Why is my SARS tax compliance status not good standing?

Direct answer

If your SARS Tax Compliance Status is not Good standing, open My Compliance Profile and inspect the detailed indicators for registration, return submission and debt. SARS says a taxpayer should be registered for tax products they are liable for, have no outstanding returns, have no outstanding debt unless a payment arrangement or suspension of payment has been agreed, keep registered particulars up to date, and make sure all registered reference numbers are merged or declared where required.

The profile identifies the category of non-compliance. Address the specific underlying item rather than submitting a new TCS request repeatedly and hoping for a different outcome.

What this means in practice

My Compliance Profile is designed to give an online view of current compliance against SARS requirements. The overall indicator is a summary, not an explanation by itself. SARS's guide says the dashboard can display the status for Registration, Returns Submission and Debt, with detail available when the user expands the applicable indicator.

An issue in one tax product may affect the overall picture. A company may, for example, have income-tax details in order but a missing employment-tax return, an inactive registration, or a tax reference number that does not appear in the profile. The correct response is to identify the affected taxpayer, tax type and period, then work through the applicable return, payment, registration or profile process.

Do not make a payment or submit a return simply because the dashboard is red if you do not know what the item represents. Check the period, tax type and correspondence first. An unrecognised tax product or record that belongs to another entity may need profile correction rather than a filing action.

Step-by-step

1. Open My Compliance Profile for the correct taxpayer.

In an organisation or practitioner portfolio, confirm that the intended legal entity is selected. A result for another taxpayer does not explain the status of the entity you are checking.

1. Review the overall indicator and expand the details.

Look at Registration, Returns Submission and Debt. SARS says the period-level detail can be available through the dashboard's expand controls. Record the tax type, reference number, period and explanation shown.

1. Deal with registration issues first where needed.

Confirm that the taxpayer is registered and active for every tax product for which it is liable. Check that registered particulars are current and that all reference numbers that should form one legal entity's profile are merged or declared as SARS requires.

1. Address outstanding-return items through the correct return process.

Match the period in the profile to SARS correspondence and your records. File, correct or otherwise resolve the item through the tax type's applicable process. Do not use estimated figures just to remove an indicator.

1. Review debt carefully.

Check the tax type and period and reconcile it to the statement or assessment. SARS says unpaid debt can affect compliance unless a payment arrangement or suspension of payment has been agreed. Do not assume that a payment made today will immediately answer every status issue.

1. Keep the evidence and recheck the profile.

Save submission acknowledgements, payment confirmations, correspondence and screenshots. Once the correct action has been processed, return to My Compliance Profile and check whether the result has changed.

1. Request a TCS PIN only when appropriate.

For a third-party need, request Good standing TCS after the profile is correct. The request and the underlying compliance position are related but separate steps.

Documents and records to keep

• Screenshots or notes showing the specific MCP indicators and periods.
• Relevant returns, assessments, statements and SARS correspondence.
• Registration and merge records for each tax reference number.
• Payment or payment-arrangement evidence where applicable.
• A dated record of subsequent TCS requests and results.

Important limits and exceptions

Tax compliance is not a guarantee that SARS agrees with every tax position or that a third party will accept a particular commercial application. It is a status determined through the SARS system at the relevant time.

SARS notes that a payment arrangement or suspension of payment may be relevant to debt. Do not rely on this exception without confirming the arrangement is actually agreed and applies to the debt shown. If you believe the listed debt or tax type is wrong, preserve the details and use the proper SARS route rather than ignoring it.

When to get tailored advice

Get tailored advice where multiple tax types, historical returns, disputed debt, profile-merging issues or a looming tender or finance deadline are involved. TaxProof can help organise the dashboard evidence and action list. SARS determines compliance status and any underlying assessment or debt outcome.

Related TaxProof guides

• How do I fix outstanding returns that block my tax compliance status? (B05-ADM-008)
• How do I get a tax compliance status PIN from SARS? (B05-ADM-005)

Sources

• SARS, Manage your Tax Compliance Status
• SARS, Guide to the Tax Compliance Status functionality on eFiling