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Reminder: IT3(t) Submission Deadline Approaching
- 18 September 2026
- Negotiating Tax Debt and Payment Arrangements with SARS
- South African Accounting Academy
Summary:
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) requires representative taxpayers and trustees of trusts to submit the IT3(t) third-party data return annually by 30 September. The 2026 deadline is fast approaching!
Article:
The IT3(t) is a tax declaration specifically designed for trusts. It requires the reporting of financial information related to distributions, income, and other transactions to ensure accurate and transparent tax reporting.
Key Submission Requirements
Who Must File:
- Representative taxpayers or trustees of resident trusts, and applicable non-resident trusts. Collective investment schemes and employment share incentive scheme trusts are excluded.
- Nil Submissions: Trusts falling within the requirement must submit an IT3(t) with R0 values even if there are no reportable financial flows or distributions for the period.
- Information Needed: Beneficiary and trust identification details (names, tax numbers, ID/passport numbers, addresses) alongside itemized categories of all amounts vested or distributed (such as interest, rental income, dividends, and capital gains).
Submission Channels:
- SARS eFiling: Suitable for smaller submissions with a limit of up to 20 certificates per form.
- HTTPS (Secured File Gateway): Required for medium-sized data files under 10 MB.
- ConnectDirect: Mandatory for large data files exceeding volume limits or 10 MB.
File Formatting: Data files must strictly adhere to the technical specifications outlined in the SARS External BRS document.
Declaration: Representatives must verify the IT3 tax type activation on eFiling, review the pre-populated IT3-02 return summary, and formally submit the final declaration.
Click here to access more information:
https://www.sars.gov.za/businesses-and-employers/third-party-data/it3-data-submission/
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
- The Income Tax Act is yet another piece of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with. If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
- Entities / Trustees that handle the handle the distributions or payments to beneficiaries must submit the IT3(t) for Trusts by the deadline date.
Relevance to Your clients:
- Entities / Trustees that handle the handle the distributions or payments to beneficiaries must submit the IT3(t) for Trusts by the deadline date.