Provisional taxpayers submit their 2026 tax return to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) by 22 January 2027. The deadline for other individuals was 23 October 2026. SARS can charge penalties on late returns, so filing as soon as possible can limit that risk. These five checks cover the crypto figures on your return.
What counts
Buying crypto with rands and holding it is not taxed. Tax usually applies when you dispose of crypto. That means selling it for rands, swapping it for another crypto asset, or using it to pay for something. Rewards, such as staking or savings rewards, are generally income in the year you receive them. If you only bought and held during the tax year, there is nothing to declare yet.
1. Tax year
Your 2026 return covers 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026. It includes only disposals and rewards from that period. Trades from 1 March 2026 onwards belong on next year's return.
Provisional taxpayers still need those later trades now. Gains from 1 March 2026 onwards feed into your provisional tax estimates for the 2027 tax year. The second payment for that year is due by 26 February 2027.
2. Swaps as well as sales
A sale for rands is one type of disposal. Swapping one crypto asset for another is also a disposal, and so is paying for something with crypto. For each swap, SARS uses the rand value of what you received at the time of the swap.
3. Cost of each disposal
A gain or loss depends on the original cost of the crypto you disposed of. If you bought at different prices over time, you need a method to match each sale to a purchase. SARS's current draft guidance allows first in, first out (FIFO) or specific identification for crypto. It does not allow the weighted average method.
4. Fees and losses
Trading fees form part of the cost of acquiring or disposing of crypto, so they change your gain. A capital loss can reduce your capital gains for the year, so losses belong on the return too.
5. Records
SARS can ask for supporting documents. A full transaction history for every platform and wallet you used, not only Luno, lets you match your return totals to your records. SARS requires you to keep records for at least five years after you submit.
If SARS sent you an auto-assessment, it is worth checking whether it includes your crypto. Auto-assessments rely on information SARS receives from third parties. Provisional taxpayers with an auto-assessment issued on or before 24 November 2026 have until 22 January 2027 to ask SARS for a correction.
Behind on previous years?
If crypto was missing from an earlier return, a registered tax practitioner can explain your options. These include the SARS Voluntary Disclosure Programme.
What next?
With more than a handful of transactions, these checks take time by hand. Through our partnership with coinfig.tax, you can connect your Luno account with a read-only key. coinfig.tax imports your transactions, calculates your gains, losses and income under South African tax rules, and produces a free report you can download for your return.
