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Verify your auto-assessment: your tax refund could be bigger
Warning: you may be eligible for a bigger tax refund
SARS issued auto-assessments between 1 and 12 July 2026. This process calculated your tax liability using third-party information from your employer, medical scheme, and financial institutions. Accepting this assessment without reviewing it means you might lose out on legitimate tax refunds.
We've written a few examples below. If you are unclear, please check for free in 5 minutes via our tax refund AI, or contact us via email at hello@taxclaw.ai or via WhatsApp by clicking this link
How it works
Section 95 of the Tax Administration Act allows SARS to create an original assessment using available data. The burden of ensuring that data is complete rests entirely on you, the taxpayer. Deductions for home offices, travel, or late retirement contributions rely on your personal records. You must review the auto-assessment and file a corrected ITR12 return to claim these expenses.
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Specific Scenarios
* Scenario 1: Missing medical expenses. You paid R15,000 out of pocket for dental work that your medical aid refused to cover. Because this data lives in your personal bank statements, SARS excludes it from your auto-assessment.
* Scenario 2: Freelance income. You earn a salary but also consult for a few clients independently. SARS only has your IRP5 from your main employer. You must manually declare the consulting income to remain compliant.
* Scenario 3: Unreported donations. You make monthly contributions to a registered children's home. The home issues your Section 18A certificate directly to you. SARS will not factor this in unless you upload the certificate yourself.
When you are not eligible
If your financial affairs consist exclusively of a single salary with no additional income, no out-of-pocket medical expenses, and no separate retirement contributions, the auto-assessment is likely accurate.
Ready to get your tax refund increase?
Complete TaxClaw’s 5-minute AI questionnaire to review your financial position against your auto-assessment. We’ll help you find ways to increase your refund and can optionally file the correction for you. We also available via email at hello@taxclaw.ai and via WhatsApp by clicking this link
Disclaimer:This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice, and is not exhaustive. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. We strongly recommend consulting with our registered tax practitioner to address your specific circumstances.