Companies of every size and in every industry have a lot on their plate when it comes to tax-related paperwork. And while it is often an arduous task, ensuring accurate submission and meeting SARS deadlines is one of the most important responsibilities they face. For example, every six months, organisations across South Africa need to submit their Interim Reconciliation, says Sandra Crous, Managing Director of PaySpace, a leader in payroll and HR software. “This includes IRP5 or IT3(a) tax certificates, EMP201 or EMP501 statements, as well as actual payments made to SARS for the six-month period —1 March 2021 to 31 August 2021.”
“Last year’s Bi-Annual Submission period began on Monday 13 September 2021 and closed on 31 October 2021. It shouldn’t be a complicated and painful task. There are 10 easy steps that companies can take to complete their Interim Reconciliation process,” she adds. “In fact, submitting the Interim Reconciliation can actually benefit the organisation, because it eases the pressure on business owners with their Employer Reconciliation at the end of the tax year, as only six months have to be reconciled for each submission.”
Start by finalising the payroll or payrolls. “No company may proceed with their submission if the payrolls attached to the submission period in question have not been finalised. This may seem obvious, but too often this is left till the last minute.”
Balance financials for PAYE, UIF, SDL, and ETI, if applicable. “To do this, organisations should compare their payroll financial information from March 2021 to August 2021 against the EMP201 values they have submitted to SARS. Any discrepancies uncovered in the comparison must be addressed in the month of imbalance, and corrections made to the payroll to rectify any errors.”
“Remember that discrepancy could be caused by payroll changes being made on your employee payslips after payment has been made to SARS on the monthly EMP201.”
Sandra says to identify differences. “If organisations pick up any discrepancies between the payroll and the EMP201 payment to SARS, we advise them to go through the financials first, month-on-month, to pinpoint the month of imbalance. Once this has been identified, the companies need to check each employee record to confirm the difference and then make any necessary adjustments to correct the situation.”
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