South Africa compliance calendar

19 recurring VAT, Ad valorem excise duty, tyre levy and motor vehicle CO2 levy, Air Passenger Tax and 4 more obligations — returns, payments and listings — each with its due rule and official source, plus the dates new South Africa rules take effect.

South African Revenue Service (SARS) South African Government (gov.za)

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Return filing Payment Law change takes effect

Dates already include the weekend and public-holiday shift where South Africa applies one — 8 of 19 obligations here do. The rest stand as computed, and each obligation's notes say which applies to it and why. Confirm against the linked official source before relying on a date.

Recurring obligations, with sources

Each deadline cites the official text that states it and the date we last verified it.

VAT201 - Category A (manual or EFT)

VAT · Every 2 months · return filing

25th of the month after the two-month period ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors the Commissioner has allocated to Category A. Filing on paper, or paying over the counter or by EFT without submitting on eFiling
Notes
Category A and Category B are the same two-month cycle on opposite months, and the Commissioner decides which one you are in — the VAT Act requires the two groups to be roughly the same size, so about half of all vendors are on this grid and half on the other. Check your registration before using this row: being on the wrong one puts every deadline a month out. This is the paper and over-the-counter date. Pay by EFT or at a branch and 25 April is your date; file on eFiling and you have until the end of April.
Source
Tax periods for VAT vendors South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Under this category, a vendor is required to submit one return for every 2 calendar months, ending on the last day of January, March, May, July, September and November.”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category A (manual or EFT) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category A (eFiling)

VAT · Every 2 months · return filing

last business day of the month after the two-month period ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors the Commissioner has allocated to Category A. Registered to submit returns electronically and paying the full amount electronically
Notes
Filing and paying electronically buys you to the end of the month rather than the 25th — roughly five extra days, every period. The statute treats an eFiling submission with full electronic payment as made in time if both land by the last business day of the month the 25th falls in. Part payment does not qualify: the extension is conditional on paying the full amount.
Source
VAT 404 - Guide for Vendors (Issue 15), submission of returns and payment of VAT South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Alternatively, you have until the last business day of the month after the end of your tax period if you make use of eFiling to submit your return and make payment by electronic means”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category A (eFiling) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category B (manual or EFT)

VAT · Every 2 months · return filing

25th of the month after the two-month period ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors the Commissioner has allocated to Category B. Filing on paper, or paying over the counter or by EFT without submitting on eFiling
Notes
This is the other half of the two-month cycle: periods close at the end of February, April, June, August, October and December, so a Category B vendor files in the months a Category A vendor does not. The 25th is the date for anyone not filing electronically. SARS allocates the category — it is not a choice, and it is printed on your VAT registration.
Source
Tax periods for VAT vendors South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Under this category, a vendor is required to submit one return for every 2 calendar months, ending on the last day of February, April, June, August, October and December.”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category B (manual or EFT) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category B (eFiling)

VAT · Every 2 months · return filing

last business day of the month after the two-month period ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors the Commissioner has allocated to Category B. Registered to submit returns electronically and paying the full amount electronically
Notes
The same electronic extension as every other category, on the February/April/June/August/October/December grid. Note what it is conditional on — the return AND the full payment must both be electronic and both be in by the last business day. An eFiling return settled at a bank branch instead of electronically does not get the extra days.
Source
VAT 404 - Guide for Vendors (Issue 15), submission of returns and payment of VAT South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Alternatively, you have until the last business day of the month after the end of your tax period if you make use of eFiling to submit your return and make payment by electronic means”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category B (eFiling) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category C (eFiling)

VAT · Monthly · return filing

last business day of the month after the month ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors whose taxable supplies exceed or are likely to exceed R30 million in any consecutive 12 months, vendors who applied in writing, and vendors the Commissioner moved here for repeated non-compliance. Registered to submit returns electronically and paying the full amount electronically
Notes
Monthly vendors gain the most from the electronic deadline, because they meet it twelve times a year. The date is the last business day of the month following the tax period, which in a month ending on a weekend or a public holiday moves earlier, never later.
Source
VAT 404 - Guide for Vendors (Issue 15), submission of returns and payment of VAT South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Alternatively, you have until the last business day of the month after the end of your tax period if you make use of eFiling to submit your return and make payment by electronic means”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category C (eFiling) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category D (manual or EFT)

