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Using the Provisional Tax Penalty Estimator

Step-by-step guide for checking provisional tax and under-estimation penalty risk from the live Provisional Tax screen.

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Using the Provisional Tax Penalty Estimator

This page shows you how to use the live estimator on the Provisional Tax screen to test whether an estimate looks safe or risky.

Product: Beam Machine
Module: Tax / Provisional Tax
Role: Accountant, Tax Preparer, Reviewer
Difficulty: Beginner
Time: 3 to 5 minutes
Last Updated: 2026-03-10
Version: Current Beam Machine app build in this repo

Before You Start

  • You need access to Tax -> Provisional Tax.
  • You need an estimated taxable income in rands.
  • If you want the penalty warning, you also need your estimated tax amount in rands.

Current build status: This estimator is a helper tool on the Provisional Tax page. It does not create the period for you and it does not submit an IRP6.

What does the estimator do?

The estimator calculates a provisional tax amount from the taxable-income figure you enter. If you also enter your estimated tax, it checks whether the estimate looks low enough to trigger an under-estimation warning in the current Beam Machine logic.

When do you use this?

Use this when you want a quick sense-check before filing or before approving an estimate.

If you skip this step, you may miss an obvious under-estimation signal before the return goes to review.

Where to find it

Primary path: Finance -> Tax -> Provisional Tax
Route: /dashboard/tax/provisional

How to use the penalty estimator

  1. Open Tax.
  2. Click Provisional Tax.
  3. Go to the Penalty Risk Estimator card.
  4. In Estimated Taxable Income (rands), enter the taxable income.
  5. In Your Estimated Tax (rands, optional), enter the tax estimate if you want the risk check.
  6. Click Calculate Penalty Risk.

āœ… Checkpoint: A result box should appear below the button.

  1. Review Calculated Provisional Tax.
  2. If you entered an estimated tax, review Estimated Penalty if one appears.
  3. Read the message at the bottom:
    • No under-estimation penalty risk detected
    • or the warning that the estimate is below the 80% safe-harbour threshold
  4. Rework the estimate outside the tool if the result looks risky.

Important note about units and scope

  • This estimator uses rands, not cents.
  • If you leave Your Estimated Tax blank, the screen still calculates provisional tax, but it does not perform a meaningful penalty comparison against your own estimate.

Common Questions & Issues

"The estimator says I am at risk"

Why this happens: The estimate you entered looks too low against the current Beam Machine penalty check.

Fix: Review the estimate and its assumptions before anyone files. Do not use a warning result as a filing answer by itself.

"I only got a tax number, not a penalty result"

Why this happens: You likely left Your Estimated Tax blank or at zero.

Fix: Enter your estimated tax if you want the under-estimation test.

"I used cents and the result is nonsense"

Why this happens: This estimator expects rands.

Fix: Re-enter the amounts in normal rand values such as 500000, not cent values.

What's Next

Related Pages

SA Compliance Reference

  • Use this estimator as a control aid, not as a substitute for taxpayer-specific review, supporting schedules, or the formal SARS filing process.

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