By Chris Herbst, Chartered Business Accountant in Practice (CBAP) with CIBA, General Tax Practitioner (GTP) with SAIT, Stellenbosch University. Team registered with SAIT, SAIPA and CIBA.
Most guides to the IRP6 explain how to calculate provisional tax. This one is about the form itself: the eFiling screens you click through, the fields you fill in, the fields SARS fills in for you, and what to do after you press File Return. It follows the order of the SARS webpage How to eFile Your Provisional Tax Return, the online version of the SARS guide GEN-PT-01-G02, and adds the points where people most often go wrong. For the calculation behind the numbers, read our guides to the first IRP6 period and the second IRP6 payment due in February 2027.
What do I need before I open the IRP6 on eFiling?
You need an active eFiling profile linked to your income tax reference number, provisional tax activated on that profile, and an estimate of your taxable income for the full year. SARS states on its provisional tax page that there is no separate registration for provisional tax: the onus is on you to decide whether you are a provisional taxpayer and to request and submit the IRP6 on eFiling.
Which documents should I have open?
Have your IRP5 figures to date (or a payslip showing the PAYE deducted so far), your business or rental income and expenses for the year to date, interest and dividend statements, your medical scheme certificate or monthly contribution figures, and your last assessment (ITA34). The assessment matters because the IRP6 shows historical information from it, and because the basic amount used in the penalty test comes from your latest assessed taxable income.
What if provisional tax is not on my eFiling profile?
If the Provisional Tax (IRP6) option does not appear under Returns, provisional tax has not been added to your profile. SARS tells existing eFilers to add provisional tax to their profile so that they can access and file the IRP6 online, using the tax products function on eFiling. Once it is added, the IRP6 option appears under Returns Issued.
Can a tax practitioner submit the IRP6 for me?
Yes. The SARS how-to page is written for taxpayers and tax practitioners alike. A registered practitioner files from their own eFiling profile once your tax reference is linked to it, and the screens are the same ones described below.
How do I request the IRP6 return on eFiling?
You request it from the Returns menu: log in, click Returns, then Returns Issued, then Provisional Tax (IRP6). Choose the period from the drop-down menu at the top right of the screen and click Request Return. SARS sets out these steps on its how-to-eFile page.
How do I log in if I have forgotten my password?
On the SARS login screen use the Forgot Your Username? or Forgot Your Password? links. eFiling sends a one-time PIN to the cell number or email address on your security contact details, and you enter it before the dashboard opens.
Which period do I choose from the drop-down?
Periods are shown as the tax year followed by the period number. For the 2027 tax year, which runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, the first period is 2027-01 and the second is 2027-02. Choosing the right period is the single most important click on the screen, because a return filed for the wrong period cannot simply be moved. Our guide to IRP6 vs ITR12 shows how each period links to the annual return.
What is the Provisional Tax Work Page?
The Work Page opens after you request the return. From it you open the IRP6 form, refresh historic data, request a statement of account, query the status of the return and request a correction once it is filed. Click IRP6 on this page to open the form for completion.
Which IRP6 fields does SARS pre-populate?
The particulars of taxpayer section is filled in from your eFiling registration: year of assessment, the period, your tax reference number, surname and initials. You enter your date of birth, and the date you ceased to be a South African resident if that applies. SARS asks you to verify every pre-populated field rather than accept it as correct.
Why does the date of birth matter on the IRP6?
The rebate eFiling applies depends on your age at the end of the year of assessment. A wrong date of birth gives the wrong rebate and therefore the wrong amount payable. The rebate amounts for each year are on the SARS tax tables, summarised in our Budget 2026 tax tables guide.
What is the Taxpayer Estimate section?
This is where your own figures go. The SARS page notes that the taxpayer estimate is pre-populated, so read each amount and replace it with your current estimate rather than assume a previous figure still applies.
Which fields do I complete on the first period IRP6?
On the first period return you complete gross income, estimated taxable income, the medical scheme fees tax credit, the additional medical expenses tax credit, employees' tax for the six months, foreign tax credits for the six months and, if they apply, penalty and interest on late payment. Mandatory fields are highlighted in red. eFiling then calculates the tax, the rebates and the amount payable.
- Gross income: What you enter: Turnover, sales and other income; Where it comes from: Your records
- Estimated taxable income: What you enter: Full-year estimate; Where it comes from: Your calculation
- Medical credits: What you enter: Scheme fees and additional credit; Where it comes from: Scheme certificate
- Employees' tax: What you enter: PAYE for the period, or 00; Where it comes from: IRP5 or payslips
- Foreign tax credits: What you enter: Foreign tax for the period; Where it comes from: Foreign statements
- Tax payable: What you enter: Nothing, eFiling calculates it; Where it comes from: eFiling
What goes in Gross Income (Turnover/Sales/Other Income)?
Your expected gross income for the year before deductions: business turnover, rental received, interest, salary and other receipts. It is the starting point SARS compares with your estimated taxable income, so it should be consistent with it.
What goes in estimated taxable income?
Your estimate of taxable income for the whole year, not for six months, including taxable capital gains. The SARS Guide for Provisional Tax (GEN-PT-01-G01) states that provisional payments are calculated on estimated taxable income, including current taxable capital gains. eFiling halves the tax on the full-year figure for the first period.
Why is the employees' tax field mandatory even with no salary?
SARS made the employees' tax field mandatory on both periods. If no PAYE was deducted from your income, the SARS page instructs you to capture 00 in the field. Leaving it blank stops the return from filing.
How do I work out the two medical credit fields?
