South African Revenue Service (SARS)

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) collects taxes and administers customs for South Africa. Based in Pretoria, SARS collects the revenue that pays for public services such as schools, hospitals, social grants and police, and controls goods entering and leaving the country.

Registered name

South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Type

Government agency (tax and customs)

Fields funded

Accounting, tax, finance, law, IT, data analytics, economics and engineering

Website

sars.gov.za

A smart, modern SARS

SARS describes its vision as a smart, modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that is trusted and admired. On 14 September 2026, SARS outlined its vision for the next era of tax administration at its Tax Indaba 2026. SARS keeps moving services online: taxpayers file returns on eFiling, use the SARS Online Query System instead of queuing at branches, and secure profiles with two-factor authentication.

SARS’s recent notices show the variety of its work, from employer and trust filing seasons and tariff amendments under the Customs and Excise Act to a new Diesel Refund Registration System on eFiling, launching on 18 September 2026.

Teaching people about tax

SARS runs free tax education workshops at most branches and online, mobile tax units that travel to communities, regular webinars and a library of step-by-step videos on its SARS TV channel, such as how to claim travel expenses on an ITR12 return.

Bursaries, trainees and graduates

SARS’s bursary programme, administered with Career Wise, supports students in fields relevant to tax administration, including accounting, finance and law, and bursars may receive vacation work at SARS, according to a provider record checked in August 2026.

SARS also runs structured graduate pipelines. The SARS Trainee Programme lasts 24 months, or 36 months for the chartered accountant articles stream, and covers BCom Tax, accounting sciences, internal audit, IT, data analytics, law, economics and engineering. The Graduate in Training Programme is open to unemployed graduates aged 18 to 35. Both can lead into talent pools SARS uses to fill permanent posts.

BursariesAfrica’s older SARS guide has not been refreshed with verified 2027 dates or fields, so treat its details as background.

How to research SARS

Watch the careers section of SARS’s website and Career Wise for bursary and trainee adverts. Watch a few SARS step-by-step videos to understand how taxpayers experience the system, and follow SARS’s work on customs and illicit trade if you study law or economics.

See our Accounting Bursaries list.