What’s New?
- 5 October 2026 – e@syFile Release Notes 8.0.2_418:
e@syFile™ Employer allows employers and/or payroll administrators to:
- See the Release Notes here.
- Complete, Submit, and Revise your Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) with ease.
- Offline Functionality when importing tax certificates and capturing EMP501 data offline; go online only when ready to submit to SARS.
- Manage Third Party Appointments (AA88s) effectively.
- Register Employees using the Income Tax Registration (ITREG) function to register employees effortlessly.
Top Tip: The Latest Release notes tell you about the changes that have been made in the software.
- 21 September 2026 – e@syFile FAQs
The following e@syFile FAQs will assist you with the latest version of e@syFile being implemented during the PAYE Bi-Annual project on 18 September 2026. The advice consists of error messages and recommended solutions.
Please note that the updated e@syFile™ Employer version update from 801 to 802 requires a full uninstall and reinstall from the eFiling website.
- 21 September 2026 – Employer Interim Filing Season opens today 21 September 2026
The Employer Interim Reconciliation submission period opens on 21 September 2026 and closes on 31 October 2026. During this period, employers must reconcile their declarations for the period 1 March 2026 to 31 August 2026 and submit their EMP501 declarations through eFiling or e@syFile™ Employer. Watch our short step-by-step video on how to do your Interim Reconcilaition.
Employers are encouraged to prepare early by:
- Ensuring payroll and employee information is accurate and up to date.
- Confirming that all employees have valid Income Tax reference numbers.
- Downloading and using the latest e@syFile™ Employer version once it is released.
- Reviewing the latest PAYE Employer Reconciliation Business Requirements Specification (BRS).
Submitting accurate declarations on time lets employers avoid penalties, interest, and unnecessary administrative work. After submitting an EMP501 declaration, employers should also check their submission status and PAYE Dashboard to confirm that the reconciliation was successfully processed.
Don’t just submit. Confirm. Activate the Power of DONE.
The following enhancements have been implemented for the interim PAYE Filing Season:
- New source codes have been added;
- Changes to field types and validations;
- Enhancements to EMP201 Return;
- Enhancements to EMP501 Reconciliation;
- Revised declaration function;
- New rules for e@syFile software;
- Enhancements to SARS letters and forms.
New source codes have been added:
- 3061 – Additional Id Number;
- 3067 – Expired Asylum Seeker Permit Number;
- 3071 – Expired passport number;
- 3076 – Expired passport country of issue;
- 3081 – Country of Birth.
Changes to field types and validations:
- Source codes 3622/3672 – Long Service Cash Award;
- Source code 3696 – Gross non-taxable income;
- Source code 3699 – Gross employment income (taxable);
- Source code 3835/3885 – Long Service Award;
- Source code 3922 – Compensation in respect of death during employment;
- Source code 4118 – The sum of the ETI amounts calculated;
- Source code 4150 – Reason code for IT3(a) certificate;
- Source code 4588 – The total amount repaid by the employee in the tax year for a s11(nA) recoupment.
Enhancements to EMP201 Return
- Systematically initiate a pre-population when the user tries to submit a saved EMP201 return after 30 days to update the return with the latest information.
Enhancements to EMP501 Reconciliation
- A reconciliation received acknowledgement will be sent to the submitting channel.
- eFiling and e@syFile will update the status of the reconciliation to indicate to the user that the reconciliation has been received and is being processed.
- Employment Taxes Validation (ETV) can now check the tax directive status.
- The employer will be requested to complete a satisfaction survey after submitting an EMP501 reconciliation.
Revised Declaration Function
- All text boxes on the “Additional info” tab will be enhanced to be spellchecked.
- A revised declaration for Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) will be sent for an internal review.
New rules for e@syFile software
- The rules for the e@syFile password will be aligned with the rules for eFiling.
- The requirement for re-authentication will be revised.
Enhancements to SARS letters and forms
- All letters and forms will be enhanced to align with the new PDF generated service.
e@syFile Release Notes:
- See the updated Release Notes here.
- The update from version 8.0.1 to 8.0.2 requires a full uninstall and reinstall from the eFiling website.
- New button added to the PAYE Dashboard that links to the e@syFile Technical FAQ’s.
