THE 2021 EMPLOYER ANNUAL RECONCILIATION (EMP501): WHAT YOU MUST KNOW

THE 2021 EMPLOYER ANNUAL RECONCILIATION (EMP501): WHAT YOU MUST KNOW

All employers must be aware of the following very important facts regarding the 2021 EMP501 reconciliation, namely:

  1. The 2021 EMP501 must be filed between 1 April 2021 and 31 May 2021.
  2. The EMP501 must contain precise payroll information (employees’ personal particulars, PAYE amounts, tax certificates, etc.) relating to the period 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021.
  3. e@syFile Employer version 7.1.0 must be downloaded from SARS and be used by employers to complete the 2021 EMP501.
  4. All outstanding EMP201’s and prior EMP501’s must be submitted by employers to SARS, before the 2021 EMP501 is submitted.
  5. Employers must register employees for income tax utilising bundle (“Bundled ITREG”) and single IT registration (“Individual ITREG”) for existing tax numbers and by way of e@syfile regarding new registrations.
  6. IRP5’s must be issued by employers to employees before 31 May 2021.
  7. Employers must inform employees to check their IRP5’s for accuracy.
  8. EMP501’s submitted late will attract penalties of 1% per month calculated on the year’s PAYE due, up to 10% of the year’s PAYE.
  9. EMP201’s and EMP501’s submitted late may result in criminal charges.  This may include fines or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
  10. Employers with 50 or less employees may submit the EMP501 by either utilising SARS eFiling or SARS e@syFile.  SARS e@syFile must be used by employers with more than 50 employees.
  11. The employer is responsible to check the status of the submission of an EMP501 to ensure that SARS did receive it.
  12. Mistakes made by the employer on the EMP501 may negatively influence its employees’ capability to submit their tax returns and cause delays in refunds due to them (where applicable), as this information is used to pre-populate employees’ returns.
  13. Non-compliance by an employer insofar its payroll tax obligations, will make it increasingly more difficult for the employer to engage with SARS.
  14. First-time job seekers can use eFiling to register for personal income tax to receive a tax number required for their IRP5’s.

If you have any enquiries, please contact Petri Westraadt at pwestraadt@fhbc.co.za

Source Reference:

  1. https://www.sars.gov.za/media-release/sars-calls-on-employers-to-stick-to-deadline/
  2. SARS circular: EMPLOYER ANNUAL RECONCILIATION: 1 APRIL 2021 TO 31 MAY 2021 (March 2021)
  3. SAIT Member Alert 17 of 2021 (15 March 2021)