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Get Compliant from Anywhere, Easy and Fast!

0800 007 269 (Toll Free)
Get Compliant from Anywhere, Easy and Fast!

Table of Contents

  • Tax & Accounting

2026 EMP501 Submission New Changes – Avoid Costly Consequences at SARS

With the EMP501 interim filing season running from 21 September to 31 October 2026, employers should be checking these records now, not when they are already trying to submit. There is an important change employers cannot afford to overlook.

One missing employee tax number, one incorrect declaration or one unresolved payroll discrepancy could be enough to stop your 2026 EMP501 submission in its tracks, and with SARS now strictly enforcing valid Income Tax Reference Numbers, employers no longer have the luxury of assuming a warning will give them time to fix it later.

If your EMP501 is rejected, incomplete or submitted late, you could be left scrambling to correct employee records, reconcile outstanding amounts and deal with potential penalties and interest after the problem has already escalated.

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But What Exactly Is an EMP501?

An EMP501 is an Employer Reconciliation Declaration submitted to SARS.

In simple terms, it is the process where SARS checks whether the employer information from your payroll actually balances with what you declared and paid during the reconciliation period.

For the interim reconciliation, covering 1 March to 31 August 2026, three key sets of figures need to reconcile:

  • Your monthly EMP201 declarations, including PAYE, UIF and SDL;
  • The payments actually made to SARS; and
  • The PAYE, UIF and SDL values reflected on your employees’ IRP5/IT3(a) tax certificates.

Put simply: What your payroll says you owed, what you declared to SARS, and what you actually paid should all match. Your employee information must also be accurate and complete.

“The EMP501 is where several months of employer compliance come together. It is not just another form to submit, SARS is effectively checking whether your payroll, monthly declarations, payments and employee information reconcile,” Herman C Miny, Tax and Accounting Expert at Company Partners explains.
Our SAIPA professional account Herman Miny gives us 8 checks for IRP6 Tax Return in SA

Why Employee Tax Numbers Matter More in 2026

This year, one of the areas employers need to check particularly carefully is employee Income Tax Reference Numbers.

Employers should verify employee records before submission, including:

  • Income Tax Reference Numbers
  • ID or passport numbers
  • Dates of birth
  • Employee names and surnames
  • Physical and contact details
  • Payroll and employment information

“Where an employee still needs an Income Tax Reference Number, employers should address the registration or enquiry process as early as possible,” warns Herman.

Check Your EMP501 Records

Identify missing information and discrepancies before you submit your EMP501 on time.
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10 Frequently Asked Questions with Herman’s Replies:

Can I correct an EMP201 if I discover an error while preparing my EMP501?

“Potentially, yes. If your reconciliation identifies an incorrect monthly declaration, the underlying error may need to be corrected before the EMP501 can reconcile properly. The important point is to investigate the difference rather than trying to force the reconciliation to balance. Depending on the correction, additional PAYE, penalties or interest may become payable.”

What should I do if a payment I made to SARS is not showing correctly?

“Check the payment reference, payment period and your SARS employer Statement of Account. A payment may have been made but allocated incorrectly or against the wrong period. Unallocated or incorrectly allocated payments should be investigated before the EMP501 is finalised.”

What happens if an employee left the company during the six-month reconciliation period?

“The employee must still be correctly reflected for the period they worked for you. Their employment dates, remuneration, deductions and tax certificate information should accurately reflect the period of employment.”

What if an employee's personal information has changed?

“Changes such as a surname, address, passport details or other personal information should be updated in the payroll records before the reconciliation is submitted. Incorrect employee data can create certificate validation problems.”

Do I need to reconcile employees who earned below the PAYE threshold?

“Do not assume that an employee can simply be excluded because little or no PAYE was deducted. Employee certificate and payroll reporting requirements may still apply depending on the employee’s remuneration and circumstances. Their payroll information should therefore still be checked as part of the reconciliation process.”

What should I do if my EMP501 does not balance?

“Do not simply adjust figures until it balances. Work backwards through the payroll reports, EMP201 declarations, SARS payments and employee certificate totals to establish where the difference originated. An unexplained difference usually points to an underlying declaration, payment, payroll or employee-record issue that needs to be corrected.”

Can I wait until the end of October to start my reconciliation?

“You can, but it creates unnecessary risk. If you discover missing tax numbers, incorrect employee records, payment-allocation problems or payroll discrepancies late in the filing window, you may not have enough time to resolve them before the deadline.”

How will I know whether SARS has accepted my submission?

“Do not assume that clicking “submit” means the process is complete. Check the submission status afterwards and make sure that SARS has successfully processed the reconciliation and that no outstanding errors or rejected certificates still require attention.”

What records should I keep after submitting the EMP501?

“Keep the payroll reports, EMP201 declarations, proof of SARS payments, reconciliation reports, employee tax certificate information and supporting records used to prepare the submission. These records can be important if a discrepancy is queried later.”

Should I still check my EMP501 readiness if Company Partners already handles some of my employer compliance?

“Yes. Your COIDA, UIF and PAYE obligations are connected to different parts of employer compliance, and the EMP501 brings together payroll, employee and SARS information from the reconciliation period. That is why Company Partners is offering existing clients a FREE Employer Compliance Check at SARS to identify possible gaps before filing becomes urgent.”

Prepare for the EMP501 Deadline

Prepare for the EMP501 Deadline Get the right support to check your records and address potential issues before you submit.
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How Company Partners Can Assist Clients

Request your FREE Employer Compliance Check at SARS. We will check your employer registration and EMP501 readiness, identify apparent gaps, and explain what needs to happen next. If corrections or filing work are required, we will quote first and only proceed once you approve the work.

Contact Company Partners today for assistance and peace of mind, because waiting until you are ready to submit the EMP501 could leave very little time to fix missing or incorrect information before the 31 October deadline and avoid unnecessary penalties with SARS.

Need help preparing your EMP501? Our team can help you identify potential gaps and get your records ready before the deadline.

Contact us today!

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