Global Courant 2023-05-29 19:19:29
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has urged all employers to comply with their legal obligations regarding the annual employer tax return season to avoid fines, interest and/or criminal charges.
Registration for the period from March 1, 2022 – February 28, 2023 closes on Wednesday (May 31).
According to the IRS, employers are required to file their annual employer reconciliation statements (EMP501) with SARS, as well as outstanding monthly returns (EMP201) and annual prior year reconciliations (EMP501).
“Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) payments must be up-to-date and the IRP5/IT3(a) information provided to SARS must be verified and accurate.”
“The correct data is important so that SARS can pre-fill income tax returns and automatically correctly assess the identified taxpayers.”
“Getting the right data is also important when taxpayers need to file returns, so they can do so with the right information during the individual filing season, which begins in July 2023,” said SARS.
SARS has also asked employees to verify that their information on the IRP5/IT3(a) is correct.
Third-party data providers such as medical aid schemes and banks are also required to provide verified and accurate information to SARS and to their customers, the IRS said.
“These are key requirements that enable SARS to provide taxpayers with a streamlined and seamless service, consistent with our goal of making it easy and simple for taxpayers to meet their obligations.”
Employers, tax advisors and payroll administrators must download the latest version of Employers (email protected)
Employers can submit their EMP501 electronically through this online channel. SARS also encourages small, medium and micro enterprises (SMEs) to use this platform and move from manual to automated payroll systems.
In addition, SARS requires taxpayers to submit their annual third-party data for 2023 by the end of this month.
On May 11, SARS reported that it had received only 35% of the expected submissions for the period.
Read: SARS issues new tax warning – showing it won’t withhold
