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Reconciliations

What’s New?

15 March 2021 – Employer Annual Reconciliation: 1 April 2021 to 31 May 2021

SARS constantly strives to improve its service offering to taxpayers. Changes introduced to SARS’ systems are a vital part of our vision to have a more accurate reconciliation process. Correct information submitted on time to SARS leads to a seamless tax experience for both employees and employers. For more information, please read the letter to our stakeholders.
8 March 2021 – Preparation for annual Employers Filing Season

SARS calls on employers to ensure that they are ready to submit their annual reconciliation declarations with the latest and most accurate payroll information about their employees and the tax they have deducted.

The data that must be submitted to SARS from employers should cover the Monthly Employer Declarations submitted, payments made and Tax Certificates (IRP5/IT3) (a)s generated, covering the full tax year from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021.

Employers have from 1 April 2021 to 31 May 2021 to submit their data to SARS.
11 December 2020 – Updated PAYE BRS Employer Reconciliation version 19.5

The correct validation for information code 4587 – Section 10(1)(o)(ii) exemption taken into account by the employer for PAYE purposes has been reinstated. In addition, the validation of source code 4102 – PAYE has been updated to be clear and concise.
18 June 2020 – Updated PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2020 release) version 19.04

In this version the descriptions of the source codes for the donations to the COVID19 Solidarity Fund has been amended, as well as the ETI fields to cater for additional ETI that may claimed as part of the COVID19 Tax Relief.
1 June 2020 – Employers Filing season is now closed. It was open from 15 April to 31 May 2020. You may still submit, but please note that penalties may apply.
25 April 2020 – FAQs for Employers on Tax Relief for COVID-19
23 April 2020 – Updated PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2020 release) version 19.03 was published
The PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2020 release) has been updated with the requirements for the COVID-19 Tax Relief to enable employers to claim the increase of the extended ETI, declare donations to the Solidarity Fund and payments received from UIF.
22 April 2020 – PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2020 release) version 19.02 was published.
The PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2020 release) was updated with the requirements for the COVID-19 Tax Relief for ETI to enable employers to calculate the extended ETI.
17 April 2020 – Printing of IRP5/IT3(a) certificates
We are aware that employers may be experiencing problems with the printing of IRP5/IT3(a) Employees’ Tax certificates from the eFiling platform. We recommend that you submit your Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) to SARS but do not yet print any IRP5/IT3(a) certificates. We will inform you when printing of IRP5/IT3(a)s using the eFiling platform may resume.
15 April 2020 – Employer Annual Reconciliation was open from 15 April and closed 31 May.
3 April 2020 – Frequently Asked Questions on Tax Measures (will be updated on a regular basis)
31 March 2020 – Updated PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2020 release) version 19.01 was published.
4 September 2019 – Updated PAYE BRS for Employer Reconciliation (2019 release) version 18.05 was published.

What is Reconciliation?

It involves an employer submitting an accurate Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501), Employee Tax Certificates [IRP5/IT3(a)s] to be issued and if applicable, a Tax Certificate Cancellation Declaration (EMP601).

The three elements that must reconcile in order for your submission to be successful are the:

Monthly Employer Declarations (EMP201s) submitted [Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) and/or Skills Development Levy (SDL), Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) amounts due and Employment Tax Incentive (ETI), if applicable]
Payments made (excluding penalty and interest payments)
IRP5/IT3(a)s generated – PAYE, SDL and UIF values.

Who is it for?

Employers need to submit their reconciliation by the date published in the Government Gazette.

When and how should submissions be made?

Reconciliation declarations should be submitted twice during year of assessment, for the:

Interim period – which is for the six month period 1 March to 31 August
Annual period – which if for the full year 1 March to 28/29 February.

The Business Requirement Specification (BRS) defines the data submission requirements for the tax certificates [IRP5/IT3(a)s], and the reconciliation for PAYE, SDL, UIF and/or ETI, if applicable.

