How to submit VAT201 in South Africa

Who must register for VAT?

South African VAT registration falls into two buckets:

• Compulsory: your taxable supplies (sales) have exceeded — or will exceed under written contract — R1 million in any consecutive 12-month period. You must apply within 21 business days of the threshold being reached.
• Voluntary: your taxable supplies have exceeded R50,000 in the past 12 months. Voluntary registration is useful if you have big input VAT (buying stock, capital goods) that you want to reclaim, or your business customers require you to charge VAT.

Once registered, you must charge 15% VAT on all standard-rated supplies, keep proper records, and file VAT201 every tax period — even if you had no activity.

When must I file? — deadlines

SARS assigns you a filing category on registration:

Deadline (eFiling): the last business day of the month following your tax period end. So a Category A March tax period is due by the last business day of April. Manual submissions (rare) have an earlier deadline — the 25th of the month following. Late filings attract a 10% penalty plus interest.

Understanding the VAT201 form

VAT201 breaks into three parts: output VAT (what you collected from customers), input VAT (what you paid suppliers), and the net VAT payable or refundable.

1. Output VAT — what you collected

• Standard-rated supplies (15%): most sales — retail, services, B2B invoices with VAT.
• Zero-rated supplies (0%): exports, specific basic foodstuffs (brown bread, mealie meal, samp, dried mealies, dried beans, lentils, tinned pilchards, milk powder, milk, cultured milk, fruit & veg, rice, vegetable oil, eggs, illuminating paraffin). You charge R0 VAT but can still reclaim input VAT.
• Exempt supplies: residential rentals, most financial services, educational services. NO VAT charged AND no input VAT reclaimable.
• Adjustments & change of use: if you took stock for personal use or moved a capital asset out of the business, an output-VAT adjustment applies.

2. Input VAT — what you paid

• Standard-rated purchases: stock you bought for resale, supplier bills, business services (with valid tax invoices).
• Capital goods: fridges, tills, vehicles (subject to entertainment / passenger-vehicle restrictions), buildings — reported separately from operating expenses.
• Other input VAT: imports (customs VAT), specific adjustments, second-hand goods deemed input.

Every input VAT claim needs a valid tax invoice naming your VAT number. If the tax invoice is missing, wrong, or damaged — you cannot claim it.

3. Net VAT

Net VAT payable = output VAT − input VAT. If positive, you owe SARS; if negative, SARS owes you a refund (typically processed within 21 business days for straightforward returns).

How to file on SARS eFiling — step by step

1. Log into eFiling. Open sarsefiling.co.za and log in with your credentials. Ensure your VAT profile is active in the left sidebar.
2. Open the outstanding return. Returns → Returns Issued → VAT → click the VAT201 for the current tax period. If none is listed, SARS may not have issued it yet — wait a day and check again.
3. Complete the output-VAT blocks. Enter your standard-rated, zero-rated, and exempt supplies for the tax period. Output VAT is calculated automatically at 15% of standard-rated supplies.
4. Complete the input-VAT blocks. Enter standard-rated purchases, capital goods separately from operating expenses, and any other eligible input VAT. Have your supplier invoices ready — SARS may request them during audit.
5. Review the net figure. Check the bottom of the return — if net VAT is payable, note the payment reference (PRN). If refundable, SARS will process it after review.
6. Submit. Click Submit. You receive an immediate submission confirmation. Screenshot or PDF-save it for your records.
7. Pay by the deadline. Use the PRN via your bank’s SARS payment option, or set up an EFT on eFiling itself. Payment is due by the same deadline as the return.

Common VAT201 mistakes SA SMMEs make

• Claiming input VAT without a valid tax invoice. Till slips and generic receipts don’t count for anything over R5,000 — you need a proper tax invoice with your VAT number, the supplier’s VAT number, and all required fields.
• Confusing zero-rated with exempt. Zero-rated lets you reclaim input VAT; exempt does not. Getting this wrong on rental income or interest received creates a reclaim you’re not entitled to.
• Claiming entertainment expenses. Staff Christmas parties, client dinners, alcohol — input VAT on these is denied under Section 17(2). Common trap for restaurant / hospitality operators.
• Claiming input VAT on passenger vehicles. Input VAT on cars used for private / business purposes is restricted — you generally cannot claim on the purchase, only on running costs subject to apportionment.
• Filing zero returns because “there was no activity”. You still need to file. Skipping a return triggers a penalty and moves you to SARS’s “risky vendor” list.
• Not adjusting for change in use. Taking stock for personal use is an output-VAT event. Moving a business vehicle to personal use requires an adjustment.
• Late payment despite on-time filing. The 10% penalty applies to late PAYMENT even if the return was submitted on time. Pay by the deadline, not “when the money comes in”.

Frequently asked questions