A company changes its financial year end by filing a notice with CIPC. Broadly, the change may be made only once during a financial year, the new date must be later than the date the notice is filed, and the newly established financial year may not end more than 15 months after the end of the preceding one. The change also moves your provisional tax dates and your income tax return deadline, and SARS holds its own record that must be updated separately.
It is a genuinely useful thing to do for the right reasons. It is a mess if you do it without working through what moves with it.
The rules
Once per financial year. You cannot change it repeatedly to keep pushing a deadline out.
The new date must be in the future — later than the date you file the notice. You cannot retrospectively change a year end that has already passed.
The new financial year may not end more than 15 months after the end of the preceding financial year. This caps how far you can extend in one move.
A worked example. A company with a 28 February year end wants to move to 30 June:
| Last completed year end | 28 February 2026 |
| Maximum permitted new year end | 31 May 2027 — 15 months later |
| Moving to 30 June 2026 | Fine — a 4-month transitional period |
| Moving to 30 June 2027 | Not permitted in one step — that is 16 months |
Where you want to move further than 15 months allows, you do it in two steps across two financial years — but note the once-per-year restriction, so this takes real time.
Confirm the current CIPC process and form before filing, as these are updated from time to time.
Good reasons to change it
Aligning with your business cycle. A year end that falls in your busiest month means stocktaking, cut-off and year-end procedures during the worst possible week. A retailer closing in February, straight after the December trade, is dealing with year end while still recovering.
Aligning with a parent company or group, so consolidation is possible without preparing separate figures.
Aligning with a major customer's cycle, where contracts, rebates or volume arrangements run to their year.
Seasonality and stock. A year end at the point where stock is naturally lowest makes counting easier, faster and more accurate.
Moving off a stretched deadline period. February is the most common year end in South Africa, which means your accountant, your auditor and SARS are all busiest at the same time. A less common date can mean better service and a faster turnaround, which is a real practical benefit.
What moves with it
This is the part that is underestimated. Changing the date changes your whole tax calendar.
Provisional tax. The first payment falls at the end of the sixth month of the year of assessment; the second at year end. Move your year end and both dates move. A February year end pays in August and February. A June year end pays in December and June.
The income tax return deadline moves, being driven off the year end.
Annual financial statements are due within the period after year end, which shifts accordingly.
The transitional period is a real period of assessment. Moving from February to June creates a four-month year that needs its own financial statements and its own tax return. Budget for the extra set of accounts — this catches people who assumed the change was administrative.
Your public interest score is calculated on the financial year, and a short transitional period can produce an unusual score. Worth checking what it does to your audit or independent review position. See what is the Financial Accountability Supplement.
What does not move: your anniversary date and therefore your CIPC annual return month. That is fixed by your incorporation date and is entirely unaffected. See what is your company's anniversary date.
The step everyone forgets: SARS
CIPC and SARS hold separate records, and filing at CIPC does not update SARS.
Update the financial year end at SARS, through the RAV01 process on eFiling.
Where the two disagree, you get exactly the mess you would expect — SARS expecting returns on the old cycle, provisional tax notices for periods that no longer exist, and an assessment against a year end the company no longer has.
Check the sequence: file at CIPC, confirm it has processed, then update SARS, then confirm both records agree. Pull a CIPC disclosure certificate afterwards to verify the year end reflects correctly. See what is a CIPC disclosure certificate.
Everything else to update
Accounting software — the financial year setting, before you process into the new period
Payroll software, where the payroll year is linked. Note the PAYE tax year always ends on the last day of February regardless of your financial year end, so payroll reconciliations do not move
Your bank and any funder, where covenants or reporting are tied to the financial year
Your auditor or independent reviewer, for scheduling
Loan and lease agreements with financial reporting or covenant dates
Your own internal calendar — budgets, forecasts, board reporting
When not to change it
To delay a tax problem. It does not work. The transitional period is still assessed, provisional tax still falls due, and you have added a set of accounts.
Where you have outstanding CIPC filings. Annual returns or beneficial ownership in arrears can block other filings. Bring those up to date first. See how to check if your company is CIPC compliant.
Mid-way through a transaction. A sale, an investment round or a finance application is not the moment to introduce a stub period into your comparatives. Buyers and lenders dislike broken comparability, and it costs you credibility at exactly the wrong time.
Without modelling the cost. An extra set of financial statements, an extra tax return, and an extra provisional cycle. For a small company that may be more than the benefit is worth.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change my company's financial year end in South Africa? Yes. File a notice with CIPC. Broadly the change may be made only once during a financial year, the new date must be later than the date of filing, and the newly established financial year may not end more than 15 months after the end of the preceding one.
How often can I change my financial year end? Once during a financial year. Moving a year end a long way therefore takes more than one step and more than one year.
Does changing my financial year end change my CIPC annual return date? No. Your annual return is driven by your anniversary date, which is fixed by your incorporation date and is unaffected by the financial year end.
Does changing my financial year end move my provisional tax dates? Yes. The first provisional payment falls at the end of the sixth month of the year of assessment and the second at year end, so both move with the year end. The income tax return deadline moves too.
Do I need to tell SARS if I change my financial year end? Yes, separately. CIPC and SARS hold different records and neither updates the other. Update the year end at SARS through the RAV01 process on eFiling, then confirm both records agree.
What happens to the transitional period when I change my year end? It is a real period of assessment requiring its own financial statements and its own income tax return. Budget for the additional set of accounts rather than treating the change as purely administrative.
Can I change my financial year end to delay paying tax? No. The transitional period is still assessed and provisional tax still falls due. You end up with an additional set of accounts and no deferral.
Does the PAYE tax year change with my financial year end? No. The PAYE tax year always ends on the last day of February regardless of the company's financial year end, so payroll reconciliations are unaffected.
Change it for a reason, then update both records
The filing is straightforward. The problems come from the stub-period accounts nobody budgeted for and the SARS record nobody updated.
Smartbook files the change at CIPC, updates the SARS record, and works out what the transitional period costs before you commit to it.
Last reviewed: 29 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. CIPC forms and processes for changing a financial year end are updated from time to time — confirm current requirements at cipc.co.za. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.
Primary sources: Companies Act 71 of 2008 · CIPC · SARS · Income Tax Act 58 of 1962