Employees’ tax

Employees’ tax is the tax required to be deducted or withheld by an employer from the earnings paid to an employee. The amounts deducted must be paid by the employer to SARS every month.

The process of deducting or withholding tax from remuneration as it is earned by an employee is referred to as Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE). The tax deducted serves as an income tax credit that is set off against the final income tax liability of an employee, calculated annually to determine the employee’s final income tax payment for the year of assessment.

Every employer who pays employees must register with SARS as an employer for employees’ tax purposes within 14 days of becoming an employer.

This applies to all businesses pay a salary or a wage to any of its employees that is above the tax threshold amount, which is where liability for income tax arises for any employee:

The amounts are as follows:  R59 750 for individuals under the age of 65 years  R93 150 for individuals aged 65 years or older  R104 261 for individuals aged 75 or older

An employer who is to registered or required to register with SARS for PAYE purposes, is also required to register for the payment of Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions to SARS.

If none of the employer’s employees is liable for income tax, the employer is not required to register as an employer.

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1 Register as an employer by completing an EMP 101 form and submitting it to SARS. The EMP 101 is available at SARS offices and on the SARS website.

2 Once registered, your will receive a monthly return (EMP 201) that must be completed and submitted together with the payment of employees’ tax within seven days of the month following the month for which the tax was deducted.

3 Deduct the correct amount of tax from employees’ remuneration.

4 Pay this amount to SARS monthly, ensuring SARS receives a Monthly Employer Declaration (EMP201).

5 Reconcile these deductions and payments with the completion of the interim and annual Employer Reconciliation Declarations.

6 During the reconciliation periods, you are required to submit an Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) confirming or correcting the PAYE and UIF declarations per EMP201s submitted, the payments made and the tax values of the Employee Tax Certificates [IRP5/IT3(a)].

7 The interim reconciliation is for the six-month transaction period 1 March to 31 August and must be submitted during September and October.

8 The final annual reconciliation is for the full tax year 1 March to 28/29 February and must be submitted during April and May.

9 Issue tax certificates to employees during the annual employers tax season. This is an an IRP5/IT3(a) which shows the remuneration paid, from which Employees' Tax was deducted. The IRP5/IT3(a) discloses the total employment remuneration earned for the year of assessment and the total deductions.

10 An IRP5/IT3(a) must be provided to employees whose employment was terminated due to resignation, death, immigration or any employer ceasing to be an employer, etc. within 14 days after employment were ended.

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