Do your Tax with TaxTim and WIN R10,000  More info   T&C's apply


Is my SARS eFiling profile still being verified?

How to find out and what to do about a pending registration

In order to submit tax returns electronically online via TaxTim or via SARS eFiling, you will need a working SARS eFiling profile.

Is my eFiling profile ready to use?

Follow these steps to see if your profile is ready to use, or still being verified:
  1. Visit the SARS eFiling website.
  2. Login with your login name and password.
  3. Look at the opening page after login.
Do you see no checks next to tax types, and no tax reference number filled in? If YES, your profile is still being verified.





If you instead see a page that says INCOME TAX WORK PAGE, try clicking Home on the top right hand side of the page. Then click User and then select Pending Registration:



Do you see a pending registration case? If YES, this means your profile is still being verified.

Click on the Open button and query your status.

If your tax types say "Awaiting Registration Verification"

This status means that SARS is still checking what you typed in vs what they have on record for you.

If the two match, then your profile will be verified.

If they do not match, your status will move to the below status "Awaiting upload of documentation".

All you can do for now is wait for SARS. Login to eFiling again in a few hours, or tomorrow, to see if your status has changed.

SARS usually takes between 2 and 21 working days (usually closer to 2 than 21) to finalise the verification of your eFiling account.

If 21 days have passed, try clicking Home -> User -> Pending Registration (see above screenshot) to see if there is any further information from SARS.

If your tax types say "Awaiting upload of documentation"

This status means that SARS has found a discrepancy between the info you typed in vs what they have on record for you.

They want you to provide proof of the information you provided when you registered, so they can update their records.

Before you upload any documents to eFiling, kindly call SARS first on 0800 00 7277 and ask them to help you check what the discrepency may be. You may have to go into a SARS branch anyway if they do not have your new details on file. 

If SARS can't find anything different to what you added onto your eFiling account, please then upload your documents to eFiling. 

Follow these steps:
  1. Click on Home -> User -> Pending Registration (see above screenshot).
  2. You should see a pending registration case there. Click the Open button on the far right of the page.
  3. Open the letter in the middle of the page to see what SARS needs from you.
  4. You will then need to get the documents, digitize them if they are on paper, then upload them to the eFiling website on that page.
For extra help, see our guide to uploading supporting documents.

Once you have sent the documents, SARS will contact you as soon as they are done working through them. If you do not hear from them within 21 days, log back into eFiling to see if your status has changed.

If your tax types say "Rejected"

This happens when SARS cannot reconcile the information you entered when you registered for eFiling with data they have on record for you.

This can happen when the data SARS has on record for you is incomplete.

For example, this can happen if your employer registered you for a tax number and didn't provide a full set of information to SARS.

If you haven't already, please try the steps below for the "no tax number visible" status.

Otherwise we advise you to phone SARS on 0800 00 7277 and ask them what documents they need to see to activate your profile.

This is most commonly your 1) proof of address, 2) ID book, 3) a certified copy of your ID and 4) 3 months of bank statements stamped by your bank.

SARS will probably tell you to take these documents in to a branch to verify that you are you and then activate your profile.

Unfortunately physical validation in person is unavoidable - SARS demands it!

If there is no tax number visible, and no status message

Your eFiling profile is either very new or SARS has not activated it yet.

TaxTim cannot connect to your eFiling profile until it is activated.

Please complete the steps below to try to activate it:
  1. Find the "Individual Income Tax (ITR12)" tax type
  2. Check the checkbox to the left of this tax type
  3. Enter your tax reference number
  4. Choose your nearest tax office
  5. Repeat steps 5-7 for the "IT Admin Penalty" tax type
  6. If you are a provisional taxpayer, repeat steps 5-7 for "Provisional Tax (IRP6)"
  7. Scroll down and click on the Register button.
If you followed the above and your profile is now activated you can continue with your tax return submission on TaxTim.

If some other status is displayed, please browse this page to see what to do.

Ok, so my profile seems like it's still being verified. What next?

This process should take a maximum of 21 days to complete after you registered on eFiling.

If the time has been longer than that, SARS may have requested verification documents from you.

If you did not receive a request for documents, none of the above steps help, or you simply don't know what to do next, please call SARS on 0800 00 7277 to find out why your eFiling profile is not ready to use.

Once your profile is verified, come back to TaxTim to complete your tax submission quickly and easily.



Posted 30 May 2018


Submit your tax return right here!

TaxTim will help you:

 Do Your Tax Return Easily
 Avoid penalties
 Maximise your refund

Tim uses your answers to complete your income tax return instantly and professionally, with everything filled in in the right place.

Let Tim submit your tax return direct to SARS in just a few clicks!

Get started