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 people meet the IRP6 the first year they earn money outside a salary: rent from a flat, freelance invoices, interest above the exemption, or a crypto trade. The question that follows is almost always the same. If I already file an IRP6, do I still need an ITR12, and how do the two fit together? This guide answers that for individuals, using the rules SARS publishes for the 2027 year of assessment and the 2026 filing season.
What is the difference between IRP6 and ITR12?
The IRP6 is an estimate made during the tax year, and the ITR12 is the final return made after it. SARS describes the IRP6 as the provisional tax return submitted on eFiling, and its guide to provisional tax states that provisional tax payments, together with any PAYE withheld during the year, are offset against the liability for normal tax at the end of the year of assessment. That liability is what the ITR12 assessment works out.
What does the IRP6 do?
The IRP6 spreads the tax on non-salary income across the year. You estimate your taxable income for the whole year, work out the tax on it, deduct PAYE and the earlier payment, and pay the balance. It is a payment mechanism, so it never settles your tax for the year on its own.
What does the ITR12 do?
The ITR12 reports what actually happened: every income source, deduction, capital gain and credit for the year of assessment. SARS issues an ITA34 assessment from it, and the IRP6 payments are credits on that assessment. The SARS filing season page describes the ITR12 as the individual income tax return.
How do the two returns compare side by side?
- Purpose: IRP6: Estimate and pay during the year; ITR12: Report actual income after the year
- Who files: IRP6: Provisional taxpayers; ITR12: Individuals required to file
- How often: IRP6: Two compulsory periods, one optional; ITR12: Once per year of assessment
- Result: IRP6: Payment to SARS; ITR12: ITA34 assessment
- Penalty risk: IRP6: Late payment and underestimation; ITR12: Late submission
Who has to file an IRP6 as well as an ITR12?
You file both if you are a provisional taxpayer. SARS states on its provisional tax page that any person who receives income other than remuneration is a provisional taxpayer, and that most salary earners with no other income sources are excluded. A provisional taxpayer still files an ITR12 every year; the IRP6 is added on top of it.
Which income makes me a provisional taxpayer?
Income that does not come through a payroll: rental income, business or freelance income, interest and foreign dividends, and remuneration from an employer that is not registered for PAYE. A side income is the most common trigger, which our guide on declaring side hustle income to SARS covers in detail.
Who is excluded from filing an IRP6?
SARS sets two exclusions for individuals who do not carry on a business. For the 2027 year of assessment you are excluded if your taxable income does not exceed R99,000 (under 65), R153,250 (65 to under 75) or R171,300 (75 and over), or if your interest, foreign dividends, rental and similar non-salary income does not exceed R30,000. Both thresholds are published on the SARS provisional tax page. A person excluded from the IRP6 still files an ITR12 when the ordinary filing rules require it.
For a fuller walk through the registration question, read who should register for provisional tax.
When are the IRP6 and ITR12 due?
The IRP6 runs inside the tax year and the ITR12 runs after it, so the two calendars overlap. For an individual with a February year end, the 2027 year of assessment runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027.
When are the 2027 IRP6 periods due?
The SARS guide to provisional tax sets the first period within six months from the start of the year of assessment (31 August for a February year end), and the second period not later than the last day of the year of assessment (the end of February). The SARS provisional tax page lists an optional third payment, the top-up, for individuals after the year ends. The first IRP6 for 2027 was due on 31 August 2026, and the second falls due at the end of February 2027. Our IRP6 first payment guide works through the first period.
When is the 2026 ITR12 due for provisional taxpayers?
SARS announced the 2026 filing season dates in its changes for filing season 2026 notice: auto-assessments from 1 July to 12 July 2026, non-provisional individuals from 13 July to 23 October 2026, and provisional taxpayers from 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027. The ITR12 for the 2026 year is therefore due by 22 January 2027 for a provisional taxpayer. See SARS filing season 2026 deadlines for the full list.
Which IRP6 belongs to which ITR12?
The two IRP6 returns for the 2027 year (August 2026 and February 2027) are credited on the 2027 ITR12, which you file in the 2027 filing season. The ITR12 you file by 22 January 2027 is for the 2026 year, and it carries the credits for the IRP6 payments made in August 2025 and February 2026. Mixing up the years is one of the most common reasons a statement of account does not balance.
How does IRP6 provisional tax show up on the ITR12 assessment?
Every IRP6 payment is a credit against the tax worked out on your ITR12. SARS's guide to provisional tax states that provisional tax payments and PAYE are offset against the normal tax liability at the end of the year of assessment. The ITA34 shows the tax on your actual taxable income, then subtracts PAYE and provisional tax paid.
What happens if I paid too much provisional tax?
The excess is a credit on your assessment and is refunded through the normal refund process once SARS has finalised the ITR12, subject to any verification. Overpaying is not a penalty event.
What happens if I paid too little provisional tax?
