Provisional Tax in South Africa: Who Pays, IRP6 Dates
Who is a provisional taxpayer, when IRP6 payments are due (31 August and end February), the optional top-up and how to estimate provisional tax properly.
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Facts checked against SARS on 30 September 2026. Provisional tax is how people and companies with income other than a salary pay their tax during the year instead of in one lump sum afterwards. You submit an IRP6 return and payment twice a year: by 31 August and by the last business day of February for a February year-end, with an optional top-up by the end of September.
If you run a business, earn rent, practise as a doctor or consultant, or freelance on the side, this probably applies to you. Here's how it works, and how to avoid the penalties that catch most people out.
What is provisional tax?
Employees have tax deducted from their salary every month through PAYE, so by the end of the tax year most of their tax is already paid. People who earn income without an employer deducting tax, such as business owners, landlords and freelancers, would otherwise face one large bill after the year ends.
Provisional tax fixes that. It isn't a separate tax; it's an advance payment of your normal income tax, spread across the year. When SARS assesses your annual return (the ITR12 for individuals or ITR14 for companies), the provisional payments are credited against the final amount. If you paid too much, you get a refund; too little, and you pay the difference, possibly with interest.
Who is a provisional taxpayer?
According to SARS, anyone who receives income other than remuneration is a provisional taxpayer. In practice that includes:
- Sole proprietors and freelancers earning business or consulting income
- Doctors, dentists and other professionals in private practice as sole practitioners or partners
- Landlords earning rental income
- Individuals with significant investment income, such as interest or foreign dividends
- All companies, unless specifically excluded
Who is excluded?
An individual is not a provisional taxpayer if they have no business income and either:
- their taxable income for the year is at or below the tax threshold, which for 2026/27 is R99,000 if you're under 65, R153,250 if you're 65 to 74, and R171,300 if you're 75 or older; or
- their taxable income from interest, dividends, foreign dividends and rent is R30,000 or less.
So a salaried employee with a small amount of interest income usually isn't provisional. A salaried employee who also lets out a flat for R8,000 a month usually is.
When is provisional tax due?
For individuals, the tax year runs from 1 March to the end of February. The IRP6 deadlines follow from that:
| Payment | When it's due | Next due date |
|---|---|---|
| First payment | Within six months of the start of the tax year: 31 August | 31 August 2027 (for the 2028 tax year) |
| Second payment | By the last business day of the tax year: end of February | 26 February 2027 (for the 2027 tax year) |
| Third payment (optional) | By the last business day of September, for a February year-end | 30 September 2027 (for the 2027 tax year) |
Companies follow the same pattern relative to their own financial year-end: the first payment within six months of the start of the year, the second by the last business day of the year, and an optional third within six months after year-end.
Where a deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the payment is due on the last business day before it. That's why the February 2027 payment is due on Friday 26 February: 28 February 2027 is a Sunday.
Provisional taxpayers also get more time to file their annual return. In the 2026 filing season, provisional individuals have until 22 January 2027 to submit their ITR12, compared with 23 October 2026 for everyone else.
How to estimate provisional tax
Each IRP6 asks you to estimate your taxable income for the whole year and pay tax on it, minus what's already been paid.
First payment (August)
- Estimate your taxable income for the full tax year. Start with your income so far, project it to year-end, and deduct the expenses you expect.
- Calculate the tax on that estimate using SARS's individual tax tables, after rebates.
- Deduct any PAYE deducted from a salary and any foreign tax credits.
- Pay half of the result.
Second payment (February)
- Update your estimate of the full year's taxable income. By now you're at year-end, so it should be close to actual.
- Calculate the tax for the full year.
- Deduct PAYE, credits and your first provisional payment.
- Pay the balance.
The second estimate is the one that matters most, because it's where underestimation penalties bite.
The underestimation penalty
If your second-period estimate is too low compared with the taxable income SARS eventually assesses, SARS can levy a penalty on the shortfall.
On top of that, late payments attract interest and a late-payment penalty. The practical lesson: base your February estimate on real, reconciled numbers, not last year's figure plus a guess.
