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 learn about the late submission penalty when a penalty assessment notice arrives, usually long after the filing season closed. The notice shows a rand amount, a month and a transaction number, and it keeps repeating until the outstanding return is filed. This guide explains where that amount comes from, how section 211 of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 sets it, how long it can run, and what you can do about it on eFiling. It is written for individuals who file an ITR12. If you have not yet filed and want the broader picture of a missed deadline, start with our guide on what to do if you miss the tax deadline; this article goes deeper into the penalty itself.
What is the SARS penalty for submitting a tax return late?
It is a fixed amount administrative non-compliance penalty, charged every month that a required return stays outstanding. SARS describes it on its administrative penalty page: the penalty for failure to submit a return is a fixed amount based on your taxable income and ranges from R250 up to R16 000 a month for each month that the non-compliance continues.
Which law imposes it?
Section 210 of the Tax Administration Act requires SARS to impose a penalty when a person fails to comply with an obligation that is listed in a public notice issued by the Commissioner. Section 211 then supplies the table that sets the amount. Both sections sit in Chapter 15 of the Act, which deals with administrative non-compliance penalties. The official text of the Act, as published in the Government Gazette, is on gov.za.
Who does it apply to?
For personal income tax, SARS states that from 1 December 2022 the penalty applies when a natural person has failed to submit an income tax return for years of assessment from 2007 onwards and has one or more income tax returns outstanding. One outstanding ITR12 is enough. The penalty applies to a return you were required to submit; if you were not required to file for a year, that is a ground you raise in the dispute, covered below.
Is it the same as interest or the late payment penalty?
No. The section 211 penalty is about the return not being filed. Paying tax late is a separate matter: SARS explains on the same page that a percentage based penalty is imposed when a payment is received late, and interest is charged on unpaid tax under its own rules. A person who files on time but pays late does not attract the section 211 penalty, and a person who owes nothing can still attract it by not filing.
How does the section 211 penalty table work?
Section 211(1) sets the monthly penalty by your assessed loss or taxable income for the preceding year, meaning the year of assessment before the year in which the penalty is assessed. The bands in the Act are:
- (i): Preceding year taxable income: Assessed loss; Penalty: R250
- (ii): Preceding year taxable income: R0 to R250 000; Penalty: R250
- (iii): Preceding year taxable income: R250 001 to R500 000; Penalty: R500
- (iv): Preceding year taxable income: R500 001 to R1 000 000; Penalty: R1 000
- (v): Preceding year taxable income: R1 000 001 to R5 000 000; Penalty: R2 000
- (vi): Preceding year taxable income: R5 000 001 to R10 000 000; Penalty: R4 000
- (vii): Preceding year taxable income: R10 000 001 to R50 000 000; Penalty: R8 000
- (viii): Preceding year taxable income: Above R50 000 000; Penalty: R16 000
Which year's income sets my band?
The preceding year's taxable income, not the income of the year whose return is late. If your income rose sharply, the band follows the year before the penalty is assessed, so the monthly amount can differ from what you would expect from the outstanding return alone.
What if SARS does not know my taxable income?
Section 211(4) deals with this. Where the preceding year's taxable income is unknown, or the person was not a taxpayer in that year, SARS may impose the penalty at item (ii), R250, or estimate the taxable income from the relevant material it holds and impose the penalty for the band that estimate falls in.
Does the penalty apply per return or per taxpayer?
Each penalty assessment notice lists the outstanding returns and the penalties imposed, and SARS notes that each recurring penalty carries its own transaction number. That transaction number matters later, because the remission request asks you to name each period and amount.
How long does the monthly penalty keep running?
Under section 211(2), the penalty increases automatically by the same amount for each month, or part of a month, that you fail to fix the non-compliance within one month after the penalty assessment is delivered. The increase is limited to 35 months after delivery where SARS has your current address and can deliver the assessment, and to 47 months after the date of non-compliance where it cannot.
What stops the penalty from recurring?
Filing the outstanding return. SARS's own advice is that, whether or not you agree with the penalty, you should submit the outstanding return to stop further penalties. Paying the penalty without filing does not stop the next month's penalty, because the non-compliance is the missing return.
How will I know a penalty has been imposed?
SARS issues a penalty assessment notice, the AP34, which according to the SARS guide to submitting a dispute via eFiling reflects the imposed penalties, the outstanding returns and the corrective step that prevents further penalties. The Penalty Statement of Account is no longer sent with the notice; you can request it on eFiling, through the SARS Contact Centre or at a branch.
Can I get the late submission penalty remitted?
Yes, in the cases SARS lists. A Request for Remission, the RFR, is the first step for any penalty you dispute. SARS sets out two routes on its remission page: nominal or first incidence of non-compliance, and exceptional circumstances.
What is the first incidence rule?
For fixed amount penalties, SARS states that up to R2 000 can be remitted where the non-compliance is a first incidence, or lasted less than five business days, and in addition reasonable grounds for the non-compliance exist and the non-compliance has been remedied. Remedied means the outstanding return has been filed. A request made while the return is still outstanding does not meet the condition.
