Tax and SARS knowledge base
Why SARS verifies new bank details
Why is SARS verifying my new bank details?
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Direct answer
SARS verifies a bank account before accepting a change to banking details. SARS says it pays a tax refund only once it has confirmed those details. The account must meet SARS's validity requirements, including being in the taxpayer's name, and SARS may request supporting documents and check that the person asking for the change is authorised.
Verification of banking details is not confirmation that a refund is due, approved or about to be paid.
What this means in practice
Bank-detail changes are a security-sensitive SARS process. For most individual income-tax circumstances, SARS lists RAV01, an ITR12 return or the SARS MobiApp Profile Management tab as ways to change the details. Email is limited to exceptional circumstances. A person who is not registered for eFiling can visit a SARS branch by appointment.
SARS also restricts who may make the request. The taxpayer, a registered representative whose details match SARS records, or a registered tax practitioner can change banking details. SARS says it cannot make the change in response to a fax, post or telephone request.
Step-by-step
- Check who is entitled to request the change.
Start with the taxpayer, the matching registered representative or registered tax practitioner. If someone else is involved, do not assume they are allowed to update the account. SARS describes exceptional circumstances separately.
- Choose the correct SARS route.
Use RAV01 on eFiling, the relevant ITR12 option, or Profile Management in the SARS MobiApp where one of these applies. Use email only where SARS's exceptional-circumstances guidance permits it. If you are not on eFiling, book before visiting a SARS branch.
- Use a bank account that SARS can accept.
SARS describes a valid account as a cheque, savings or transmission account with a valid branch number at a valid bank and registered in the name of the taxpayer. A credit card, bond account or foreign bank account is not a valid account for this standard process.
- Provide the supporting material SARS requests.
SARS links to a supporting-document list for banking-detail changes and may need additional documents in particular circumstances. Submit only through the SARS route you are using, and retain copies of what was submitted.
- Complete verification and wait for confirmation.
SARS verifies the account before accepting the change. If a refund is due, SARS states that it pays the refund only after banking details are confirmed. Do not rely on a refund date before SARS has completed its process.
Documents and records to keep
- Correct account details for an eligible account in the taxpayer's name.
- Supporting documents SARS asks for for the taxpayer type and circumstances.
- Proof of authority where a registered representative or practitioner submits the request.
- The SARS submission confirmation and any request for further material.
Do not send online-banking passwords, card PINs or eFiling OTPs to anyone as part of the bank-detail change.
Important limits and exceptions
Customs and Excise clients have a separate SARS branch process and cannot use eFiling for those banking-detail changes. Overseas account arrangements and changes by someone other than the taxpayer, registered representative or practitioner are exceptional cases with separate SARS requirements.
For a joint account, SARS gives separate guidance. The general rule remains that the account must be registered in the taxpayer's name. Do not infer from a bank-detail update that SARS has accepted an assessment, released a refund or closed a verification case.
When to get tailored advice
Get tailored help where the taxpayer is a company, trust, body corporate, estate, joint-account holder or emigrant, or where an adviser is not clearly recorded as the appropriate representative. The relevant supporting documents and authority can differ.
TaxProof can help organise the supporting documents and distinguish a bank-detail verification from the separate question of whether a refund is due. SARS verifies the account and controls payment of any refund.
Related TaxProof guides
- SARS verification, audit and tax debt
- How do I update my physical or postal address with SARS online? (B01-ADM-004)
- Why is my SARS refund still pending? (PILOT-003)