Tax and SARS knowledge base

What is a SARS payment reference number, PRN?

Last reviewed: 28 August 2026

Direct answer

A SARS Payment Reference Number, usually called a PRN, is the reference connected to a particular SARS payment instruction. SARS says a Payment Advice Notice, or PAN, displays a 19-digit SARS payment reference number. The reference helps SARS allocate the payment to the correct taxpayer account and reduces errors by the taxpayer, bank or SARS.

Use the PRN generated for the actual payment item. Do not copy a familiar number from an old payment, another tax type or another taxpayer. SARS says internet payments must be correctly referenced so it can identify and allocate them, and it warns that an incorrectly referenced payment cannot be made through that process.

What this means in practice

The PRN connects a payment to its intended SARS account record. It does not tell you whether the tax calculation is correct, whether an assessment should be disputed or whether a payment is due today. It is a payment-identification tool. Check the underlying assessment, return or Statement of Account before you make the payment.

You will commonly see the PRN on a PAN. A PAN is a remittance advice generated through the SARS process for relevant payment types. It includes a reference intended to reduce allocation mistakes. Retain the PAN with your bank confirmation. Together, those documents create a clear audit trail of what you intended to pay and how the bank payment was made.

Do not send a PRN by itself to a third party unless you understand why it needs it. A bookkeeper or authorised adviser may need the reference as part of a reconciled payment file, but it is not a substitute for the underlying SARS document. Keep personal information and banking evidence to the minimum needed for the task.

Step-by-step

Start from the current SARS liability.

Open the current assessment, account statement, return or payment item. Confirm the taxpayer name or legal entity, tax type, tax period, amount and any stated due date.

Generate or retrieve the current payment advice.

Where you are paying through a PAN route, create it in the correct eFiling profile. Check that the items listed are the ones you intend to settle. Do not work from a screen print that may relate to a previous period.

Read the PRN exactly.

SARS says the PAN displays a 19-digit payment reference number. Record it carefully. If a payment channel asks for the reference, copy it exactly rather than editing it to add your name, invoice number or informal description.

Match it to the payment channel.

An eFiling Credit Push payment and an EFT payment do not use identical actions. Follow the current instructions shown by SARS and your bank. If an EFT requires the PAN and reference, keep the generated document open while you set up the bank payment.

Retain proof after payment.

Save the PAN, the bank confirmation, the amount and payment date. Then check your SARS account record to see how the payment appears. If it does not match the expected account or period, preserve the documents before asking SARS to investigate.

Documents and records to keep

The PAN showing the PRN.
The assessment, Statement of Account or return giving rise to the payment.
Bank payment confirmation and any bank reference.
A note of the taxpayer, tax type, tax period and amount.
A later SARS account view or correspondence about allocation.

Important limits and exceptions

A PRN is not a generic SARS beneficiary number and not a tax number. It should not be reused because a previous payment had the same amount or tax type. It is also not evidence that SARS has received and allocated the payment. Check the bank confirmation and then the SARS account record.

SARS states that a PAN is used for a range of taxes and penalties. That does not mean every payment situation is identical. The available eFiling options, PAN fields and payment method can depend on the taxpayer role, tax type and selected channel. Follow the live screen labels rather than relying on an old guide.

If you used the wrong PRN, do not alter the bank confirmation or create a second payment automatically. First assemble the payment proof and the intended liability so SARS can see the full picture.

When to get tailored advice

Seek help where a payment concerns several tax periods, PAYE, VAT, a company with multiple reference numbers, or an amount that has appeared on the wrong account. TaxProof can help prepare a clean reconciliation pack, but SARS decides how a payment is allocated.

Related TaxProof guides

Sources

SARS, Payment Advice Notice
SARS, Make a Payment