What counts as exceptional circumstances?
SARS lists natural or human-made disasters such as fire, floods or theft; civil disturbance or disruption in services; serious illness or accident; serious emotional or mental distress; and acts by SARS itself, such as a capturing error or processing delay. Where these apply, SARS may remit the whole penalty or a portion of it.
What must the request contain?
SARS requires a description of the circumstances which prevented you from complying, each period and amount, and the transaction code as received on the penalty assessment letter. Vague grounds such as "I forgot" do not meet the description requirement; dated facts and supporting documents do.
How do I submit a Request for Remission on eFiling?
The SARS dispute guide sets out the workflow. The steps for an individual are:
- File the outstanding ITR12 first. Use the Returns Issued screen on eFiling for each missing year. This stops further penalties and satisfies the remedied condition. Our list of documents needed to file a tax return covers what to gather.
- Request the IT admin penalty statement of account. The guide notes that a taxpayer who received a penalty assessment notice can request it on eFiling to dispute the penalty. It lists each penalty and transaction.
- Open the dispute. The dispute process can be started from Disputes / Suspension of Payment, the assessment notices, the Statement of Account, or the relevant return work page.
- Complete the RFR01. Select the transactions you dispute and a ground: SARS error, serious illness, death, liquidation or sequestration, not liable to file, or other mitigation factors such as remedied in full.
- Attach evidence. Supporting documents can be submitted through the SARS Online Query System, according to the guide.
- Track the outcome. SARS will allow, partially allow or disallow the request and explain why in a dispute outcome letter on eFiling.
Can I object straight away instead?
No. SARS states that you cannot use the objection process before the RFR is submitted and considered. If the RFR is disallowed or partially allowed, you may lodge a Notice of Objection, and after that a Notice of Appeal. The guide adds that an objection is not permitted if three or more years have passed since the decision on the RFR. For the separate process of disputing an assessment itself, see our guide on how to dispute a SARS auto assessment.
Can I submit the request at a branch?
Yes. SARS accepts the RFR on eFiling or at a SARS branch by appointment. A manual form by email is accepted only in the exceptional circumstances SARS describes.
How does the section 211 penalty compare with the IRP6 penalties?
Provisional taxpayers face different penalties on the IRP6, which are about estimates and payments rather than a missing ITR12. The underestimation penalty and the late payment penalty on provisional tax are disputed through the same RFR, objection and appeal sequence, but they are calculated differently. Our comparison of IRP6 and ITR12 sets out which penalties attach to which return.
Does a late IRP6 trigger the section 211 penalty?
The non-compliance SARS lists for individuals is the failure to submit an income tax return where one or more income tax returns are outstanding, per its remission page. The IRP6 has its own consequences under the provisional tax rules, explained in our guide to the second IRP6 payment.
Can both kinds of penalty apply in one year?
Yes. A provisional taxpayer who underestimates on the IRP6 and then does not file the ITR12 can face the provisional tax penalties and the monthly section 211 penalty for the same year, because they arise from different obligations.
What are the common mistakes with the late submission penalty?
- Paying the penalty and not filing. The penalty recurs monthly until the return is filed, so paying alone leaves the cause in place.
- Filing only the latest year. The penalty applies when one or more returns are outstanding. Check every year SARS shows as outstanding on eFiling, back to 2007.
- Requesting remission before filing. The first incidence route needs the non-compliance remedied first.
- Lodging an objection first. SARS does not accept an objection before the RFR has been submitted and considered.
- Leaving out transaction codes. The request needs each period, amount and transaction code from the notice.
- Ignoring an outstanding return you think you did not need to file. If you were not required to submit it, say so on the RFR using the not liable to file ground with your evidence, rather than leaving the penalty to run.
- Missing a return held up by a third party. A return rejected for an outstanding Recognition of Transfer is still outstanding; our guide to the Recognition of Transfer rejection explains how to clear it.
What evidence helps most?
Dated documents that match the ground you select: a hospital letter for serious illness, a SARS reference or case number for a SARS error, or proof that your income fell below the filing requirement for the not liable to file ground.
What should you do if several years are outstanding?
File them all, oldest first where the figures depend on earlier years, then deal with the penalties in one dispute per period. Where undeclared income is involved, the voluntary disclosure programme is a separate route with its own rules; our guide on the SARS voluntary disclosure programme explains it. For a wider view of what non-compliance leads to, read tax non-compliance in South Africa.
Does SARS collect penalties it is owed?
Yes. SARS states that if a penalty or interest is not paid it may appoint an agent, such as your employer, to collect the money on its behalf. If you cannot pay in one amount, SARS offers a deferred payment arrangement.
Where can I check the filing deadlines?
Our guide to the SARS filing season 2026 deadlines lists the dates for each kind of taxpayer.
Do You Need Help With Section 211?
We prepare and file outstanding ITR12 returns, request the penalty statement of account and lodge the Request for Remission with the evidence SARS asks for. Our fixed fees are on the personal tax pricing page, and more guides are in our SARS compliance hub. To talk about your penalty notice, contact us.