The optional third payment
If, after year-end, you realise you underpaid, the voluntary third payment lets you pay the shortfall before interest runs up. For a February year-end, it's due by the last business day of September. It doesn't fix an underestimated second payment for penalty purposes, but it reduces the interest you'd otherwise owe on assessment.
Common mistakes
- Not knowing you're provisional. Starting a side business or letting a property makes you provisional from that year. SARS will still expect the IRP6s.
- Submitting a nil return to "keep it open". A nil or unrealistic estimate can lead to a penalty on the shortfall once the actual figure is assessed.
- Forgetting that paying and filing are separate. You submit the IRP6 return and make the payment. One without the other isn't compliant.
- Using last year's number when this year is very different. A strong year means a bigger bill; estimate from current figures.
- Missing the February deadline because it falls early. The last business day of February can be the 26th or 27th.
Provisional tax for specific situations
Doctors in private practice. A doctor earning practice income as a sole practitioner or partner is a provisional taxpayer. A doctor who draws a salary from an incorporated practice pays tax on that salary through PAYE, though dividends or other income may still make them provisional. See accounting for medical practices.
Landlords. Net rental income counts as non-salary income. If it takes you above R30,000 of rent, interest and dividends, or you have no salary, you're likely provisional. See tax on rental income.
Company owners. Your company pays its own provisional tax on its profit, separately from your personal provisional tax on any non-salary income you earn.
What to do next
If you're a provisional taxpayer, put the next deadlines in your diary now, keep your books current so your February estimate is based on real numbers, and consider the September top-up if the year went better than expected.
N&V Accounting & Tax Services prepares IRP6 estimates and ITR12 returns for business owners, professionals and landlords in Umhlanga, Durban and across KwaZulu-Natal. See our personal tax service, or book a consultation.
Frequently asked questions
What is provisional tax?
Provisional tax is an advance payment of income tax for people and companies that earn income other than a salary. Instead of paying one large bill after the tax year ends, you pay in two instalments during the year using the IRP6 return. The payments are credited against your final assessment, and any difference is refunded or paid when you file your annual return.
Who is a provisional taxpayer?
Anyone who earns income other than a salary is generally a provisional taxpayer, including business, freelance, practice and rental income. Individuals are excluded if they have no business income and their taxable income is below the tax threshold (R99,000 under 65 for 2026/27), or if their interest, dividends and rental income doesn't exceed R30,000. Source: SARS.
When is provisional tax due?
For a February year-end, the first provisional tax payment (IRP6) is due by 31 August. The second is due on the last business day of February, at the end of the tax year: 26 February 2027 for the 2027 tax year. An optional third top-up payment can be made by the last business day of September to reduce interest on any shortfall. Source: SARS.
What happens if I pay provisional tax late?
If you pay provisional tax late, SARS charges a late-payment penalty and interest on the amount outstanding. Separately, if your second-period estimate turns out to be too low compared with your assessed taxable income, SARS can levy an underestimation penalty. Paying on time, based on current and reconciled figures, is the simplest way to avoid both.
Sources
- SARS, Provisional tax: https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/provisional-tax/
- SARS, Budget 2026 Frequently Asked Questions (tax thresholds): https://www.sars.gov.za/about/sars-tax-and-customs-system/budget/budget-2026-frequently-asked-questions/
- SARS, Changes for filing season 2026: https://www.sars.gov.za/latest-news/changes-for-filing-season-2026/
This article is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Thresholds and deadlines change every year; check the date this page was last reviewed.
Editor's notes (do not publish):
- Weekday-adjusted dates (26 Feb 2027, 30 Sep 2027, 31 Aug 2027) are computed from SARS's rules; South African public holidays checked — none fall on these dates. Roll forward each year.
- The late-payment penalty and interest wording is general; the 10% late-payment penalty rate and the underestimation-penalty mechanics were not re-verified on 30 Sep 2026 and are deliberately not quoted.
- The R30,000 exclusion wording: SARS's page says "non-business income not exceeding R30,000"; geo-aeo-questions.md describes it as interest, dividends, foreign dividends and rent. Director to confirm exact phrasing at review.