SARS Reminds Trustees of IT3(t) Third-Party Return Submission Requirements

Posted 18 September 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Tax Administration & Compliance

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued a compliance reminder regarding the annual 30 September deadline for representative taxpayers and trustees to submit IT3(t) third-party data returns.

In terms of section 26 of the Tax Administration Act, No. 28 of 2011, read with relevant gazetted reporting notices, trustees and representative taxpayers are obligated to render third-party returns to SARS. The IT3(t) declaration specifically mandates the reporting of financial distributions, income allocations, and other transactions vesting in trust beneficiaries during the relevant tax year under the Income Tax Act, No. 58 of 1962.

SARS requires reporting entities to adhere strictly to the administrative and technical protocols governing third-party submissions:

  • File Formatting: Data files must strictly adhere to the record structures and technical specifications outlined in the SARS External Business Requirement Specification (BRS) document.
  • Tax Type Activation: Representative taxpayers must ensure that the IT3 tax type is activated on their SARS eFiling profiles prior to file transmission.
  • Declaration and Finalisation: Following data upload, representatives must review the pre-populated IT3-02 return summary and formally submit the final declaration via SARS eFiling.

Access official submission documentation via the SARS IT3 Third-Party Data Submission platform.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Ensure your status and appointment as representative taxpayer or registered tax practitioner are fully updated on SARS eFiling to access and submit IT3-02 declarations.
  • For your business: Align trust accounting and practice management software to export beneficiary distribution records in accordance with the SARS External BRS data schema ahead of the annual 30 September deadline.
  • For your clients: Advise trust clients that failure to file IT3(t) data by 30 September constitutes non-compliance under Chapter 15 of the Tax Administration Act, No. 28 of 2011, and directly impedes the pre-population and assessment of beneficiaries’ personal income tax returns.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/reminder-it3-t-submission-deadline-approaching

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