Tax and SARS knowledge base
Can I share a SARS tax compliance PIN by SMS?
Can I share a SARS tax compliance PIN by SMS?
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Direct answer
Yes. A SARS Tax Compliance Status, or TCS, PIN is designed to let a third party verify the taxpayer's tax-compliance status through SARS's verification process. SARS says that the PIN is issued to the cell number after a request is submitted and approved. You can therefore send that PIN by SMS to a genuine recipient, such as a tendering authority, lender or business counterparty, if that is the agreed way to provide it.
Treat the PIN as limited-purpose information, not as a password. Do not send your SARS eFiling username, password, one-time bank code, banking login or identity-document copies merely because someone asks for a PIN. A legitimate verifier should be able to use the PIN through SARS's verification functionality. It should not need control of your eFiling profile.
What this means in practice
The practical question is not just whether SMS works. It is whether you have the right PIN, the right recipient and an accurate contact method. If you type a PIN into an SMS to the wrong number, you may have disclosed information about your compliance position to somebody who has no reason to see it.
First check the request. Ask the recipient which legal entity or department is receiving the proof, why it needs the verification, and which telephone number or email address it expects you to use. Where the request comes from a tender portal, confirm the contact details through the portal or the organisation's published switchboard rather than through a link in an unexpected message.
The TCS guide explains that the functionality enables a third party to verify a taxpayer's status using the PIN. That is a useful distinction. The recipient does not receive a right to edit your profile, submit a return, change bank details or make a payment. The PIN is evidence for a particular verification step, subject to the status that SARS shows when it is checked.
Step-by-step
- Confirm that the TCS request was approved.
Find the current request or PIN in the relevant SARS eFiling profile. If the PIN has not been issued, do not improvise with an old tax-clearance document, an old screenshot or a number copied from another taxpayer.
- Identify the intended verifier.
Confirm the recipient's name, organisation and contact number independently. This is particularly important when a request arrives unexpectedly, asks for urgent payment or combines a PIN request with a request for passwords or banking information.
- Share only the required information.
A simple SMS can state that you are providing the TCS PIN for verification and then include the PIN. Do not include your eFiling login details, a screenshot containing unrelated personal information, an OTP or a bank authorisation code.
- Keep a short record.
Save the sent message, the recipient details and the date. If the PIN is being supplied for a tender, finance application or supplier onboarding, store that record with the relevant application file.
- Follow up through a trusted channel.
If the recipient says the PIN cannot be verified, do not send extra credentials. Check that it has the correct PIN and that you have used the correct taxpayer profile. Then review the TCS request and your compliance information in eFiling.
Documents and records to keep
- The approved TCS request record or PIN notification.
- The verified recipient contact details and the reason for the verification.
- A copy of the SMS or other message used to provide the PIN.
- Any tender, contract, finance or onboarding reference connected to the request.
- Later correspondence if the recipient reports that verification could not be completed.
Important limits and exceptions
A PIN is not a permanent tax-clearance certificate and it does not make a taxpayer compliant simply because it has been sent. SARS's TCS system uses the taxpayer's compliance profile, which can change as registration, returns, debt or other matters change. Do not tell a recipient that a PIN will guarantee an outcome such as tender eligibility, loan approval or acceptance onto a supplier list.
An organisation or tax-practitioner portfolio also needs the relevant rights for the user to access TCS functionality. If you are sending a PIN for a company, first make sure you are dealing with the correct taxpayer profile and that you have authority to act for that entity.
Be especially cautious where a person claims to be SARS. SARS may issue its own communications, but a request for your eFiling password, bank password or an OTP is not necessary for a third party to verify a supplied TCS PIN.
When to get tailored advice
Get help if you are unsure whether the TCS request belongs to the correct taxpayer, the company has several tax reference numbers, a representative has left the business, or a recipient says that the verification result conflicts with your records. TaxProof can help you organise the evidence and separate a compliance-profile issue from a simple PIN-sharing request. SARS remains responsible for the status and verification result.