Do I need to register for VAT as a practitioner?

This is general information, not tax advice. Your accountant or SARS can tell you what applies to your practice.

When registration is compulsory

From 1 April 2026 you must register for VAT when the value of your taxable supplies (in plain words: what you charge for your services) is more than R2.3 million in any 12 months in a row, or is expected to be. Before that date the line was R1 million.

Once you cross it, SARS asks you to apply within 21 business days.

When you may register voluntarily

You can choose to register if your taxable supplies are below R2.3 million but have gone over R120 000 in the past 12 months (this was R50 000 before 1 April 2026), and you meet SARS’s conditions.

Practitioners sometimes register voluntarily when most of their clients are VAT-registered businesses. For a practice whose clients are private individuals, registering usually means adding 15% to your prices or earning less on each session, so it is worth talking it through with your accountant first.

What changes on your invoices

	Not registered	Registered for VAT
The document is called	Invoice	Tax invoice
VAT shown	None. Don’t add VAT or show a VAT number.	VAT at the standard rate (currently 15%) and your VAT number
Your prices	Your price is the full amount	Decide whether your prices include VAT and show them consistently

How Yasenza handles it

In Yasenza you tick “I’m registered for VAT” and add your VAT number only if SARS has registered you. From then on, new invoices become tax invoices with the VAT worked out for you. Invoices you have already sent stay as they were.

If you are not registered, leave it unticked: your invoices stay plain invoices with no VAT on them.

Where to check

• SARS: Register for VAT (thresholds, how and when to apply)
• SARS: Value-Added Tax (the rate and the latest changes)