An EMP501 reconciliation is a report of all employees’ earnings, which must be submitted to SARS.
Employers are required to reconcile the payroll taxes liabilities (PAYE, SDL and UIF) declared monthly on the Employer declarations (EMP201).
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 Contributions (UIC) 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
This year, the Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) submission period opened on 01 April 2022 and closes on 31 May 2022
Reconciliation declarations should be submitted twice during year of assessment, for the:
- Annual period – which if for the full year 1 March to 28- February.
- Interim period – which is for the six-month period 1 March to 31 August.
Don’t forget the following important details:
- Make sure you have the latest version of e@syFile™ Employer available.
- Import the electronic Employee Tax Certificates [IRP5/IT3(a)s] CSV files from your current payroll system.
- 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!
- 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 to 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.
- 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.
- Send your reconciliation before the deadline to avoid penalties and interest being charged.
Courtesy of SARS
