How-To Guides

How to dispute a SARS assessment

If a SARS assessment does not match the information you submitted, you may have grounds to challenge it. Knowing what to check first can save you from submitting an objection with gaps in it.

Image: FTM InHouse. Prompt: Liz Thorne.

Opening an assessment and finding a figure you do not recognise may ruin a perfectly decent morning. Before firing off an objection, work out exactly which part of the assessment you disagree with, what you believe the correct figure should be, and what proves it.

A SARS assessment is not something you have to accept when you have grounds to challenge it. The process has deadlines, though, and frustration is not evidence. A clear dispute starts with the assessment itself.

Check the assessment before you object

Open the notice of assessment and compare the disputed entry with the information you submitted. Check the tax period, source code, income, deductions, credits and any adjustments SARS made.

If the reason for the assessment is unclear, you may request reasons before you object. SARS currently allows an objection within 80 business days from the assessment date, while an appeal after a disallowed or partially allowed objection has a 30-business-day deadline. The SARS dispute process explains the available dispute steps and eFiling route. Do not guess at the correction you want. Identify the entry you dispute and the amount you believe should appear instead.

Build the objection around your proof

On eFiling, the dispute function lets you select the assessment item, enter the disputed and requested values, explain your grounds and upload supporting documents. Your explanation should match the evidence you attach.

Pull together the records linked to the disputed figure. Depending on the issue, that may mean an IRP5, medical scheme tax certificate, retirement annuity certificate, bank statement or another record that supports the amount. Good tax records and supporting documents become especially important once SARS asks you to prove a figure.

Your objection should connect the disputed entry, the amount you believe is correct and the document that supports it. Make the grounds specific to the assessment entry you are challenging. A general complaint about the result does not explain what SARS should change. Save the submission confirmation and copies of every document sent through eFiling.

Follow the outcome and the next deadline

SARS issues a dispute outcome after considering an objection. If the objection is disallowed or only partly allowed, an appeal is the next formal step, subject to the applicable deadline.

An objection does not mean you should assume collection activity has stopped. SARS provides a separate suspension-of-payment request through the dispute process for qualifying cases. Check the payment position on your own assessment instead of treating the objection as an automatic pause.

Disputing an assessment is less about arguing with SARS than showing exactly where your version differs. The documents behind your return give that disagreement a factual base. A missed deadline may end the route before those facts receive consideration.

Tax disputes are paperwork-heavy, but the core task is simple. Show SARS where the assessment differs from your records and follow each step before its deadline. Evidence, timing and a clean paper trail turn an unpleasant tax surprise into a dispute you are properly equipped to pursue.