A new company has registrations and filings to make with SARS and CIPC in its first year. Neither body sends a list of what is due, and the penalties apply whether or not you knew. This checklist sets out each obligation in roughly the order it arises.
1. Register the company at CIPC
A Pty Ltd starts with registration at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Registration creates a separate legal person with limited liability. It also sets a registration anniversary date that you'll need each year for the annual return (see step 7). You must also complete your beneficial-ownership filing, which records the people who ultimately own or control the company. CIPC requires it.
2. Register for income tax
Every company must be registered for income tax with SARS. A company incorporated through CIPC is generally registered for income tax automatically. Confirm that the registration is active and that you can access it on eFiling.
3. Register for VAT if you need to or choose to
VAT registration is not automatic. You must register once your taxable supplies exceed R2.3 million in any rolling 12-month period. That is the compulsory threshold from 1 April 2026, up from R1m, and SARS adjusts thresholds from time to time. You have 21 business days to register once you cross it. You may register voluntarily from R120,000 if it suits your business, for example if your customers are VAT-registered and you want to claim input VAT. Registering early adds admin. Crossing the threshold without registering is a compliance failure.
The R2.3m test uses a rolling 12 months. Your accounting year does not matter. A strong few months can take you over the threshold mid-year, so check your trailing 12-month total every month. If you find out at year-end, the VAT liability can be backdated.
Crossing the rolling threshold mid-year
You average about R180,000 of taxable supplies a month, roughly R2.16m a year, which is under the threshold. Then you win two large projects and bill R400,000 in each of two months. Your trailing 12-month total at that point is over R2.3m, even though your normal monthly average is lower. From that moment you have 21 business days to register, and you must charge VAT once your registration is effective. If you miss the deadline, SARS can claim the VAT you should have collected, and you can't easily recover it from customers afterwards.
4. Register as an employer if you take anyone on
When you employ someone, including when you pay yourself a salary from your own company, you have payroll obligations:
- PAYE: register as an employer and file an EMP201 monthly, with payment due by the 7th. You also submit an EMP501 reconciliation at the interim and annual points.
- UIF: 2% in total (1% from the employer, 1% from the employee) on earnings up to R17,712 a month for the 2026 tax year.
- SDL: 1% of your total payroll, payable only if your annual payroll exceeds R500,000.
5. Pay provisional tax
Every company is automatically a provisional taxpayer. It pays its income tax in advance, in instalments, on an IRP6. The first payment is due at the end of August and the second at the end of February. An optional third top-up at the end of September covers any shortfall before interest runs. If the February payment is based on an estimate that is far too low, SARS charges a 20% under-estimation penalty on the shortfall, so base the estimate on your books. A tax payment falls due in your first August, so set money aside as you earn it. Put a percentage of each month's profit aside from the start.
6. Company and personal tax returns
Your company files an ITR14, its income tax return, after year-end. The ITR14 is separate from the provisional IRP6 payments during the year. It is also separate from your personal ITR12, which you file if you draw a salary. Each return has its own deadline, and SARS charges penalties for each one that is missed.
7. File your CIPC annual return
The CIPC annual return is separate from SARS and from tax. Every company must file an annual return with CIPC within 30 business days of its incorporation anniversary. It carries a small fee, confirms that the company is still active and keeps it on the register. If you don't file it, CIPC can move to deregister your company. A deregistered company loses its legal existence. Its bank accounts can be frozen, its contracts can be void, and in the worst cases the limited-liability protection can be lost. Reinstating a deregistered company is a slow process, and the return takes a few minutes to file. Put your anniversary date in your diary on the day you incorporate, with a reminder a month before.
8. Keep records from the first day
Keep invoices, receipts and bank statements from the start, and keep them for five years. Records kept from the first day are much easier than rebuilding a year from memory and a bank feed. Cloud accounting software stores the records as you go, so the numbers are ready when SARS or your bank asks for them.
Help with first-year compliance
A new company has seven or eight separate obligations, each with its own calendar and penalties. We handle them for new owners. We complete the registrations, put every deadline in a calendar and file each return on time. Book a discovery call to start.