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.
Provisional tax is the part of the SARS calendar that catches people with rental income, a side business, freelance fees or investment income. Twice a year an IRP6 has to be requested, estimated and filed, and the second estimate is tested against your actual taxable income once the year is assessed. Many taxpayers hand that work to a professional. This guide explains who is allowed to prepare and submit your IRP6, how to confirm that person is registered, how they get access to your provisional tax on eFiling, what they need from you for each period, and which responsibilities stay with you no matter who presses File Return.
If you are not yet sure whether you are a provisional taxpayer at all, read who should register for provisional tax first. If you would rather complete the return yourself, our field by field IRP6 eFiling guide covers each screen.
Who is allowed to prepare and submit an IRP6 for someone else?
A registered tax practitioner may prepare and submit your IRP6 for a fee. SARS states on its Register as a Tax Practitioner page that a natural person must register as a tax practitioner if they give advice on the application of a tax Act to another person, or complete or help complete a return for another person. An IRP6 is a return, so anyone charging you to prepare it falls inside that rule.
What registration does an IRP6 tax practitioner need?
Registration with SARS and membership of a recognised controlling body. SARS lists three requirements: the person must belong to, or fall under the jurisdiction of, a recognised controlling body; meet that body's minimum qualifications and experience requirements; and have no criminal conviction for the offences described in section 240(3) of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011.
Can an unpaid family member file my provisional tax?
Yes. Section 240(2) exempts an individual who completes or helps complete a return for no consideration, as SARS summarises on its registration page. A spouse or adult child who files your IRP6 as a favour does not need to register. The estimate on that return is still yours, and so is any penalty that follows from it.
Can a bookkeeper at a practice file the IRP6?
Only if that person is registered or works under the direct supervision of a registered tax practitioner, which is one of the exemptions SARS lists. A job title alone does not allow someone to prepare returns for clients.
How do I check that an IRP6 practitioner is registered?
Search the SARS online register before you give anyone access. SARS links its tax practitioner look-up from the Tax Practitioners page and states that it is in the interest of taxpayers to use registered tax practitioners. Ask the practitioner for their practitioner registration number and search for it.
What status should the practitioner show?
Active. SARS announced on 21 April 2026 that registration status on eFiling is simplified to Active, Suspended or Deregistered. A practitioner whose status is Suspended or Deregistered should not be preparing your provisional tax.
What if something goes wrong with my practitioner?
You can report the practitioner. SARS explains on its section 241 page that anyone can report unprofessional conduct by a tax practitioner, using the RUC001 form, and that the complaint is dealt with through the practitioner's controlling body.
How does a practitioner get access to my provisional tax on eFiling?
The practitioner requests your provisional tax type in their eFiling portfolio, and you approve the request with a one-time PIN. SARS sets out the process on its page Adding clients to a tax practitioner's eFiling profile. You never share your own eFiling username or password.
What does the practitioner do on their side?
They register you in their portfolio under Organisations, open Manage Tax Types, tick the tax types they need and submit. The status then reads Awaiting authorisation. Ask them to include provisional tax as well as income tax, because the IRP6 sits under its own tax type.
What do I do to approve the request?
You open the Tax Type Transfer or Shared Access Request link, confirm whether you are a South African citizen, complete the demographic questions and submit. eFiling asks whether the one-time PIN goes to your email or cell number. After you enter it, eFiling issues a power of attorney and you select Authorise for each tax type the practitioner should manage.
Do I still see my IRP6 on my own profile?
Yes. SARS notes that the tax types show as active on your own profile. You can still open your statement of account and check what was filed.
What does the practitioner need from me for each IRP6 period?
An honest estimate of your taxable income for the whole year, built from your own figures. The SARS Guide for Provisional Tax (GEN-PT-01-G01) states that provisional taxpayers must, during every period, submit an estimate of the total taxable income for the year of assessment, including the taxable portion of current year capital gains in both the first and second calculations.
- First period: Due date: End of August; What to send your practitioner: Income to date and a full-year projection
- Second period: Due date: Last business day of February; What to send your practitioner: Near-final income, deductions and payments made
- Third, voluntary: Due date: Last business day of September; What to send your practitioner: Actual figures, if a top-up is worthwhile
The due dates in the table come from the SARS provisional tax page, which states that the first payment is due within six months of the start of the year of assessment, the second by the last business day of February, and the voluntary third payment for individuals with a February year-end by the last business day of September.
Which figures only I can supply?
Business turnover and expenses, rental income and costs, foreign income, crypto disposals, interest and dividends you expect to earn, and any large once-off amount such as an asset sale. SARS can pre-populate some fields, but it does not know what you will earn between now and the end of February.
