South Africa no longer issues paper tax clearance certificates. SARS issues a Tax Compliance Status PIN through eFiling instead — a code you give to a third party, who then uses it to check your compliance status in real time on the SARS website. The PIN reflects your status continuously, so it can show compliant today and non-compliant tomorrow if a return falls due.
That real-time element is the change most people miss. Under the old system a certificate was valid for a year regardless of what happened afterwards. A TCS PIN gives whoever holds it a live window into your compliance, for as long as it is valid.
TL;DR
Paper certificates are gone. It is now a Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN.
Requested through eFiling, under Tax Status.
The requester uses the PIN to verify your status live on the SARS website.
Four types: Good Standing, Tender, Foreign Investment Allowance, Emigration/Approved International Transfer.
Four things make you non-compliant: outstanding returns, outstanding debt, no registered representative, unregistered tax types.
Status can change the moment a return falls due.
What a TCS PIN is
A Tax Compliance Status PIN is a code SARS issues to you, which you pass to whoever needs to confirm your compliance — a client, a tender authority, a bank, a supplier onboarding team.
They enter the PIN together with your tax reference number on the SARS website and see your current status. They do not see your returns, your income or your tax affairs — only whether you are compliant.
The status is live. Because the third party is querying SARS in real time, your status when they check may differ from your status when the PIN was issued. A business that was compliant when it bid for a tender and let a VAT201 lapse before award can be shown as non-compliant at exactly the wrong moment.
The four types
| Type | Used for |
|---|---|
| Good Standing | General compliance confirmation — tenders, contracts, supplier onboarding, bank facilities |
| Tender | Specific tender applications, where the issuing authority requires it |
| Foreign Investment Allowance | Individuals transferring funds offshore under the investment allowance |
| Emigration / Approved International Transfer (AIT) | Individuals ceasing tax residency or making approved international transfers |
Most businesses need Good Standing.
Worth noting for individuals: following the exchange control changes, the Single Discretionary Allowance doubled to R2 million per calendar year, and transfers within it do not require a TCS PIN – AIT. The Investment Allowance of R10 million a year still does.
How to request one
1. Log in to eFiling as the taxpayer or as the registered representative.
2. Go to Tax Status in the top menu, then Tax Compliance Status, then Activation. Activate the service if you have not used it before.
3. Select Tax Compliance Status Request and choose the type — Good Standing for most business purposes.
4. Complete the request. SARS runs the compliance check across all your registered tax types.
5. Receive the outcome. If compliant, a PIN is issued, usually immediately. If not, SARS shows you which requirements failed.
6. Give the PIN to the third party, with your tax reference number.
The PIN has a validity period, typically up to 12 months, but remember the status behind it is checked live each time.
The prerequisite that blocks most people: your registered representative must be confirmed with SARS. Nothing in the Tax Status menu works properly until that is in place.
Why your status says non-compliant
Four things determine compliance. All four must be clear.
1. Outstanding returns
Any return, any tax type, any period. This is the most common cause by a wide margin, and the returns people forget are the ones with nothing on them:
Nil VAT201s for periods with no trading
Nil EMP201s for months where nobody was paid
IRP6 provisional returns for a dormant company
An ITR14 for a year the company was inactive
A dormant company that stopped filing three years ago has roughly forty outstanding returns.
2. Outstanding debt
Any unpaid amount across any tax type — including penalties and interest, and including amounts you are disputing unless payment has been formally suspended.
A disputed debt does not automatically clear your status. You must apply for suspension of payment while the objection or appeal is in progress, and meet the requirements.
3. Registered representative not confirmed
The registered representative is the one person SARS legally recognises as acting for the entity. If the appointment has not been made or verified, the entity cannot be compliant.
This catches companies whose original representative resigned, or where a founder registered the company and never completed the representative confirmation.
4. Registration details incomplete
Where you should be registered for a tax type and are not — trading over the VAT threshold without a VAT registration, or paying salaries without a PAYE registration — the compliance check fails.
How to fix a non-compliant status
Step 1 — See exactly what is failing. The eFiling Tax Compliance Status dashboard shows which of the four requirements failed and, for outstanding returns, which returns and periods.