VAT · Bi-annually · return filing

25th of the month after the half-year ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors carrying on a farming, pastoral or agricultural enterprise with turnover at or below R1.5 million in any consecutive 12 months; micro businesses registered under the Sixth Schedule to the Income Tax Act that have applied in writing; and farming carried on as a separate enterprise, branch or division. Filing on paper, or paying over the counter or by EFT without submitting on eFiling
Notes
The farming half-year. Periods end February and August rather than June and December, so your return covers March–August or September–February — not the calendar halves most reference calendars assume. It is only for vendors solely carrying on a farming, pastoral or agricultural enterprise under the R1.5 million turnover ceiling, and you must tell SARS when you no longer qualify.
Source
Obligations of a VAT vendor South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Where the 25th day is not a business day, the day for submitting a return and making payment will be the business day preceding such day. Late payments of VAT will attract penalty and interest.”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category D (manual or EFT) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category D (eFiling)

VAT · Bi-annually · return filing

last business day of the month after the half-year ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors carrying on a farming, pastoral or agricultural enterprise with turnover at or below R1.5 million in any consecutive 12 months; micro businesses registered under the Sixth Schedule to the Income Tax Act that have applied in writing; and farming carried on as a separate enterprise, branch or division. Registered to submit returns electronically and paying the full amount electronically
Notes
Two deadlines a year for farming vendors who file and pay electronically, at the end of March and the end of September, because the periods close in February and August rather than in June and December. Most years the date does not move at all: across 2025-2035 only three of the eleven March deadlines shift, and only one of those (2029) is moved by Easter.
Source
VAT 404 - Guide for Vendors (Issue 15), submission of returns and payment of VAT South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Alternatively, you have until the last business day of the month after the end of your tax period if you make use of eFiling to submit your return and make payment by electronic means”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT201 - Category D (eFiling) deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - Category E (annual)

VAT · Annually · return filing

within 1 month of the end of the vendor's own year of assessment, on which the Category E tax period closes Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors letting fixed property, renting movable goods, or administering or managing companies that are connected persons to the vendor, where the Commissioner has allocated Category E
Notes
One return a year, but the year is yours rather than the calendar's: the period ends on the last day of your own year of assessment, which SARS sets per taxpayer. That is why no dates appear here - there is no single day this falls on for everyone. Take your assessment year end, then apply the ordinary rule: the 25th of the month after it, or that month's last business day if you file and pay electronically.
Source
Tax periods for VAT vendors - Category E South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Under this category, a vendor is required to submit one return for every 12 months, ending on the last day of the vendor’s year of assessment (or any other month were written application is made to the Commissioner and approved)”
Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT201 - foreign supplier of electronic services

VAT - electronic services (foreign suppliers) · Monthly · return filing

last business day of the month after the month ends Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Foreign suppliers of electronic services and foreign intermediaries registered for South African VAT; registration is compulsory once taxable supplies exceed R2.3 million
Notes
Non-resident suppliers of electronic services register once their South African taxable supplies pass R2.3 million, then file and pay by the last business day of the month after the tax period. A two-monthly period exists on request, but SARS's registration guide tells applicants to choose monthly. There is no 25th-day alternative for this group: they file electronically by construction.
Source
VAT-REG-02-G02 - Supply of Electronic Services by Foreign Suppliers and Foreign Intermediaries (External Guide, Revision 07) South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“The VAT201 must be filed, and the payment must be made by the last business day of the month after the end of the tax period applicable to the Foreign Supplier of Electronic Services or Foreign Intermediary.”
Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

VAT101 - compulsory registration application

VAT - registration · One-off · registration

within 21 business days of the date on which the R2.3 million threshold is or will be exceeded Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Any person whose taxable supplies have exceeded, or are expected to exceed, R2.3 million in any consecutive 12-month period
Notes
Twenty-one BUSINESS days, not calendar days - about a calendar month once weekends and public holidays come out - and the clock starts on the date the threshold is or will be crossed, not at the end of that month. Voluntary registration is available from R120 000. Both figures changed on 1 April 2026, so guidance still quoting R1 million and R50 000 is out of date.
Source
Register for VAT South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“An application for a compulsory VAT registration must be made within 21 business days from the date the R2.3 million is or will be exceeded.”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the VAT101 - compulsory registration application deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

