Tshwane, Tuesday 25 May 2021 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) urges all employers to comply with their legal obligations regarding the annual Employers Filing Season by the deadline of 31 May to avoid penalties, interest and / or criminal charges.
Employers are required to submit their Employer Annual Reconciliation Declarations (EMP501) to SARS, as well as outstanding monthly declarations (EMP201) and previous years’ annual reconciliations (EMP501).
Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) payments must be up to date and the IRP5/IT3(a) data provided to SARS must be verified and accurate. The correct data is important so that SARS may pre-populate income tax returns and auto-assess the identified taxpayers correctly. The correct data is also important where taxpayers have to file a return, to enable them to do so with the correct information during the filing season for individuals, which starts on 1 July.
SARS requests employees to check if their details on the IRP5/IT3(a) are correct.
Third party data suppliers such as medical aid schemes and banks are also required to submit verified and accurate information to SARS and to their clients.
These are important requirements so that SARS can offer a streamlined and seamless service to taxpayers in line with our objective to make it easy for taxpayers to comply with their obligations.
Employers, tax practitioners and payroll administrators need to download the latest version of Employers e@syFile. This online channel allows employers to submit their EMP501 electronically. SARS also encourages small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to use this platform and move from manual to automated payroll systems.
First-time job seekers can register for personal income tax via eFiling. It takes less than 24 hours to receive an SMS with a new tax reference number when applying via eFiling.
For more information on Employers Filing Season, visit the SARS website www.sars.gov.za.
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