What is the basic amount and why does my practitioner ask about it?
The basic amount is your taxable income as assessed for the latest preceding year, less taxable capital gains and certain lump sums, according to the SARS guide. Your estimate may not be lower than the basic amount unless the Commissioner agrees, and the basic amount is one of the two tests in the underestimation penalty for incomes up to R1 million.
Do I need to file an IRP6 if I expect to pay nothing?
Yes. The SARS guide states that a provisional taxpayer is required to request and submit an IRP6 for the first and second period even if the total amount of tax due is nil.
Who is responsible if the IRP6 estimate turns out to be too low?
You are. The paragraph 20 underestimation penalty is levied on the taxpayer, and the SARS guide's worked example ends with the penalty due by the taxpayer. Handing the IRP6 to a practitioner moves the paperwork, not the liability, which is why the figures you give them matter more than who files.
How is the underestimation penalty worked out?
It is 20% of a shortfall in tax. For taxable income up to R1 million, the SARS guide says a penalty is levied where the second estimate is less than 90% of actual taxable income and also less than the basic amount. Above R1 million the test is 80% of actual taxable income. Our article on the IRP6 underestimation penalty under paragraph 20 works through the calculation.
What happens if the second IRP6 is never filed?
You are deemed to have estimated nil taxable income unless the second IRP6 is submitted within four months after the end of the year of assessment, according to the SARS guide. A nil estimate then feeds straight into the paragraph 20 calculation.
What does late payment cost?
A 10% penalty under paragraph 27 on any late payment of provisional tax for the first and second periods, plus interest under section 89bis at the prescribed rate, both as set out in the SARS guide. SARS also states that provisional tax payments cannot be refunded, reallocated to different periods or allocated to a different taxpayer, so the payment reference has to be right.
How does a practitioner file my IRP6 on eFiling, step by step?
The steps are the same screens SARS describes in its guide How to eFile your Provisional Tax Return (GEN-PT-01-G02), run from the practitioner's portfolio once your tax types are active.
- Confirm the practitioner is Active on the SARS look-up and that they have your provisional tax type, not only income tax.
- Approve the Tax Type Transfer request with the one-time PIN and select Authorise for provisional tax.
- Send your figures for the period: income to date, a full-year projection, expected deductions and the payments already made.
- The practitioner opens Returns, then Returns Issued, then Provisional Tax (IRP6), selects the period from the drop-down and clicks Request Return.
- The estimate is captured on the return from the Provisional Tax Work Page, including the taxable portion of any capital gain.
- Review the estimate and the tax payable before it is filed. Ask for the return or a summary of the figures.
- The practitioner clicks File Return, eFiling validates the information, and the return appears as filed on the work page.
- Pay the amount due by the due date using the payment reference on the IRP6, or through Payments on eFiling.
How is a filed IRP6 corrected?
From the Provisional Tax Work Page with Request for Correction, which reopens the return in a Saved status so it can be changed and resubmitted. If the IRP6 was filed for the wrong period, SARS says to request a new return for the correct period and correct the one filed in error.
How do I see what was filed for me?
Your practitioner can use Query SARS Status and Request Statement of Account on the work page, and you can view the same statement on your own profile.
What are the common mistakes when someone else files your IRP6?
Most problems come from the hand-over rather than the return itself.
- Only income tax was transferred. The practitioner can file your ITR12 but cannot see the IRP6 until provisional tax is added to the request.
- Using last year's figure without thinking. The basic amount protects you from the penalty only up to a point; a much better year needs a higher second estimate.
- Leaving out capital gains. SARS requires the taxable portion of the current year's capital gain in both the first and second estimates.
- Skipping a nil IRP6. A return is required for both periods even when nothing is payable.
- Paying to the wrong period. Payments cannot be reallocated between periods, so each payment must carry that period's reference.
- Not checking registration. An unregistered preparer has no controlling body above them, which leaves you without the complaint route section 241 gives.
Is the IRP6 the same as my annual return?
No. The IRP6 is the advance estimate; the ITR12 is the annual return that settles the year. Our guide to the difference between the IRP6 and the ITR12 explains how the two fit together, and how to appoint a practitioner for your ITR12 covers the annual return side.
What about the February payment?
The second period carries the penalty test, so it deserves the most care. Our guide to the second IRP6 payment in February 2027 covers what to check before that deadline.
Do You Need Help With IRP6?
Our provisional tax service prepares and files both IRP6 returns for individuals across South Africa, working from your own figures so the second estimate stands up when the year is assessed. Fixed fees are on our provisional tax pricing page, and the provisional tax hub collects every guide on the subject. To get started, contact us and we will set up access to your provisional tax on eFiling.
