The moment you employ people, you take on payroll obligations to SARS and the Department of Employment and Labour. Getting payroll right protects your employees and keeps your business penalty-free.
The three payroll deductions
- PAYE (Pay-As-You-Earn), income tax withheld from employees’ salaries
- UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund), contributed by both employer and employee
- SDL (Skills Development Levy), payable when your annual payroll exceeds R500,000
Monthly and annual submissions
Each month you submit an EMP201 declaration and pay over the amounts due to SARS by the 7th of the following month. Twice a year you reconcile everything through the EMP501 reconciliation, which ties your monthly declarations to the IRP5/IT3(a) certificates issued to employees.
Records you should keep
- Employment contracts and employee tax details
- Payslips for every pay period
- Leave and attendance records
- Proof of EMP201 submissions and payments
Why it matters
Late or incorrect submissions attract penalties and interest, and reconciliation errors can delay your employees’ tax filing. Clean payroll records also make audits, BEE verification and financing applications far smoother.
M&J Consultants runs payroll for growing employers, calculating deductions, submitting EMP201s and EMP501s, and keeping your records audit-ready.
