South Africa · Governance
How provisional payments and company tax assessments differ in South Africa
SARS reported R306.46 billion in provisional payments for the 2024 company tax year and R195.59 billion assessed as at 31 August 2025. Tax Statistics 2025 shows how the timing of company returns affects this comparison.
Sources checked
Provisional payments
Shared scale · 0 R million to 337,416 R million
Tax assessed
Shared scale · 0 R million to 337,416 R million
Assessments for the most recent tax year were still being completed at the data cut-off.
Payments can arrive before the assessment
Provisional payments bring company tax into the revenue system before SARS finishes processing the return. The 2021 and 2022 tax years were almost complete at the extraction date. Assessed amounts for both were slightly above the provisional payments. Source 1
The latest assessed amount reflects an earlier stage
For 2024, SARS had assessed 63.0% of the companies it expected to submit by 31 August 2025. The assessed amount was 63.8% of provisional payments by then. The similar percentages have different denominators. One describes returns, the other rand values. Source 1
Tax years and fiscal years record different periods
A company’s tax year follows its own financial year-end. The government fiscal year runs from April to March. Provisional payments relating to one tax year can reach SARS in several fiscal years. That timing difference matters when comparing collections and assessments. Source 1
Net fiscal-year collections are a separate measure
Net company income tax collected was R323.24 billion in 2024/25 and R316.36 billion the previous fiscal year. The table puts the fiscal-year net figures alongside the provisional totals for those fiscal years. The company tax-year assessment rows use a separate period basis. Source 1