Step 2 — Fix the registered representative first. Nothing else works reliably until this is confirmed. Where it needs updating, it is done through the RAV01 process on eFiling or at a branch by appointment, and typically takes up to 21 business days.
Step 3 — Submit every outstanding return. Nil returns included. This is usually the bulk of the work and it is entirely mechanical — but a company with three years of gaps has a real exercise ahead of it.
Step 4 — Deal with the debt. Options, in order of preference:
Pay it, if you can. Fastest route.
Payment arrangement (instalment agreement) — apply via eFiling or call 0800 00 7277.
Suspension of payment, where the debt is genuinely disputed and an objection or appeal is under way.
Compromise of debt, where full payment would cause undue financial hardship and SARS may settle for less.
Step 5 — Add missing registrations.
Step 6 — Re-request the PIN.
Realistic timing: a company with outstanding returns but no debt can often be compliant within a week. One that also needs a new registered representative should plan on three to four weeks. One that needs a payment arrangement negotiated should plan on longer.
Where you will be asked for it
Government tenders — almost universally required, alongside CSD registration
Corporate supplier onboarding — large companies increasingly verify supplier tax status routinely
Bank facilities and business loans
Commercial leases, particularly from institutional landlords
Professional and industry registrations
Offshore transfers under the investment allowance
Plan around the lead time. A tender closing in ten days and a non-compliant status with two years of unfiled returns is not a problem you can solve in ten days. If you tender at all, keep compliance current permanently rather than as a scramble.
Keeping it clean
File everything, including nil returns. The single highest-value habit. A nil return takes two minutes and prevents the status failure entirely.
Watch the live status. Because third parties see your status in real time, a return falling due mid-tender can change the answer they get. Know your deadlines.
Deal with small debts immediately. A R400 penalty makes you exactly as non-compliant as a R400,000 assessment.
Keep the registered representative current. When a director leaves, update it. Discovering the appointed representative resigned two years ago, when you need a PIN this week, is a recurring and avoidable problem.
Check your own status monthly. It takes a minute on eFiling and turns a crisis into an errand.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a tax clearance certificate in South Africa? Paper certificates no longer exist. Request a Tax Compliance Status PIN through eFiling under Tax Status, then Tax Compliance Status. Provided you are compliant, a PIN is issued, usually immediately, which you give to the third party along with your tax reference number.
What replaced the tax clearance certificate? The Tax Compliance Status PIN. Instead of a document valid for a fixed period, the requester uses the PIN to check your status live on the SARS website, so it reflects your compliance at the moment they check.
Why is my tax compliance status non-compliant? One of four things: outstanding returns on any tax type, outstanding tax debt including penalties and interest, a registered representative that has not been appointed or verified, or a tax type you should be registered for but are not.
How long does it take to become tax compliant? If the only issue is outstanding returns and there is no debt, often within a week of filing them. If the registered representative needs updating, allow three to four weeks. If a payment arrangement is needed, longer.
Does a disputed tax debt make me non-compliant? Yes, unless payment has been formally suspended. SARS must suspend collection of disputed debt while an objection or appeal is in progress, but only where the requirements are met and the suspension is applied for.
How long is a TCS PIN valid? Typically up to 12 months, but the status behind it is verified live each time a third party uses it, so a PIN issued while compliant will show non-compliant if your status changes.
Do I still need a tax clearance certificate for foreign investment? For the Investment Allowance of R10 million a year, yes — a TCS PIN for Approved International Transfer is required. The Single Discretionary Allowance, now R2 million per calendar year, does not require one.
Can I get a tax clearance certificate if I owe SARS money? Not while the debt is outstanding. You can become compliant by paying it, entering a formal payment arrangement, having collection suspended pending a dispute, or agreeing a compromise.
Compliance you do not have to think about
Non-compliant status is almost never caused by a genuine dispute with SARS. It is caused by nil returns nobody filed, a small penalty nobody noticed, and a registered representative who left the company in 2023.
Smartbook keeps every return current, monitors your compliance status, and handles the registered representative appointment — so the PIN is there when a tender or a bank asks for it, not two weeks later.
Need a tax clearance PIN as a once-off? →
Last reviewed: 26 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.
Primary sources: SARS — Tax Compliance Status · SARS — Budget 2026 Frequently Asked Questions · SARS eFiling · SARS eBooking