Tax and SARS knowledge base
Can I submit a revised ITR12 after I have already filed?
Can I submit a revised ITR12 after I have already filed?
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Direct answer
Usually, yes. SARS directs an eFiling user who made an error when completing an initially submitted ITR12 to use the Request Correction function. It creates a new saved version of the return that can be amended and resubmitted.
Request Correction is not always available. SARS lists restrictions, including an active audit, some active-verification states, an agreed estimate, a finalised audit or revised declaration, and cases where supporting documents for an active verification have already been submitted.
What this means in practice
A correction is for an error in the information you declared. For example, you may have omitted an amount, entered an incorrect amount, or need to update a valid return entry because you now have corrected supporting information. It is different from objecting to SARS's assessment. An objection is about challenging an assessment, while Request Correction is about revising the return declaration itself.
The availability of the button matters. Do not assume that a lack of Request Correction is a technical fault. It can mean that SARS is already handling the return through a process that prevents a further correction. Read the work-page status and any correspondence before taking another step.
You should also avoid filing a correction simply because an assessment result is unwelcome. First identify the factual error and the document that supports the amendment. A correction without evidence can create a new issue rather than resolve the existing one.
Step-by-step
- Identify the type of problem.
Compare the filed ITR12, the assessment and the supporting records. Ask whether the return itself contains a factual error, or whether SARS has made an assessment decision you disagree with. That distinction determines whether Request Correction is likely to be the appropriate route.
- Check the status of the return.
Log in to eFiling and open the Income Tax Work Page for the relevant year. Read any messages about verification, audit, submitted supporting documents, an agreed estimate or a finalised case. These statuses can block a correction request.
- Select Request Correction if SARS makes it available.
SARS's guide instructs users to select Request Correction below the My Tax Return (ITR12) link. The system creates an additional row with a saved status and a new version number. This protects the earlier submitted version while you work on the revised return.
- Amend only the entries that are supported by evidence.
Open the saved ITR12 version, make the required changes and check the whole return again. Keep the original and updated documents, especially where the change follows a corrected third-party certificate or a newly located record.
- Submit the revised version.
After completing the amendments, submit the new version through eFiling. Keep the submission confirmation and review any updated assessment or SARS correspondence that follows.
- Stop if the correction option is unavailable.
SARS says Request Correction is not permitted in several states. These include an ITR12 that is merely issued or saved, one allowable correction already submitted while verification is active, an active audit, an agreed estimate, a finalised audit or revised declaration, and a case where supporting documents for active verification have been submitted.
- Consider the proper alternative.
If the problem is a source certificate, the employer or other issuer may need to correct its data. If you disagree with an assessment rather than the return information, the objection process may be relevant. If verification or audit is active, follow SARS's case-specific instruction and do not try to bypass it with another filing action.
Documents and records to keep
Keep the filed ITR12, the new return version, relevant ITA34 notices, source documents supporting each amendment and proof that the revised return was submitted. Where a third party corrected a certificate, retain the original certificate, corrected certificate and its correspondence.
Also save SARS verification or audit letters. They can explain why Request Correction is unavailable and set out a separate required response.
Important limits and exceptions
SARS says a correction that would result in a reduced assessment cannot be requested if it is more than three years after the date of the original assessment. The system may cancel such a request and display a message that it cannot be processed. The timing and result matter, so do not rely on a generic assumption about old returns.
The process in this guide is eFiling's Request Correction function. It does not set out every available legal remedy, and it does not change a taxpayer's duty to respond to an active verification or audit request.
Do not claim a correction will automatically change an assessment in your favour, release a refund or prevent a penalty. SARS processes the revised return and may ask for evidence.
When to get tailored advice
Get tailored advice if you are unsure whether the problem is a return error or an assessment dispute, the correction would materially reduce tax, the return is older, a verification or audit is active, or a third party has not corrected erroneous certificate data. These situations can have different procedures and deadlines.
TaxProof can help you identify the relevant evidence and organise the correction history. SARS decides whether a correction can be submitted and how it affects the assessment.
Related TaxProof guides
- How to object to a SARS assessment
- What documents will SARS ask for when it verifies my individual return? (B01-IND-006)
- Why is my ITR12 prepopulated with information I do not recognise? (B01-IND-003)