Notification that all enterprises have ceased

VAT - registration · One-off · registration

within 21 days of the date the vendor ceased to carry on all enterprises Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Any vendor that ceases to carry on all enterprises
Notes
Twenty-one CALENDAR days here, against 21 business days to register - the two countdowns read identically and are not the same length. Registration is cancelled with effect from the last day of the tax period in which cessation happened, so a final return still falls due for that period.
Source
VAT 404 - Guide for Vendors (Issue 15), obligations of a vendor South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“advise SARS within 21 days of any changes in your registered particulars”
Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

Notification of liability for a Category C tax period

VAT - registration · One-off · registration

within 21 days of becoming liable to be placed in a Category C (monthly) tax period Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Vendors whose turnover exceeds R30 million in any consecutive 12 months after registration
Notes
Passing R30 million does not move you onto monthly filing by itself - you have to tell SARS within 21 days of becoming liable, and the duty is yours. Category D carries the mirror obligation: a farming vendor must report when turnover passes R1.5 million and the half-yearly period stops being available.
Source
VAT 404 - Guide for Vendors (Issue 15), tax periods South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“Should your turnover exceed R30 million in any consecutive period of 12 months subsequent to your registration for VAT, you are required to notify SARS to amend your registration to a Category C tax period within 21 days of becoming liable to register for a Category C tax period.”
Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

EXD 01 - ad valorem excise, tyre levy and motor vehicle CO2 levy

Ad valorem excise duty, tyre levy and motor vehicle CO2 levy · Quarterly · return filing

4 published dates, 24 Apr 2026 to 25 Jan 2027 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Licensed manufacturers of ad valorem excisable goods, and payers of the tyre levy and the motor vehicle carbon dioxide emissions levy
Notes
Quarterly accounts on calendar quarters, due on or before the 25th of the month after the quarter, moved earlier when the 25th is a weekend or public holiday. The dates shown are the ones SARS publishes, transcribed rather than worked out - they run out after January 2027, when SARS issues the next year's table.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service
See the source text
“On or before 24 April 2026”
Screenshot of South African Revenue Service showing the EXD 01 - ad valorem excise, tyre levy and motor vehicle CO2 levy deadline Open full size Captured from South African Revenue Service on 2026-08-31

EXD 01 - Air Passenger Tax

Air Passenger Tax · Monthly · return filing

12 published dates, 20 Feb 2026 to 21 Jan 2027 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Operators liable for Air Passenger Tax on departures from South Africa
Notes
Monthly, on the 21st of the following month, brought forward when the 21st is not a business day. Three of the twelve 2026 dates move for that reason, which is why the series is not simply 'the 21st'.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service

EXD 01 - monthly excise duty and environmental levy accounts

Excise duty and environmental levies · Monthly · return filing

12 published dates, 26 Feb 2026 to 28 Jan 2027 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Licensed manufacturers and warehouse licensees accounting for malt beer, traditional African beer and beer powders, spirits, hydrocarbon fuels, the electricity generation levy and the Health Promotion Levy on sugary beverages. NOT wine, vermouth and other fermented beverages, which SARS publishes on a different date series
Notes
These accounts are due on the second-to-last working day of the month after the accounting month, which is a day earlier than most calendars assume. The dates shown are SARS's own, transcribed rather than derived, and the published list stops at January 2027. Check your own commodity's table before relying on this row: the beer, spirits, fuel, electricity and sugary-beverage tables all print these dates, but wine and other fermented beverages runs on a different series.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service

EXD 01 - plastic bag environmental levy

Plastic bag environmental levy · Quarterly · return filing

4 published dates, 30 Mar 2026 to 30 Dec 2026 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Licensed manufacturers of plastic bags liable for the environmental levy
Notes
The same pen-ultimate-working-day rule as the monthly excise accounts, but on a quarterly cycle with periods ending February, May, August and November. It is a separate row because the period length differs, not because the deadline rule does.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service

