I Forgot My SARS Tax Number
Every South African who earns an income above the legally prescribed rate is required to pay tax. In this regard, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the agency that is tasked with the collection of taxes from both businesses and individuals in the country. This role is very important. Government functions largely due to these taxes. It’s the reason why the government can afford such programs as providing housing for the poor, building clinics and roads, among other services. You are here because you forgot your SARS tax number. So, how do you recover it?
How to recover your SARS tax number
The following are the steps that you can take to recover your SARS tax number in the event that you have forgotten it;
- If you go to the eFiling website, you will notice that there is a chatbot that you can ask a wide range of questions. The chatbot is called Lwazi ChatBot. Click on Register and then you can open a chat by clicking on Ask a Question to the bottom right of the screen. You will be required to provide your ID or passport number as well as your cellphone number of your phone number to get your tax number.
- You can also get your tax reference number via SMS. To do that, send a message to 47277 with the following format;
- TRN (Space) ID number/Passport number/ Asylum Seeker number
- Another option is to use USSD to get your TRN. For that, you need to dial *134*7277# on your phone. You will be asked to provide your ID number as part of the process.
- If you are registered on the eFiling website, you can log in to get your tax reference number. You need to go to SARS Registered Details menu to request Notice of Registration.
- Those registered with eFiling can also use the SARS mobile app to request a notice of registration, which provides the TRN.
- You can also make an appointment at a SARS branch, where they will be happy to provide you with your tax number.
Why do you need your tax number?
Those are the steps that you need to take in the event that you forgot your SARS tax number. As you can see, there is no shortage of options for recovering your TRN.
SARS is determined to make it easy for people to pay taxes. You can get your number online, via SMS, via USSD or by visiting a nearby SARS branch.
But why do you need the tax number? Mostly, you need this number as part of the process of paying your taxes. You need to quote the number in a number of instances.
Also, when doing business, your tax reference number may be required. If you are applying for tenders, as an example, this is information that is required.
It ensures that only genuine businesses are considered in such applications. So, it’s important to write your TRN somewhere safe where you can retrieve it when you need it.
Change your SARS banking details
Rounding up
I forgot my SARS tax reference number. That’s the subject on which we focused today. The good news is, as we showed in this post, there are multiple ways through which you can recover your TRN. It would seem that SARS has tried as much as is possible to make it easy for people to meet their obligations.
How long for SARS to verify my banking details?