# SARS Auto-Assessments: Refund Left on the Table?

**URL:** <https://hub.sadocs.co.za/t/sars-auto-assessments-refund-left-on-the-table/6679>\
**Category:** Finances\
**Tags:** tax, locum, finances, private-sector\
**Created:** [July 6, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/t/sars-auto-assessments-refund-left-on-the-table/6679 "2026-07-06T15:48:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![FullServe](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/user_avatar/hub.sadocs.co.za/fullserve/32/872_2.png) [@FullServe](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/u/FullServe)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/t/sars-auto-assessments-refund-left-on-the-table/6679/1 "2026-07-06T15:48:45Z")

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![SARS Auto-Assessments & Medical Practitioners V2](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/uploads/default/original/1X/c64ca168a6dd23da8c6929b5ee5230dd2fbc6f70.jpeg)

**SARS Auto-Assessed You? For Locums, That Could Be an Expensive “Yes”**

It’s tax season, and SARS has probably already sent you an auto-assessment. One tap and it’s done, right?

Not if you’re a locum.

**Why Auto-Assessments Get Locums Wrong**

SARS builds your auto-assessment from third-party data — IRP5s, medical aid certificates, retirement fund reports. That works fine for a salaried employee with one employer.

**It doesn’t work for you**.

Locums typically have:

- **Income from multiple hospitals, practices, or agencies** — sometimes with no IRP5 at all if you invoice directly
- **Deductible expenses SARS never sees** : HPCSA fees, indemnity insurance, CPD costs, travel between sites, locum agency commissions
- **A mix of employment and independent contractor income** in the same tax year
- **Provisional tax obligations** if a chunk of your income isn’t taxed at source

None of that lands in SARS’s system automatically. So the auto-assessment either understates what you actually owe (setting you up for penalties and interest later) or overstates it by missing deductions you’re entitled to — meaning you pay more than you should.

**Accepting It Isn’t “Doing Nothing”**

Many locums assume ignoring the SMS or accepting the auto-assessment is the safe, easy option. It isn’t. Once accepted, it’s treated as your return. Missed deductions are money left on the table. Missed income is a future SARS query with your name on it.

**What We’d Actually Check For You**

At Fullserve Chartered Accountants & tax practitioners Inc, we work with medical professionals specifically, and locums have their own checklist:

- Cross-check every source of locum income against what SARS has on file
- Claim the professional expenses SARS’ auto-assessment always misses
- Confirm whether you should be registered and paying provisional tax
- Flag audit-risk red flags before SARS does

**Don’t Just Click Accept**

A five-minute review could be the difference between a refund and a penalty. Before the auto-assessment deadline passes, let us take a look.

**Book a locum tax review with Fullserve CA&TP Inc** → [info@fullserv.co.za](mailto:info@fullserv.co.za) or send us a WhatsApp on 077 260 1004

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SAdocs](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/user_avatar/hub.sadocs.co.za/sadocs/32/554_2.png) [@SAdocs](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/u/SAdocs)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://hub.sadocs.co.za/t/sars-auto-assessments-refund-left-on-the-table/6679/2 "2026-07-06T15:49:17Z")

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