EXD 01 - tobacco products excise account

Excise duty - tobacco products · Monthly · return filing

12 published dates, 27 Feb 2026 to 29 Jan 2027 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Licensed manufacturers of tobacco products accounting for excise duty
Notes
Tobacco is the one place in South African indirect tax where the payment date is not the submission date: the account goes in on these dates and the duty is payable 60 days after the accounting month, on the separate row below. The submission dates are usually the last working day of the following month, but two of the twelve published for 2026 are not, so use the published dates rather than the pattern.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service

Tobacco products excise duty - payment

Excise duty - tobacco products · Monthly · payment

12 published dates, 30 Mar 2026 to 25 Feb 2027 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Licensed manufacturers of tobacco products
Notes
The duty on a tobacco accounting month falls due about 60 days after that month ends - roughly a month after the account itself was submitted. It is the only indirect-tax payment in South Africa with its own date; everywhere else payment rides the return.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service

EXD 01 - biodiesel excise account

Excise duty - biodiesel · Monthly · return filing

10 published dates, 25 Feb 2026 to 25 Nov 2026 Verified 2026-08-31
Who files
Licensed manufacturers of biodiesel
Notes
Biodiesel runs on the 25th of the following month, moved earlier when the 25th is not a business day - a different series from the other fuel accounts, which use the pen-ultimate working day. The dates here stop in November 2026 because that is where the transcription from SARS's table stops, not because the obligation does.
Source
Excise payment and submission dates for 2026/2027 South African Revenue Service

South Africa runs one VAT return, the VAT201, on five different cycles, and SARS decides which one you are on. Categories A and B are the same two-month cycle on opposite months and between them cover most vendors; C is monthly and compulsory above R30 million; D is the farming half-year; E is annual and ends on your own year of assessment. Your category is on your registration - it is not a preference, and reading the wrong row puts every date a month out. Two things about South African deadlines catch people out. First, every return has TWO possible due dates: the 25th of the month after your tax period if you file on paper or pay over the counter, or the last business day of that month if you both file and pay electronically. Second, and unusually, a deadline landing on a weekend or public holiday moves EARLIER, not later. Most countries give you the next working day; South Africa takes the last working day before. That is why several dates here are not the 25th. Direct taxes are out of scope for this calendar: provisional tax, PAYE, UIF and SDL have their own cycles and are not listed. The excise and environmental levy accounts shown are the dates SARS publishes for 2026/2027, transcribed rather than derived, and they stop where that publication stops.

“falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the action must be done not later than the last business day before the Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.”
Screenshot of the official source stating the rule that governs South Africa's deadlines
Captured from South African Revenue Service (SARS) on 2026-08-31

What this calendar does not list

  • Not applicable Recapitulative listing — South Africa has no recapitulative statement and no periodic customer or supplier listing. It is not part of a VAT union, so there is no equivalent of an EC Sales List, and the VAT Act imposes no domestic duty to report who you traded with on a cycle. Transaction detail is supplied on assessment or audit, not on a calendar.
  • Not applicable E-invoicing / e-reporting cycle — No South African mandate fixes an e-invoicing or e-reporting submission deadline. SARS is consulting on VAT modernisation and has published a consultation paper, and the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act 4 of 2026 put a framework in place, but the technical requirements and the dates are left to future regulation. As at 31 August 2026 there is no cycle to show, and the consultation was still open.

About this calendar

Which South Africa tax deadlines does this calendar cover?

19 recurring indirect-tax obligations — VAT, Ad valorem excise duty, tyre levy and motor vehicle CO2 levy, Air Passenger Tax, Excise duty and environmental levies, Plastic bag environmental levy, Excise duty - tobacco products and Excise duty - biodiesel returns, payments and related filings — each with the due-date rule, who must file, and the official source that states the deadline. Direct-tax, payroll and company-registry deadlines are out of scope.

How current are these due dates?

Every obligation carries the date it was last verified against its official source (newest: 2026-08-31). Law-change dates come from the weekly Last Week in Taxes scan and link to their full change records.

Do the dates account for weekends and public holidays?

No — the calendar shows the statutory due date. Where the authority shifts deadlines falling on non-working days, the obligation notes say so. Confirm against the linked official source before relying on a date.

Related: Global compliance calendar · South Africa tax changes · Last Week in Taxes

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