Business Requirement Specifications (BRS) and timelines

Business Requirement Specification	Year Applicable	Submission dates*
BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation for 2020 /2021	2021 Annual Employer Reconciliation (1 March 2020 – 28 February 2021)	Interim: 14 Sep – 31 Oct 2020 Annual: 15 Apr – 31 May 2021
BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation for 2019 / 2020	2020 Annual Employer Reconciliation (1 March 2019 – 28 February 2020)	Interim: 23 Sep – 31 Oct 2019 Annual: 15 Apr – 31 May 2020
BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation for 2018 / 2019	2019 Annual Employer Reconciliation (1 March 2018 – 28 February 2019)	Interim: 17 Sep – 31 Oct 2018 Annual: 1 Apr – 31 May 2019
BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation for 2017 / 2018	2018 Annual Employer Reconciliation (1 March 2017 – 28 February 2018)	Interim: 15 Sep – 31 Oct 2017 Annual: 1 Apr – 31 May 2018
BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation for 2016 /2017	2017 Annual Employer Reconciliation (1 March 2016 – 28 February 2017)	Interim: 12 Sep – 31 Oct 2016 Annual: 1 Apr – 31 May 2017

* The final submission periods are subject to business requirements / readiness and calendar working day dates. Final confirmation will be communicated at the time of the relevant submission period.

Completing your reconciliation online is the quickest, easiest and most convenient option. You can use either:

e@syFile™ Employer or
If you have 50 IRP5/IT3(a)s or less, use eFiling.

Copies of all declarations submitted and related supporting documents (relevant material) must be kept for five years.

Top Tip: Should your submission not balance across the three elements [EMP201, payments submitted and
IRP5/IT3(a)s)], we will alert you by letter.

Don’t forget the following important details:

1. Make sure you have the latest version of e@syFile™ Employer available.

2. Import the electronic Employee Tax Certificates [IRP5/IT3(a)s] CSV files from your current payroll system.

3. Reconcile your EMP501 –

- Capture all additional manual IRP5/IT3(a)s, and e@syFile™ Employer will use the information, from all the tax certificates, to automatically calculate the certificate totals for your EMP501.
- Enter your monthly liabilities, payments and Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) information, if applicable, and e@syFile™ Employer will calculate the rest!

4. Manually completed Payroll Tax, posted, are no longer accepted.

These forms include:

Monthly Employer Declaration (EMP201)
Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501)
IRP5/IT3(a)s
Tax Certificate Cancellation Declaration (EMP601)
Reconciliation Declaration Adjustment (EMP701).

Top Tip: An exception is made for employers with a maximum of five IRP5/IT3(a)s. The employer can still go into a SARS branch where an agent will help them capture these IRP5/IT3(a)s and the EMP501.

These electronic channels are free, convenient and available 24/7.

5. Make sure your reconciliation submission balances.

The EMP501 must reconcile to your EMP201s, which should have been submitted during the period (giving you a chance to correct this, where needed).
The EMP201s must reconcile to payments made for the period.
The EMP201 payments must reconcile to your IRP5/IT3(a)s generated.

Top Tip: Experiencing problems due to duplicate or incomplete EMP501 submissions made on e@syFile™ Employer, read more here.

6. Send your reconciliation before the deadline to avoid penalties and interest being charged.

Please note: Submissions made on a disc at a SARS branch is no longer available.

When an audit is done internally by SARS on the EMP501, and PAYE liability is amended thereby, the employer is required to re-submit the EMP501 in accordance with the audit result on the assessment (EMP217).

To access this page in different languages click on the links below:

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ: While downloading the latest version of the easyFile™ Employer, my anti-virus identified a virus and deleted any e@syFile™ Employer files already installed. Is there a virus on e@syFile™ Employer?

No, easyFile™ Employer is not infected by a virus. Make...

FAQ: What to do if the EMP501 reconciliation was submitted for the incorrect period?

Employers will receive the below pop-up message when an incorrect...

FAQ: Why does my 2015 recon fail ETI now when it was submitted successfully in 2015?

SARS has not applied any ETI validations systematically prior to...

FAQ: ETI validation reason – Monthly Minimum Wage is greater than the value in Monthly Remuneration?

The monthly minimum wage must be apportioned to the number...

FAQ: ETI validation reason – If Minimum wage is 0 then Monthly Remuneration must be at least R2000?

ETI may not be claimed if the employee is remunerated...

Last Updated:
24/03/2021
14:04

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