly on the read only version. | Beneficial Ownership not displayed correctly on the ITR12T read only version. | The Beneficial Ownership information will be readable on the ITR12T read only version after completion. |
| 5) | Local rental loss trust issue. | The Taxable in Trust (not vested in beneficiaries) field, under the Local Rental Income from the Letting of Fixed Property container, is not calculating correctly when there is a loss. | Rental loss will now be accurately calculated. |
| 6) | Question – “did the trust submit an IT3(t)?” issue | When answering “yes” to the question “did the trust submit an IT3(t) return?”, taxpayers could not complete trust participant information. | The question “has the trust submitted an IT3(t) return?” has been removed from the 2025 ITR12T. |
Should you or your members experience any further issues, kindly forward your escalations to our team.
With warm regards
Karin Smit
Corporate and Professional Bodies
Email: krsmit@sars.gov.za
Dear Valued Stakeholder
Achieving our Vision of a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that is trusted and
admired is of paramount importance. Pivotal to the delivery of our vision are our digital
platforms and technology infrastructure. To provide clarity and certainty, make it easy for
taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations and building public trust and confidence,
our technology assets must demonstrate the highest levels of availability, robustness and
security.
In accordance with our Vision and Strategic Objectives, which include modernising our systems
to provide Digital and Streamlined online services, we are hard at work ensuring that our digital
platforms and technology infrastructure are available, robust and secure, by performing regular
upgrades, enhancements and maintenance.
Considering the above, SARS Digital platform maintenance is scheduled for:
Saturday, 8 November 2025 from 20h00 to 23h59.
During this time, you may experience intermittent service interruption on our eFiling, Tax and
Customs Digital Platforms.
Arrival and exit management functions will not be available at land border posts for
declarations and manifests.
Stakeholders are therefore urged to submit all Goods Declarations (bills of entry) and Road
Manifest, especially those deemed priority, by Saturday, 8 November 2025 @ 16h00 and plan
land-based cargo movements accordingly to avoid any delays.
Dear Valued Stakeholder,
SARS is aware that some users are currently experiencing difficulties logging onto the eFiling platform.
Rest assured, our team has thoroughly investigated the issue and is working diligently to resolve it as
quickly as possible.
We understand the importance of access to the platform for your needs.
Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
With warm regards
Karin Smit
Corporate and Professional Bodies
Email: krsmit@sars.gov.za
Dear Stakeholders
Invitation to SARS Webinar – Tax Support for Persons with Disabilities
The South African Revenue Service (SARS), in partnership with the South African Disability
Alliance (SADA) and Down Syndrome South Africa (DSSA), warmly invites you to attend a
webinar on Tax Support for Persons with Disabilities. This session is intended to provide clear
and practical guidance for taxpayers, supporting our commitment to clarity, certainty, and
simplifying tax compliance.
We encourage you to join and to share this invitation with colleagues, friends, or anyone in
your network who might benefit from this important information session.
Webinar Details
- Theme: Tax Support for Persons with Disabilities
- Date: 12 November 2025
- Time: 10:00 – 13:00
- Platforms: Hybrid
Topics to be Covered
- Guidance on claims for additional medical expenses
- Clarification of common queries and support with completing Income Tax Returns
- Business opportunities at SARS and procurement processes
Registration: Please register in advance for the webinar using the link below.
https://sars-gov-za.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0eejN_DyRoawDP0s9H9Cxw
Meeting ID: 953 2711 4187
Passcode: 684901
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar.
You can ask questions during the session.
The webinar will be recorded and published subsequently on the SARSTV YouTube channel.
YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/LTS0Ewd9Gfk?feature=share
If you have any queries regarding the webinar, please email: dramquestions@sars.gov.za
Regards
Gender Equality and Persons with Disabilities Unit
Date 06 November 2025