#YourTaxMatters: The clock is ticking for employers
Employers with fewer than 50 employees can use SARS eFiling to conveniently submit their annual declarations.
The deadline for the submission of the Annual Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) is fast approaching. As an employer, it is important to ensure that your tax matters are in order and that you have accurately declared all relevant information.
The deadline for submission is May 31, 2023, and SARS encourages all employers to submit their declarations as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute rush. If employers submit past the deadline, they could face penalties for late submission.
With Employer e@syFile, submitting EMP501 declarations has never been easier. Employers with fewer than 50 employees can use SARS eFiling to conveniently submit their annual declarations.
SARS encourages employers to comply with their tax obligations and submit their declarations on time. A successful EMP501 declaration submitted before deadline enables SARS to pre-populate individual Income Tax Returns (ITR12) with data received from employers, medical schemes, financial institutions, and other submitting institutions.
All these efforts are streamlined towards eliminating costs that may have a negative financial impact on businesses. This ensures that employees do not take time off to sort out their tax affairs or carry a financial burden by having to pay penalties for non-compliance.
The employer may be held criminally liable for failure to withhold and pay Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE). If an employer, willfully and without just cause, fails to make payment of PAYE to SARS, the employer is guilty of an offence and, upon conviction, subject to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.
SARS urges all employers to take appropriate steps to address their tax compliance obligations to ensure a seamless Filling Season for employees.
Working together, we can stop tax fraud
Tax fraud happens when taxpayers under-declare or claim fraudulent deductions or expenses when submitting tax returns across various tax types. It is a serious crime and those involved will be severely dealt with by the law.
SARS vows to make it hard and costly for any taxpayer who, wilfully and intentionally, seeks to break the law. All taxpayers are expected to meet their obligations and pay their fair share of tax.
Individual Filing Season, which is coming up in July, is a common time when people fall victim to tax fraud, often when they are completely unaware that tax fraud has been committed on their eFiling accounts.
We urge taxpayers to work together with SARS to help prevent fraud. Please visit the SARS website www.sars.gov.za which has detailed information on how one can report tax fraud. This includes hotlines, email addresses and valuable information on Identity fraud, scams, and phishing.
