EMP501 Annual Reconciliation

The EMP501 Reconciliation ties together the year's monthly EMP201 declarations and the employee IRP5 certificates, proving that what was declared, what was paid, and what the certificates show all agree.

When

At the SARS reconciliation periods — the interim reconciliation (covering 1 March to 31 August) and the annual reconciliation (covering the full tax year to end February).

Prerequisites

• All EMP201 working papers in the selected period are complete: six for interim, twelve for annual.
• IRP5 / IT3(a) certificates generated for every employee paid in the year.
• Company PAYE, UIF and SDL reference numbers captured.

Step-by-step

1. Create the reconciliation. Go to EMP501 Reconciliation → New. Set the Company and the tax year / period (e.g. 1 March 2026 – 28 February 2027).

2. Link the EMP201s. Add the monthly EMP201 references; the PAYE/UIF/SDL totals are pulled from each month.

3. Link the IRP5s. Add the IRP5 certificate references for each employee; their annual totals are pulled in.

4. Run the readiness checks. The reconciliation validates that:

   • Employer references (PAYE/UIF/SDL) are present.
   • All months of EMP201 are covered and submitted.
   • Every employee has a linked IRP5 certificate.
   • SARS code mappings are complete (no missing codes).
   • Directive numbers exist for employees with lump sums.
   • Each certificate's internal totals are consistent.

5. Reconcile. The three legs must agree: sum of monthly EMP201 PAYE = sum of IRP5 PAYE = PAYE actually paid to SARS. Resolve any differences (a late amendment, a missing month, a mis-coded component) before submitting.

6. Submit the internal working paper, then file externally. Internal submission does not file with SARS. ZA Local does not produce the SARS BRS payroll CSV or encrypted reconciliation file. Capture/import through approved SARS tooling and retain the external receipt.

If the readiness checks block submission

That is by design — the EMP501 will not submit while a check fails. Read the specific failure (missing month, unlinked IRP5, missing reference, missing directive) and fix the underlying record, then re-run.

Audit trail

EMP501 Reconciliation has change tracking enabled. Keep the reconciliation, the period's EMP201 working papers, IRP5 set, external submission receipt and payment evidence together as the audit pack.

Next

For terminations and lump sums that affect IRP5 and EMP501, see Tax Directives & Final Settlements.