SARS Penalty for Not Filing a Tax Return: What Happens & How Much

What Happens If You Don't File Your Tax Return?

If you are required to submit a tax return and fail to do so, SARS will impose an administrative non-compliance (ANC) penalty under Section 210 of the Tax Administration Act. This is a fixed monthly penalty that accumulates for every month (or part of a month) the return remains outstanding — up to a maximum of 35 months.

The penalty applies regardless of whether you owe tax or are due a refund. SARS treats the failure to submit a return as a compliance failure, not a payment issue.

How Much Is the Penalty for Not Filing?

The monthly penalty amount depends on your taxable income in the preceding year of assessment:

Use our ANC Penalty Calculator to calculate your exact exposure based on your income bracket and the number of months outstanding.

How Does SARS Know You Haven't Filed?

SARS uses multiple data sources to identify taxpayers who should be filing but haven't:

• IRP5/IT3 certificates — your employer and financial institutions submit these directly to SARS, so SARS knows you earned income even if you don't file
• Third-party data — banks, medical aids, retirement funds, and other institutions report to SARS
• Auto-assessment — SARS may auto-assess you based on third-party data and issue a penalty if you don't respond
• Historical filing patterns — if you filed in previous years but stopped, SARS flags this as a compliance risk

Are You Required to File?

Not everyone is required to submit a tax return. You generally do not need to file an ITR12 if you meet all of these conditions:

• Your total employment income is below R500,000 per year
• You have only one employer
• You have no additional income (rental, freelance, investment above the exemption)
• You are not claiming any deductions (travel, home office, retirement contributions above employer's)
• You have no capital gains above the R40,000 annual exclusion

If you meet these criteria and SARS has auto-assessed you, check that the auto-assessment is correct and accept it. If you are not required to file, you can request SARS to remove the filing obligation through eFiling.

What Should You Do If You Haven't Filed?

• File the outstanding return immediately — this is the single most important step. Every additional month adds to your penalty.
• Check your eFiling profile — log in and review which returns are outstanding under "Returns Issued".
• Calculate your penalty — use our calculator to understand your total exposure before applying for remission.
• Apply for penalty remission — under Section 217, SARS can waive the penalty if you have reasonable grounds and a clean compliance history.
• Pay any tax owing — if the return results in tax payable, pay promptly to avoid additional late payment penalties and interest.