Employers who have not filed their interim employer reconciliation (EMP501) with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have until Saturday, 31 October 2026, to do so.
SARS said in a statement on Thursday that employers should not leave submissions until the final hours. It asked them to leave time for validation errors, rejected submissions and discrepancies. The submission window opened on 21 September.
What has to be filed?
According to a SARS notice of 31 August, the EMP501 covers the six months from 1 March to 31 August 2026. It must match the PAYE, unemployment insurance (UIF) and skills development levy amounts in the employer’s monthly EMP201 returns, and show the payments actually made, excluding penalties and interest.
The declaration also carries the interim IRP5 and IT3(a) tax certificates for employees. Where those differ from the prepopulated figures, SARS said employers must amend them to the correct amounts.
How can employers file?
Employers can use e@syFile Employer, which has no limit on certificates, or eFiling, which takes up to 50 certificates in one submission. An employer with five or fewer certificates that cannot use either channel may book an appointment at a SARS service centre.
Source: South African Revenue Service, Employer Interim Declarations (EMP501) notice of 31 August 2026. Illustration of the rule: 1% at first, then 1% more for each month the return stays outstanding, to a maximum of 10%. Chart: Rand Desk
SARS said in August that employers must use the latest e@syFile Employer build for the reconciliation. Income tax numbers have been strictly enforced in e@syFile and eFiling since the February 2026 filing season, and SARS said missing or invalid numbers may get a submission rejected.
What happens to employers who file late?
SARS said a late EMP501 attracts a penalty of 1% of annual PAYE, rising by 1% for every month the return stays outstanding, up to 10%. Employers with unused employment tax incentive forfeit it if they do not submit or are non-compliant.
An employer who wilfully or negligently fails to submit an EMP201 or EMP501 commits an offence, SARS said, and on conviction faces a fine or up to two years in prison. SARS also said any shortfall corrected on the EMP501 is attributed to the last month of the period, and incorrect PAYE calculations may bring penalties and interest.
SARS lists three kinds of conduct as criminal. They are failing to deduct PAYE or to pay it over in time, not giving employees their IRP5 or IT3(a) certificates by the deadline, and using deducted tax for anything other than paying SARS.
What changed this year?
SARS said the updated business requirements specification, PAYE Employer Reconciliation version 25.3.0, adds a new source code for income tax registration to mitigate duplicate registrations of employees. It also made minor changes to source code validations and descriptions, and told payroll administrators to review them before preparing submissions.
Employers can register employees or retrieve their tax numbers through the ITREG process on eFiling or e@syFile, or at a SARS service centre by appointment. Employees can do the same on the SARS website.
The filing is separate from the individual deadlines in the SARS filing deadline penalty table, and the rates used for PAYE are explained in how income tax brackets and rebates work.
SARS said employers should check their submission status and the PAYE Dashboard after filing to confirm the reconciliation was processed. The window closes on Saturday, 31 October 2026.
