SARS has confirmed a firm compliance change for the 2026 Employer Filing Season: Employers will not be able to submit their Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) reconciliations if any employee required to be registered for tax does not have a valid Income Tax Reference Number.

The Witness reports that SARS said the long-standing ‘grace period’, where missing numbers generated warnings but did not block submissions, will end completely. From 2026, PAYE reconciliations that include employees without tax numbers will be rejected.

Register employees early

The revenue authority has urged employers to begin registering outstanding employees as soon as possible. SARS said tax numbers can be obtained using its eFiling or e@syFile systems, through the TRN enquiry function, or by booking an appointment at a SARS branch.

Employees can also register online themselves. SARS said early preparation is essential to avoid filing delays, rejected reconciliations, and possible administrative penalties.

Ensuring complete employer records

The new rule forms part of SARS’s effort to ensure that employer records are complete and that all workers required to be on the tax register are properly captured. Employers are already legally required to maintain payroll records including each employee’s Income Tax Number, but the new enforcement mechanism removes flexibility previously allowed during submission.

The change effectively places responsibility on employers to ensure every person on their payroll is tax-registered well before the 2026 filing season opens.

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