What is an EMP501, and when does it need to be submitted?

You got a notice stating that your organisation's EMP501 is due, but you have no clue what this is or what to do.

What is an EMP501?

An EMP501 is basically a reconciliation of the total PAYE, SDL, UIF, and ETI declared and paid each month on the EMP201's with all the PAYE, SDL, and UIF per all the employees' IRP5s or IT3as. 

When does an EMP501 need to be submitted, and what information is required? 

There are two EMP501's per tax year that need to be submitted to SARS, half-yearly and full year.

The half-yearly EMP501 requires the EMP201 and employee information for the first 6 months (1 March to 31 August) of the tax year to be submitted no later than 31 October of the respective tax year.

The full tax year EMP501 requires the EMP201 and employee information for all 12 months (1 March to 28/29 February) of the tax year to be submitted no later than 31 May of the respective tax year.

Where do I submit my EMP501? 

Your EMP501 can either be submitted via eFiling or via easyFile. 

If you have more than 50 employees, you have to use easyFile to submit your EMP501s. 

easyFile is an application that needs to be downloaded to your computer and does not run in a browser like eFiling. You can find the link for the download on the SARS website.