The South African Revenue Services (“SARS”) has notified trusts of its intention to enforce penalties for the non-submission of trust tax returns. These penalties will apply regardless of whether the trust is active or dormant.

To improve compliance, a notice was published in the Government Gazette No. 54417 on 27 March 2026. This notice confirms that SARS will no longer tolerate non-compliance with the submission of trust tax returns (ITR12T) for the 2024/2025 assessment period. This action follows instances in which trusts failed to comply with the final demand to submit outstanding tax returns within the stipulated 21 business days of the date of issue of the final demand.

Fixed monthly penalties will be imposed on trusts that do not comply with SARS’s final demand within the required timeframe. These penalties range from R250 to R 16 000 per month, depending on the trust’s taxable income or assessed loss. Trustees may be held personally liable to settle the administrative penalties if their failure resulted in the trust receiving a penalty.

Trustees must ensure that all trusts, whether active or dormant, are registered for income tax with SARS. The trustees of the trust must ensure compliance with the IT3(t) submissions and the filing of the ITR12T tax returns during the tax season to avoid penalties. If a final demand has already been received from SARS, trustees should act immediately to rectify the non-compliance.

 

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