Provisional Tax in South Africa: what the first period actually asks for

The first provisional tax period asks for an estimate of your total taxable income for the full year, not a calculation of what you have earned so far. For years of assessment starting in March, it is due 31 August 2026. Your estimate may not be less than your basic amount.

That single sentence is where most of the confusion sits. The IRP6 is not a return of what has happened. It is a forecast of the whole year, submitted halfway through it, and the rules that govern it in the first period are different from the rules that govern it in the second. Understanding which rules apply now is the difference between a calm August and an expensive one.

Who has to submit an IRP6 at all?

SARS defines a provisional taxpayer as any person who receives income, or to whom income accrues, other than remuneration. In practice that captures three groups: natural persons with income outside a salary, every company automatically, and anyone the Commissioner has told they are a provisional taxpayer.

Receiving exempt income does not make you one. SARS states that interest of less than R23 800 if you are under 65, or less than R34 500 if you are 65 and older, does not pull you into the provisional net on its own.

There are also explicit exclusions. A natural person who earns no income from carrying on a business is excluded if their taxable income will not exceed the tax threshold for the 2027 tax year, which SARS lists as R99 000 under 65, R153 250 from 65 to 75, and R171 300 at 75 and over. A person is also excluded where taxable income from interest, foreign dividends, rental from letting fixed property and remuneration from an unregistered employer will not exceed R30 000. Approved public benefit organisations, body corporates, share block companies, small business funding entities and deceased estates are excluded as well.

If you are registered as a provisional taxpayer, the return is due whether or not you owe anything. SARS is explicit that the return must be submitted even if the provisional tax calculation results in a nil payment.

What the first period actually asks for

Companies must submit an estimate of the total taxable income the company will derive for the year of assessment. Individuals do the same, excluding retirement fund lump sum benefits, retirement fund lump sum withdrawal benefits and severance benefits. The taxable portion of the aggregate capital gain for the current year must be included in both the first and second calculations.

You then pay tax on half of that estimated annual figure. The first period is a half-year payment against a full-year forecast, which is why halving your actual six-month income is the wrong method and consistently produces the wrong number.

The deadline this year

The first period payment is due within six months of the start of the year of assessment. SARS states this as 31 August, if it is a business day, or the last business day before that date. In 2026, 31 August falls on a Monday, so there is no earlier shift. The date is 31 August 2026.

The basic amount, and the two rules that quietly change it

The basic amount is the floor under your estimate. SARS is direct about this: the amount of estimate submitted by a provisional taxpayer shall not be less than the basic amount applicable to that particular estimate, unless the Commissioner, after taking the circumstances into account, agrees to a lower one.

For a company, the basic amount is the taxable income assessed for the latest preceding year of assessment, less any taxable capital gain in that year. For individuals, lump sum and severance amounts come out too.

Two rules then modify it, and both are easy to miss because both turn on dates rather than on money.

Rule one: the assessment must be at least 14 days old

The year last assessed refers to an assessment for which SARS issued a notice not less than 14 calendar days prior to the due date of the estimate. Working backwards from a 31 August 2026 due date, that means an assessment issued on or before 17 August 2026. An assessment that lands after that date does not become your basic amount for this submission, even though it is the most recent one you hold.

Rule two: the 8 percent uplift, which can turn on by three days

SARS requires that the basic amount be increased by 8 percent if the estimate is made more than 18 months after the end of the latest preceding year of assessment.

For a February year-end taxpayer, that rule produces a sharp edge this year. If your 2026 assessment has been issued, your latest preceding year ended 28 February 2026, the 18 month mark falls in August 2027, and no uplift applies. If your 2026 return is still outstanding and you are relying on your 2025 assessment, your latest preceding year ended 28 February 2025, the 18 month mark falls on 28 August 2026, and a submission on 31 August 2026 sits three days past it. The 8 percent uplift applies.

The practical reading: being behind on last year's return does not just delay a filing. It raises the floor under this year's first payment. Keeping your expense records in order through the year is what makes the prior assessment land on time, and the assessment is what sets the number you are working from now.

The penalty most people worry about is a second period penalty

This is the part worth reading twice, because it is where the anxiety is usually misplaced.

The underestimation penalty under paragraph 20 is levied where the actual taxable income turns out to be more than the taxable income estimated on the second provisional tax return. SARS states it in those terms. It is a test applied to the second estimate, not the first.

For a taxpayer with taxable income of up to R1 million, the penalty arises where the second estimate is less than 90 percent of actual taxable income and also less than the basic amount, and it is 20 percent of the shortfall as calculated in the Fourth Schedule. Both conditions must hold, which is why filing at the basic amount is the standard defensive position.

So the first period does not carry an accuracy test. It carries a floor. Your first period exposure is not about whether your forecast turns out to be right; it is about whether you filed at or above the basic amount, and whether you paid on time.

