RSA Employer Filing Season
Options
SARS Submissions
Employers are required, twice a year, to reconcile their IRP5 / IT3(a) tax certificates; the EMP201/EMP501 statements; and the actual payments made to SARS, by using the e@syFile software provided by SARS. The February 2021 reconciliation relates to the full 2021 tax year (March 2020 – February 2021).
e@syFile Software
The current version of e@syFile is 7.1.0 SARS is in the process of finalising their latest e@syFile version for the February submission period. The latest version of e@syFile, which needs to be used for the February submission, as well as the updated csv file on PaySpace will be available for download by 1 April 2021. Please note that the Pay Africa csv file is only compatible with E@syfile and not eFiling.
Submission Period
The submission period for the Annual PAYE reconciliation declaration is Thursday, 1 April 2021 to Monday, 31 May 2021.
How can we help you?
Pay Africa has compiled two specific options to help you through your submission obligations and make the process as seamless as possible. (Please refer to Option 1: Let us do it and Option 2: Tax Workshop below)
Very Important!
If the tax file was obtained from Pay Africa, and/or the EMP501 was submitted on E@syFile prior to the filing season opening (1 April 2021), a new tax file will need to be generated on Pay Africa and the file will need to be resubmitted on the latest version of e@syFile once filing season has opened. If the file is not submitted on the latest version or is submitted prior to filing season-opening, the declaration may reflect as outstanding and may result in penalties for non-submission.
How can we help you?
We have the following options available to help ensure a seamless submission process for you.
Option 1
We’ll handle the entire submission process on your behalf:
- If you have less than 150 employees in a single company, a fee of R5 000.00 excl. VAT will be applicable.
- If you have more than 150 employees or more than one company, a time and materials fee of R1 000.00 (excl. VAT) per hour will apply, with a minimum charge of R5 000.00 (excl. VAT) per company.
- Please note that all the above charges exclude any time taken to apply for tax reference numbers on your behalf. This will be billed on a time and materials basis at R1 000.00 (excl. VAT).
- The above fees will apply to any bookings made before 31 May 2021. Booking requests received after this date will incur a fee of R7 500.00 (excl VAT).
All we’ll need from you, is a breakdown of the payments you made for PAYE, SDL and UIF for the months March 2020 to February 2021.
Option 2
ATTEND OUR TAX WORKSHOP
Attend this facilitator-led session where the lovely Annelie Kok will take you through all the steps in detail, right up to the point you click ‘Submit’.
More detail and available dates on our Payroll Tax Workshop page:
Option 3
DO IT YOURSELF
Well-seasoned and feeling confident? Great!
Just in case, we have this handy submission guide just for you. (We won’t tell.)
THE TECHNICAL STUFF: SARS CHANGES
The Technical Stuff: SARS Changes
| Tax Code/Field | Amendment | Comments |
| 3180: Certificate Tax Period End Date | Validation Rule amendment | Amended section changed from “If current date is less” to “If current date is less or equal”.
If YoA (code 3025) is greater or equal to 2000, then: |
| Deductions/Contributions | Validation Rule amendments | Amended sections as follows: – If any of the foreign service income codes allowable for the s10(1)(o)(ii) exemption (listed under 4587 in par 6.6) is completed, then code 4587 MUST be completed; – The value of source code 4587 cannot exceed the lower of R 1.25 mil or the total of the values declared under the s10(1)(o)(ii) allowable foreign service income codes |
| 4102: PAYE | Validation Rule amendments | Amendments to the following sections to include references to Voluntary Over-deduction Indicator: – If YoA (source code 3025) is greater or equal to 2021 and Voluntary Over-deduction Indicator (code 3195) is “Y” then PAYE (source code 4102) must be less or equal to the sum of Non-taxable income (source code 3696) and Gross Employment Income (taxable) [source code 3699]; – If YoA (source code 3025) is greater or equal to 2021 and Voluntary Over-deduction Indicator (code 3195) is “N” then PAYE (source code 4102) must be less or equal to Gross Employment Income (taxable) [source code 3699]; |
| 7004: Monthly Calculated ETI | Validation Rule amendments | AMENDED: – If Code 7005 is 1, 2 or 3, then this field MAY be greater than zero; (changed from “must” to “MAY”) – If YoA is equal to 2021 then: (was previously “is equal or greater than”)REMOVED: – If YoA is 2021 and Month (code 7006) is 04, 05, 06 or 07 and ETI qualifying 12 month cycle indicator (code 7005) is 1, then value cannot be greater than R1750, Else, – If YoA is 2021 and Month (code 7006) is 04, 05, 06 or 07 and ETI qualifying 12 month cycle indicator (code 7005) is 2, then value cannot be greater than R1250, Else, – If YoA is 2021 and Month (code 7006) is 04, 05, 06 or 07 and ETI qualifying 12 month cycle indicator (code 7005) is 3, then value cannot be greater than R750ADDED: – If YoA <> 2021 and ETI qualifying 12 month cycle indicator (code 7005) is 1, then value cannot be greater than R1000; – If YoA <> 2021 and ETI qualifying 12 month cycle indicator (code 7005) is 2, then value cannot be greater than R500NEW SECTION: If YoA is greater than 2021 then: ETI SEZ code (code 7009) is completed then this field MAY be greater than zero (0.00) If ETI SEZ code (code 7009) is not completed: – If employee’s age for the specified month is greater than / equal to 18 but less than 30 then this field MAY be greater than zero (0.00) – If employee’s age for the specified month is less than 18 or greater than / equal to 30 then this field MUST be zero (0.00) |
| 3601/3651: Income (PAYE) | Explanation amended | Overtime removed from following section: An amount which is paid or payable to an employee for: – Services rendered |
| 4587: Section 10(1)(o)(ii) exemption taken into account by the employer for PAYE purposes | Description amended | NEW SECTION: The following foreign service income source codes are included in the remuneration which qualifies for the s10(1)(o)(ii) exemption and which employers may take into account for calculating PAYE, if all requirements are met: – Income Source codes – 3651, 3655, 3656, 3657 – Allowance codes – 3751, 3763, 3767, 3768, 3772 – Fringe Benefit codes – 3851, 3852, 3855, 3856, 3858, 3859, 3860, 3863, 3866, 3867, 3870, 3875, 3878, 3879, 3881, 3883 |
GOOD TO KNOW
- From the 2020 year of assessment, SARS is performing tax calculations on the IRP5/IT3(a) certificates that have been submitted via e@syFile™ Employer. This is known as Employment Taxes Validation (ETV).
- Values will be recalculated based on the data provided on the IRP5/IT3(a) certificates. Where it is found that the incorrect amount of tax was deducted from the employee (or an incorrect SDL amount paid over), a letter will be issued, accompanied by a file containing a list of the certificates that have failed the SARS calculation.
- For more information on ETV, please refer to the SARS website
- Please bear in mind the changes to some of the SARS branch processes in light of the nationwide lockdown and the continued fight to combat the spread of COVID-19. SARS continues to provide updates on their website here. Please contact SARS should you be unsure about what process to follow.
Any more questions?
If you are unsure of any of the information above, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will gladly explain the different options in more detail.