CIPC and SARS penalty calculator

Missed a deadline? Pick what you are late with. The first mode estimates the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, the company registrar) annual return fee plus the late penalty. The second estimates the SARS provisional tax penalties for underestimating your income or paying late, with interest. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

What are you late with? Two different penalties, two different authorities.

Type of business The two have different fee tables.

Annual turnover From the latest financial statements. Sales, not profit.

Months overdue Counted from the anniversary of the registration date. Over 12 means more than one year's return is owed.

Who is the taxpayer? Sets which tax rate is used for the penalty.

Actual taxable income for the year What the final assessment shows, or your best figure.

Second provisional estimate you submitted The taxable income on your February IRP6 return.

Basic amount (last assessed taxable income) Only matters if income is R1 million or less. Leave blank if unsure.

Tax already paid by year end (PAYE and provisional) Employees' tax plus both provisional payments.

Provisional payment made late The amount that went in after the deadline, if any.

Days late Days from the deadline until you paid.

Turnover band

Returns outstanding

Normal fee if filed on time

Late penalty added by CIPC

Total CIPC fees to bring you up to date

Underestimation test

Underestimation penalty (20% of the shortfall)

Late payment penalty (10%)

Interest at 10.5% a year

Estimated penalties and interest

How the two penalties work

CIPC annual returns. Every company and close corporation must file an annual return with CIPC each year, in the month of its registration anniversary. The fee depends on turnover. A company gets 30 business days from the anniversary date to file at the normal fee; a close corporation has until the end of the month after its anniversary month. Late, the fee for that year rises to the higher figure in CIPC's table. That is the penalty: for a small company it is R150 instead of R100, for a company with turnover between R1 million and R10 million it is R600 instead of R450. It is charged once per outstanding year, not per month. The fees are set in the regulations, so CIPC cannot waive them or take instalments. If returns stay unfiled, CIPC treats the business as dormant and starts deregistering it, and a reinstatement application costs R200 on top.

SARS provisional tax. Provisional taxpayers estimate their taxable income twice a year. Paragraph 20 of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act punishes a second estimate that was too low. If your actual taxable income is more than R1 million, the penalty applies when the estimate was under 80% of the actual figure. If it is R1 million or less, it applies when the estimate was under 90% of the actual figure and also under your basic amount, which is your last assessed taxable income. The penalty is 20% of the difference between the tax on 80% (or 90%) of the actual income and the employees' tax and provisional tax you had paid by year end. Paragraph 27 adds a flat 10% penalty on any provisional payment made late, and section 89bis adds interest at the prescribed rate, 10.5% a year from 1 September 2026, until you pay. SARS reduces the underestimation penalty by any late payment penalty already charged on the same period, and can remit either if you ask and show good cause.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I file my CIPC annual return late?

A company has 30 business days from its anniversary of registration to file. After that the fee for that year goes up, for example from R100 to R150 for a company with turnover under R1 million, and every year still outstanding attracts its own late fee. Keep not filing and CIPC assumes the business is dormant and starts deregistering it, which freezes the bank account and any tender or contract work.

How does the SARS underestimation penalty work?

If your final taxable income is more than R1 million, SARS charges a penalty when your second provisional estimate was less than 80% of the real figure. If it is R1 million or less, the penalty applies when the estimate was under 90% of the real figure and also under your basic amount, which is your last assessed taxable income. The penalty is 20% of the difference between the tax on 80% (or 90%) of the real income and the tax you had paid by year end.

What is the penalty for paying provisional tax late?

A flat 10% of the amount paid late, plus interest at the SARS prescribed rate, which is 10.5% a year from 1 September 2026, for every day until you pay. SARS can remit the penalty if you show a good reason and it was a first offence, but you must ask.

We file the outstanding returns and the beneficial ownership declaration CIPC now demands with them, and confirm the company is back in good standing. CIPC's own fees are extra and shown to you first. Provisional taxpayer? Run the provisional tax calculator before the next deadline so the estimate is safe.

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Never pay a late fee again

Provisional tax deadlines, your annual return month and every fee increase, by email before they bite. One email when something matters, never more than monthly.

Keep exploring

Provisional tax calculator CIPC status check Deadlines calendar Company reinstatement Explain my SARS letter

CIPC fees per the Annual Returns FAQ (version 5.0), annualreturns.cipc.co.za. SARS penalties per paragraphs 20 and 27 of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 as set out in the SARS Guide for Provisional Tax (GEN-PT-01-G01, revision 28, 29 June 2026); prescribed interest rate per SARS Interest Rates Table 1 (September 2026), sars.gov.za. Checked 3 September 2026. Estimates only: CIPC and SARS calculate the final figures, and SARS may remit a penalty on request.