Question	First period	Second period
Is there an accuracy test on the estimate?	No	Yes, under paragraph 20
Must the estimate meet the basic amount?	Yes	Yes
Penalty for paying late	10 percent, paragraph 27	10 percent, paragraph 27
Interest on late payment	Section 89bis	Section 89bis

What late payment costs

A penalty of 10 percent is levied on any late payment of provisional tax in respect of the first and second periods, under paragraph 27 of the Fourth Schedule, treated as a percentage based penalty under the Tax Administration Act.

Section 89bis interest runs on top of that at the prescribed rate. SARS records the rate as 10.25 percent per annum from 1 December 2025, noting that it is subject to changes published in the Government Gazette, so confirm the current rate before relying on it.

Worth knowing for later: a paragraph 20 underestimation penalty on the second period is reduced by any paragraph 27 late payment penalty already imposed, so the two do not stack in full.

What changed for provisional taxpayers in Filing Season 2026

SARS extended auto assessment to eligible provisional taxpayers for Filing Season 2026. The auto assessment run concluded on 12 July 2026 and filing opened on 13 July 2026, with provisional taxpayers and trusts having until 22 January 2027 to file.

Read that carefully, because the two returns are different things. Auto assessment applies to the annual income tax return, the ITR12. It does not file your IRP6 and it does not move the 31 August 2026 first period date. If you were auto assessed in July, the provisional deadline in August is still yours to meet.

A checklist for 31 August 2026

1. Confirm you are actually registered as a provisional taxpayer, and check the exclusions above before assuming you are.
2. Find your latest assessment and check the issue date. If it was issued after 17 August 2026, it is not your basic amount for this submission.
3. Work out whether the 18 month rule applies to you. If your latest assessed year ended 28 February 2025, plan for the 8 percent uplift.
4. Estimate total taxable income for the full year, including the taxable portion of any aggregate capital gain, and excluding lump sum and severance amounts.
5. Check your estimate against the basic amount. If it is lower, you need the Commissioner to agree to it.
6. Submit the IRP6 even if the result is nil.
7. Pay by 31 August 2026 to avoid the 10 percent penalty and section 89bis interest.

Most of the work in that list is not tax work. It is record work, done months earlier. The businesses that find August straightforward are the ones whose numbers were already current, which usually means invoicing consistently and issuing documents that meet the tax invoice requirements as they go, rather than reconstructing a year in a fortnight.

Provisional tax sits inside a wider set of obligations that switch on at different moments in a business's life. If you want the full sequence rather than this one deadline, our South African business compliance checklist sets out every obligation in the order it becomes yours, including CIPC annual returns and the tax compliance status PIN that depends on all of it being current.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to submit an IRP6 if my business made no profit?

Yes. SARS states the return must be submitted even if the provisional tax calculation results in a nil payment. Registration, not profitability, creates the filing obligation, and a missed nil return still counts as a missed return.

Can I estimate less than my basic amount for the first period?

Only with the Commissioner's agreement. SARS states the estimate shall not be less than the basic amount unless the Commissioner, having considered the circumstances, accepts a lower figure. Filing below it without that agreement is not a decision you make alone.

Is there an underestimation penalty on the first provisional payment?

No. The paragraph 20 underestimation penalty is tested against the second provisional tax return, not the first. First period exposure comes from filing below the basic amount or paying late, rather than from an inaccurate forecast.

What happens if I pay my first provisional tax late?

A 10 percent penalty applies under paragraph 27 of the Fourth Schedule, plus section 89bis interest at the prescribed rate. SARS records that rate as 10.25 percent per annum from 1 December 2025, subject to change by Government Gazette.

Does being auto assessed mean my provisional tax is handled?

No. Auto assessment applies to the annual ITR12 return. It does not submit your IRP6 and does not change the 31 August 2026 first period deadline. The two run separately and both remain your responsibility.

Which date applies if 31 August falls on a weekend?

SARS states the first period is due 31 August if it is a business day, or the last business day before that date. In 2026, 31 August is a Monday, so the deadline is 31 August 2026 with no earlier shift.

Sources

• SARS, Guide for Provisional Tax, GEN-PT-01-G01, revision 28, effective 29 June 2026: basic amount definition, the 14 day rule, the 8 percent uplift, paragraph 20 and paragraph 27 penalties, section 89bis interest.
• SARS, Provisional Tax, types of tax page: definition of a provisional taxpayer, exclusions, interest exemption figures, 2027 tax year thresholds, first and second period due dates.
• SARS, Tax Practitioner Connect Issue 73, July 2026: auto assessment extended to eligible provisional taxpayers, auto assessment concluded 12 July 2026, filing opened 13 July 2026, provisional taxpayers and trusts due 22 January 2027.
• Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962, Fourth Schedule, and the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011.

All sources consulted on 2 August 2026. Thresholds, prescribed interest rates and filing dates change, most often at Budget, so verify against SARS before you file.

If provisional tax is the deadline that exposes how far behind your records are, that is a process problem rather than a tax problem. A Business Autopsy maps where the admin actually goes and what can be automated, and you can book a discovery call to talk it through.