- New ITReg indicator added to Employee Admin for additional information to be captured.
- New button added on the Reconciliation page that allows users to log a ‘Pending Submission’ query
- Directly from the application.
- New option added to the Reconciliation Status Dashboard Action tab to allow users to generate an EMP601.
- New tab System Info added to Utilities menu.
The updated guides are:
- PAYE-AE-06-G06 – Guide for Codes Applicable to Employees Tax Certificates 2027 – External Guide
- PAYE-AE-06-G07 – Guide for Validation Rules Applicable to Reconciliation Declarations 2027 – External Guide
- PAYE-AE-06-G08 – Guide for Completion and Submission of Employees Tax Certificates 2027 – External Guide
- EMP-GEN-02-G01 – A Guide to the Employer Reconciliation Process – External Guide
- PAYE-easyFileG01 – e@syfile™TC Employer Guide – External Guide
- 27 July 2026 – Updated e@syFile Employer Beta Release available for Trade Testing in August 2026
The South African Revenue Service will give you an opportunity to test the updated e@syFile™ Employer build before the formal release in mid- September 2026 for the Employer Interim Reconciliation.
The updated e@syFile™ Employer BETA version with enhanced features for download will be released on Monday, 24 August 2026, so that you can start testing immediately.
The Business Requirements Specification SARS_PAYE_BRS – PAYE Employer Reconciliation V25 3 0 for the Employer Interim Reconciliation submission period 202608 is available.
See more detail here.
- 7 July 2026 – e@syFile™ Replatform Release Notes
The e@syFile – ™ Employer version 8.0.1_338 release notes specify the following changes:
- Enhancement made to Tax directive numbers for the 202102 Tax Period to display correctly on IRP5/IT3(a) certificates.
See more detail in the release notes.
- 18 March 2026 – e@syFile™ Replatform Release Notes
The e@syFile – ™ Employer version 8.0.1_337 release notes specify the following changes:
- Enhancement made to Bulk Payment function to include bulk payments for ITA88’s.
See more detail in the release notes.
- 19 February 2026 – e@syFile™ Replatform Release Notes
The e@syFile – ™ Employer version 8.0.1_336 release notes specify the following changes:
- Effective from the 202602-reconciliation period, the inclusion of Income Tax Reference Numbers on IRP5 certificates will be mandatory for all employees required to register under section 67 of the Income Tax Act. Employers will be unable to submit PAYE reconciliations if valid Income Tax Reference Numbers for these employees are not provided.
- Correction made to Voluntary Over Deduction and Fixed Rate Taxation Indicator fields to align with SARS PAYE BRS.
See more detail in the release notes.
To view archived release notes click here.
What is e@syFile?
SARS has developed free software linked to eFiling called e@syFile™.
e@syFile™ was designed to help taxpayers (who are employers or payroll administrators) working with SARS to quickly, easily and conveniently manage their tax affairs.
Current information must always be backed-up on your computer prior to installing the latest version, as the installation may delete your current information. Any beta test version downloaded must be uninstalled prior to installing the latest version of e@syFile™.
Ensure that the import file is aligned to the requirements in the latest BRS prior to importing the file to avoid rework.
The latest version of e@syFile™ must always be used as any information submitted to SARS using a previous version won’t be accepted. You will automatically be prompted to update when accessing e@syFile™ or visit eFiling to download the latest version.
Two software applications available
e@syFile™ Employer allows employers and/or payroll administrators to:
- Complete, submit and revise (if necessary) the Monthly Employer Declaration (EMP201)
- Complete, submit and revise the Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501)
- The importing of tax certificates and the capturing the EMP501 can be done offline. You only go online when you are ready to submit to SARS.
- Manage the Employer Account
- Manage Third Party Appointments (AA88s)
- Register employees using the Income Tax Registration (ITREG) function.
Top Tip: The Latest Release notes tells you about the changes which have been made in the software.
2. e@syFile™ DIVIDENDS TAX
e@syFile™ Dividends Tax can be downloaded and the importing and validating of declarations can be done offline. You only go online when you are ready to submit to SARS.
Top Tip: The latest Release Notes tells you about the changes which have been made in the software. tells you about the changes which have been made in the software.