The shortfall becomes payable on the ITR12 assessment. Depending on how far your estimate was below the actual figure, SARS also levies the underestimation penalty and interest described in the penalties section below. A small shortfall that stays inside the SARS tolerance carries no underestimation penalty.
Does filing an IRP6 replace the ITR12?
No. The IRP6 is an estimate and the ITR12 is the return that determines your tax. SARS's provisional tax guide sets the IRP6 up as a payment of estimated tax that is later offset against the assessed liability, so an assessment still has to exist for the offset to happen.
Can I skip the ITR12 if my IRP6 payments were correct?
No. Accurate provisional payments reduce what you owe on assessment, but they do not remove the duty to file the ITR12. Not filing the ITR12 leads to administrative penalties for non-submission, which our guide on missing the tax filing deadline explains.
Do auto-assessed provisional taxpayers still file IRP6 returns?
Yes. SARS's filing season 2026 notice states that eligible provisional taxpayers can receive an auto-assessment, and those who disagree amend and submit the return by 22 January 2027. An auto-assessment replaces the ITR12 submission for that year only. It does nothing to the IRP6 periods, which keep running. If the auto-assessment is wrong, our guide on disputing a SARS auto-assessment sets out the steps.
What penalties apply to the IRP6 that do not apply to the ITR12?
The IRP6 carries two penalties of its own, set out in the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962: a 10% penalty for late payment and a 20% penalty for underestimating taxable income.
What is the IRP6 underestimation penalty?
Under paragraph 20, as the SARS guide to provisional tax sets it out, the second-period estimate is tested against your actual taxable income on assessment. Where actual taxable income is R1 million or less, the penalty applies when the estimate is less than 90% of actual taxable income and also less than the basic amount. Where actual taxable income is above R1 million, the test is 80% of actual taxable income. The penalty is 20% of the difference between the tax on the relevant figure and the provisional tax paid.
What is the basic amount?
The basic amount is your taxable income as assessed for the latest preceding year, excluding taxable capital gains and certain retirement and severance lump sums. SARS's guide states that an assessment counts only if it was issued at least 14 days before the IRP6 due date, and that the basic amount is increased by 8% when the estimate is made more than 18 months after the end of that preceding year.
What is the late payment penalty?
Paragraph 27 imposes a penalty of 10% on any late payment of provisional tax, as stated in the SARS guide to provisional tax. Interest is charged on top of it under section 89bis at the prescribed rate.
What if I never submit the second IRP6?
SARS's guide states that if the second-period IRP6 is not submitted by the due date, you are deemed to have submitted an estimate of nil taxable income, unless the return is submitted within four months after the end of the year of assessment. A nil estimate almost always fails the underestimation test.
How do I file the IRP6 and the ITR12 on eFiling, step by step?
Both returns are filed on SARS eFiling, from different screens, at different times of the year.
- Confirm your status. Check whether you are registered for provisional tax on your eFiling profile, under the tax types listed for your individual profile. Register if your income makes you a provisional taxpayer.
- Request the IRP6. On eFiling, open Returns, then Returns Issued, and choose Provisional Tax (IRP6). Select the year of assessment and the period (first, second or third).
- Estimate taxable income. Enter your estimated taxable income for the whole year, the PAYE withheld and any earlier provisional payment. For the second period, check the estimate against the 90% and basic amount tests.
- Pay with the IRP6 reference. Pay using the 19-digit payment reference number on the IRP6 payment advice, as the SARS guide requires for electronic payments.
- Request the ITR12 after year end. In the filing season, open Returns Issued, choose Personal Income Tax (ITR12) for the year, and complete the wizard so every income source appears on the return.
- Check the credits. On the ITA34 and the statement of account, confirm that each IRP6 payment is credited to the correct year. Gather the supporting documents from our list of documents needed to file a tax return.
What are the most common IRP6 and ITR12 mistakes?
Most problems come from treating the two returns as one, or from mixing up the years.
Which IRP6 mistakes cost the most?
- Estimating from last year's salary only. The estimate covers all income for the year, including rent, interest and capital gains.
- Paying to the wrong period. A payment allocated to the wrong year or period shows as unpaid on one statement and as a credit on another.
- Skipping the second IRP6. SARS deems a nil estimate, which leads straight to the underestimation penalty.
Which ITR12 mistakes come from provisional tax?
- Leaving income off the ITR12 because it was included in the IRP6. The IRP6 reports no income to SARS for assessment purposes; the ITR12 does.
- Filing by the non-provisional deadline only when the provisional deadline applies, or the reverse. Check which group you are in before you plan the return.
- Not checking the credits on the ITA34. A missing provisional credit turns a refund into a debt until it is traced.
Do You Need Help With IRP6 and ITR12?
CH Consulting prepares IRP6 provisional tax returns and ITR12 income tax returns for individuals, and reconciles each IRP6 payment to the assessment it belongs to. See how our provisional tax service works, compare the plans on our provisional tax pricing and personal tax pricing pages, or contact us to start.
