A VAT or SARS payment is due, and your cash is tied up elsewhere this month. SARS dates don't move.
Funding a SARS payment is a cash-flow decision, not a fix. It makes sense when the money to pay SARS is already coming, in stock you will sell, an unpaid invoice or a busy month ahead, and you need to bridge a few weeks. It doesn't make sense when the business can't cover its tax from normal trading. Then funding only adds a cost on top of the tax, and the same gap comes back next month.
When SARS wants the money
These are SARS's own words.
VAT (the VAT201 return). "A vendor must submit VAT returns and make payment (or claim a refund) of VAT on or before the 25th day or the last business day of the month (if registered for eFiling) following the month in which the vendor's tax period ends. Where the 25th day is not a business day, the day for submitting a return and making payment will be the business day preceding such day."
SARS's tax calendar puts it more simply: "Manual: submission of the VAT201 and payment must be done by the 25th of the month" and "Electronic (eFiling): submission and payment of the VAT201 must be done by the last business day of the month". (SARS uses a dash after "Manual" and "Electronic (eFiling)"; shown here as a colon.)
PAYE, UIF and SDL (the EMP201 declaration). The EMP201 covers PAYE, UIF and SDL. "You need to submit your EMP201 and the payment, if applicable, within 7 days after the end of each month, e.g. by the 7th of each month." And: "If the 7th falls on a weekend or public holiday, you need to submit your EMP201 together with your payment, if applicable, by the last business day before the weekend or public holiday."
Provisional tax. The first payment is due within six months of the start of the tax year, and the second by the last day of it. For a March to February tax year, that works out as the end of August and the end of February. If the date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, pay on the last business day before.
VAT registration. SARS says registration is compulsory once your taxable supplies go over R2.3 million a year (up from R1 million), and it applies that figure to new registrations from 1 April 2026. Once you are registered, VAT becomes a regular payment to plan for. SARS decides which VAT period (category) you fall in. Under its Categories A and B, a vendor files one return every two months.
Talk to SARS first
If you can't pay in full, SARS can agree a deferment or instalment arrangement. You apply on eFiling or through the contact centre (0800 00 7277). SARS will want all your returns filed first, may ask for security, and the arrangement must cover the whole debt. If SARS will give you time, that may cost less than funding.
To compare: late PAYE carries a once-off 10% penalty, and late VAT carries a 10% penalty plus interest (10.25% a year when we checked). SARS rates change, so check them on sars.gov.za on the day.
Don't miss the filing date even if you can't pay. SARS only considers a payment arrangement once all outstanding returns are in.
When funding can make sense
| Your situation | A route that may fit |
|---|---|
| The VAT is due, but a customer owes you more than that on an invoice you've already issued | Invoice discounting: get part of the invoice now, settle when the customer pays |
| A busy month is coming, or the cash is sitting in stock, but SARS is due before it | Working capital, repaid over an agreed term (a personal surety may be required) |
| Most of your sales are card or bank takings, and they're steady | Merchant cash advance, repaid from future turnover |
Whatever the route, look at the full cost in rand next to the tax bill before you sign. If the cost of the funding is more than the cost of a SARS arrangement, use the arrangement.
When it doesn't
- You're behind on SARS every month, not just this one.
- You're already repaying another advance to cover the last tax bill.
- The money you're expecting isn't certain.
In these cases, more funding usually makes it worse. Talk to your accountant about the business's cash flow first.
Next step
Tell us what's due, when, and where the money to pay it will come from. Check your funding fit.
Sources
- sars.gov.za: VAT201 submission and payment rule
- sars.gov.za: VAT201 manual and eFiling lines
- sars.gov.za: EMP201 by the 7th, weekend and public holiday rule, covers PAYE, SDL and UIF
- sars.gov.za: first period "within six months from the commencement of the year of assessment
- sars.gov.za: The compulsory registration threshold applies when the total value of taxable supplies exceeds R2.3 million per annum
- sars.gov.za: VAT threshold R2.3 million from 1 April 2026
- sars.gov.za: Categories A and B, "one return for every 2 calendar months
- sars.gov.za: A 10% penalty is imposed on the late payment of VAT.
- sars.gov.za: deferment, or instalment payment arrangement
- sars.gov.za: a once-off percentage-based penalty is imposed at 10% on all amounts that are paid late or remain unpaid