The SARS how-to page refers you to the GEN-PT-01-G01 guide for the calculation of the medical scheme fees tax credit and the additional medical expenses tax credit. Our guide to medical tax credits explains both credits in plain language.
What changes on the second period IRP6?
The second period return asks for the same fields, but the employees' tax and foreign tax credits are for twelve months, and eFiling brings in the provisional tax paid for the first period plus any penalty and interest outstanding from it. The result is the amount payable for the full year less what you have already paid. SARS sets out both lists on its how-to-eFile page.
Why does the second estimate carry more weight than the first?
The underestimation penalty in paragraph 20 of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act is tested against the second estimate. The GEN-PT-01-G01 guide (revision 28) sets the tests: where taxable income is R1 million or less, a 20% penalty applies when the estimate is below 90% of actual taxable income and also below the basic amount; above R1 million, the test is 80% of actual taxable income.
What if I do not submit the second IRP6 at all?
SARS states on its provisional tax page that if the final provisional tax return is not submitted within four months after the last day of the year of assessment, you are deemed to have submitted an estimate of nil taxable income. That deemed nil estimate is then the figure the underestimation penalty is measured against.
What are the Unusual/Infrequent Amount and Historical Information sections?
Unusual/Infrequent Amount is where you enter any once-off amounts included in your estimated taxable income. Historical Information shows your assessed figures from earlier years. Both sit below the main calculation on the form.
What counts as an unusual or infrequent amount?
An amount you do not expect to receive every year, for example a once-off capital gain on the sale of shares, property or crypto assets, or a large once-off business receipt. Entering it here tells SARS why this year's estimate differs from your history.
Why is my Historical Information section blank?
SARS shows historical information only if you were assessed within five years of the year on the return. It is blank if your last assessment is five or more years earlier, or if you are a new taxpayer.
How do I submit the IRP6 and confirm it was filed?
Click Save at any stage to keep your work, then File Return when every field is complete. eFiling validates the return and lists any errors or omissions to fix. The declaration screen shows the date, and you click Confirm to submit. A confirmation appears once the return is filed; Continue takes you back to the Work Page.
Do I have to file an IRP6 if the amount payable is nil?
Yes. The GEN-PT-01-G01 guide requires a provisional taxpayer to request and submit a return for the first and second period even where the calculation gives a nil amount payable.
How do I check the status of my IRP6?
On the Provisional Tax Work Page click Query SARS Status. Request Statement of Account shows the provisional tax account by tax year or by balance brought forward.
How do I pay provisional tax after filing the IRP6?
Filing the IRP6 and paying it are separate steps. On eFiling, go to Returns, then Payments, then Pay Now, then Create Additional Payment. Select Provisional Tax (PROV) as the tax type and Provisional Tax Period Payment as the type of payment, capture your tax reference number, the tax period (CCYY/NN) and the amount, then click Make Payment.
Do I need to set up bank details first?
Yes. eFiling payments need a banking product set up under Payments, Bank Details Setup, before a payment can be initiated.
Can I pay at the bank instead of on eFiling?
Yes. The GEN-PT-01-G01 guide lists payment at your bank, via eFiling or by EFT. Bank payments need the 19-digit payment reference number and the beneficiary ID shown on the payment advice of the IRP6 return, and SARS warns that electronic payments can take between two and five days to clear.
When are the 2027 IRP6 payments due?
SARS sets the first payment within six months of the start of the year of assessment, which is 31 August or the last business day before it, and the second by the last business day of February. A third voluntary payment can be made by the last business day of September for individuals, as stated on the SARS provisional tax page.
How do I correct an IRP6 I have already filed?
On the Provisional Tax Work Page click Request for Correction. The return goes back to Saved status, you change the figures and file it again.
What if I filed the IRP6 for the wrong period?
SARS gives a two-step fix on its how-to-eFile page: request a new IRP6 for the correct period, then use Request for Correction to revise the return filed for the wrong period.
Can I lower my estimate after filing?
You can revise the figures through Request for Correction. SARS can also increase an estimate it is not satisfied with, and the second estimate is the one the underestimation penalty is tested against, so a lower figure needs to be supported by your actual income for the year.
What are the most common IRP6 eFiling mistakes?
Most IRP6 problems come from a small set of clicks and fields rather than from the tax calculation itself.
- Choosing the wrong period. 2027-01 and 2027-02 are different returns, and a first-period figure filed as the second sets the estimate the penalty test uses.
- Entering six months of income. Estimated taxable income is always the full-year figure on both periods.
- Leaving employees' tax blank. Capture 00 where no PAYE applies.
- Filing without paying. The return and the payment are separate; the 10% late payment penalty under paragraph 27 applies to late payment for the first and second periods, according to the GEN-PT-01-G01 guide.
- Using the wrong payment reference. A bank payment without both the payment reference number and the beneficiary ID is not accepted.
- Skipping a nil return. A nil amount payable still needs a filed IRP6.
- Leaving out capital gains. A once-off gain belongs in the estimate and in the Unusual/Infrequent Amount field.
Which mistake costs the most?
An understated second estimate. It is the figure SARS measures against your actual taxable income for the paragraph 20 penalty, and it also drives the interest SARS charges on underpaid provisional tax. If you are unsure whether you are a provisional taxpayer at all, start with our guide on who should register for provisional tax, and if a deadline has already passed, see what to do if you miss a tax deadline.
Do You Need Help With the IRP6?
We prepare the estimate, complete and file both IRP6 periods on eFiling and send you the payment details, so the figures that reach your ITR12 are the ones you planned for. See how our provisional tax service works and the plans on our provisional tax pricing page, or contact us to start.
