The word ‘audit’ stops most business owners cold. It shouldn’t — but it will, until someone explains what an audit actually is.
A SARS audit is not a criminal investigation. It’s not a sign that you’ve done something wrong. It’s SARS asking you to show your working. For most businesses with clean records, it opens and closes without a cent of additional tax being raised.
The ones that go badly are almost always the ones where the owner panicked, went quiet, and hoped it would go away. It never goes away.
What SARS Actually Does
SARS compares what you declared against what they can already see — your previous returns, industry benchmarks, and data received from third parties like your bank, your employer, and your medical scheme. When something doesn’t line up, they ask for an explanation.
Common triggers include:
- A large drop in declared income or a sudden spike in deductions
- A VAT return showing a refund — even a completely legitimate one. SARS verifies before paying out. This is standard procedure, not a sign of suspicion.
- Unusually high travel, entertainment, or subcontractor costs relative to your revenue
- Third-party data mismatches — if your return doesn’t match what your bank reported, it flags automatically
- Random selection. Some audits are simply random. Make sure that when SARS looks, what they find is clean.
The Real Question
Here’s what we see with our clients all the time:
A business owner gets an eFiling notification. SARS is requesting supporting documents for a VAT refund — R43,000 they’re owed and have been waiting on. It feels alarming. They’re not sure what to send. They don’t want to send the wrong thing and make it worse. So they wait.
SARS sends a reminder. Then a second reminder. Then a final demand. Then an estimated assessment — where SARS decides what the business owes, without the owner’s input. The refund they were owed disappears. In its place is a bill.
What started as a routine document request — resolvable in a few days with the right records — became a formal dispute that took four months and cost more in accountant fees than the refund was worth.
The notification wasn’t the problem. The silence was.
What To Do About It
Respond — promptly and completely
Every SARS communication requires a response. Via eFiling or registered mail — it doesn’t matter. Ignoring it is the single fastest way to turn a routine query into a serious problem. You don’t need to have all the answers immediately. You need to engage.
Don’t handle it alone
Your accountant should manage the entire process — communicating with SARS, compiling the right documents, and making sure nothing is submitted that opens new questions. A good accountant knows exactly what SARS is looking for and how to present your records in a way that closes the audit quickly and cleanly.
If SARS raises an additional assessment
Pay if you agree. Request reasons if you don’t understand the calculation. Object formally if you believe it’s wrong. You have 80 business days from the date of assessment to lodge an objection. Miss that window and your options narrow sharply. The moment an assessment lands — call your accountant the same day.
The Mindset Shift
Most business owners treat a SARS audit like a threat. So when the notification arrives, they either freeze or go quiet — neither of which helps.
Flip it around.
The businesses that sail through audits are not the ones who never get selected. They’re the ones whose records are in order, whose accountant picks up the phone, and who respond to SARS before SARS has to ask twice. Clean records and prompt responses close audits. Avoidance turns them into crises.
The best time to prepare for a SARS audit is before one arrives. That’s not a dramatic statement. It just means filing correctly, keeping your supporting documents, and working with an accountant who knows what a defensible return looks like.
Keep It Simple
- A SARS audit is a verification process — not a criminal investigation. Don’t panic.
- Common triggers include VAT refunds, unusual expense ratios, and third-party data mismatches
- A VAT refund triggering a verification is completely standard — it’s not a sign of suspicion
- Respond to every SARS communication promptly. Silence turns a small query into a big problem.
- If SARS raises an additional assessment, you have 80 business days to object — don’t let that deadline pass
SARS isn’t looking to catch you out. They’re looking to verify. Give them what they need, promptly — and most audits end exactly where they started.
General information only — chat to your accountant about your specific situation.