Know your tax number in South Africa. How to check it or apply for one

Image of Sars logo.

You’re here probably because your employer wants your tax number or you have a business and a tax number is needed. Or you’ve a different reason other than the ones we specified but you certainly need a tax number.

A tax number is inevitable to have if you are earning a certain amount every month which is above a certain threshold. We take you through easy steps of checking your tax number or apply for one. This applies to South African citizens or foreign nationals in South Africa with a valid passport or asylum Visa.

Lets first take look at who is liable to pay tax in South Africa.

You are liable to pay income tax for the 2023 year of assessment (1 March 2022 – 28 February 2023) if you earn more than:

R91 250 if you are younger than 65 years.
If you are 65 years of age to below 75 years, the tax threshold (i.e. the amount above which income tax becomes payable) is R141 250.
For taxpayers aged 75 years and older, this threshold is R157 900.

Therefore, if you earn a taxable income which is above the tax threshold as stated above you must register as a taxpayer with SARS. [ ¹]

Now let’s first take a look at how to check personal tax number

If you have worked in a formal sector in South Africa it means you were probably registered by your employer to SARS. So, how do you check your tax number?

Step 1 visit SARS website and click on “What’s my tax number?”
Step 2 A form will show up then populate the form correctly with your personal details. The required details include your initials, name, surname, ID number or Passport number for foreign nationals.
Step 3 Submit the form and put in Captcha correctly and your tax number will appear on the screen or they will send it to your email or phone by SMS.
Note: If you’re not registered with SARS a message will appear on your screen after following the above steps. Saying, “Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, the contact details that you supplied do not match those that we have on record. Please visit www.sarsefiling.co.za to update your contact details.”

Now you will need to register for your tax number because you do not have it. To apply for one you will need to follow the following steps. Its very easy since you can do it online and within minutes you will have your tax number.

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How to register for tax number in South Africa

Step 1: To register for tax number, visit SARS efiling website by clicking on the hyperlink in this statement.

Step 2: Once you reach on the landing page for Registering at SARS on efiling, the next step is to choose the type of tax numbers you would like to register for. You must choose the relevant option by clicking either “For Individual” or “For Tax Practitioners” or “For Organisations” then you will proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Populate the forms that follows and fill in the details required for you or your company or your organisation.

Step 4: Once you are done and agreed to SARS Terms and Conditions. You will land inside your own or organisation’s online portal where you will be able to see your tax number. If its masked you can request it following the steps we provided above on “How to check your tax number?”

Step 5: There is a possibility that you will be required to prove your identity first before you can access your number.

And to prove your identity, you will simply need to upload your personal documents such as Foreign Passport or South African Identity document, Proof of Residence, A picture of yourself holding your ID or Passport and a bank statement not older than three months.

Then once your identity has been proved your account will be fully accessible and you will be able to request to see your tax numbers which you can use as you needed.

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