By Chris Herbst, Chartered Business Accountant in Practice (CBAP) with CIBA, General Tax Practitioner (GTP) with SAIT, Stellenbosch University. Team registered with SAIT, SAIPA and CIBA.
Most South African employees meet their tax affairs through one document: the IRP5 their employer issues after the tax year ends. It is also the document behind most questions about a return. A code nobody recognises, a PAYE figure that looks too high, a second certificate from a fund, or a return that does not match the payslips. This guide explains what an IRP5 is, how the four blocks of codes on it are organised, how SARS uses it to prepopulate your ITR12 and what to do when it is wrong.
What Is an IRP5 Certificate?
An IRP5 is the employee's tax certificate an employer issues to show the remuneration it paid you in a tax year and the employees' tax it withheld from that remuneration. Paragraph 13(1) of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act places the legal obligation on the employer to provide it, as the SARS Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 records in its section on employee's tax certificate information.
Why is it sometimes called an IRP5/IT3(a)?
SARS treats the two as one certificate type with two forms. The SARS PAYE Business Requirements Specification for the Employer Reconciliation states that the type of certificate can only be IRP5, IT3(a) or ITREG, and that an IRP5 must carry a value under code 4101, 4102 or 4115, which are the employees' tax codes. An IT3(a) is issued where no employees' tax was withheld, and it must carry a reason code under 4150 instead.
Who issues an IRP5 besides an employer?
Anyone who pays you remuneration and is registered for PAYE, which includes pension funds, retirement annuity funds paying an annuity and other institutions. The ITR12 guide gives the example of a person who worked for two employers in a year and also received a retirement annuity payment: that person receives three IRP5/IT3(a) certificates, and the return contains a separate page for each.
Is the IRP5 the same as my payslip?
No. A payslip covers one pay period. The IRP5 totals the whole tax year from 1 March to the end of February, using SARS source codes in place of the payroll's own headings. The annual figures on your last payslip of the year are the closest match, but the IRP5 is the figure SARS uses.
When Does My Employer Issue the IRP5?
Your employer issues the IRP5 as part of its annual Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501), which covers the full year of assessment from 1 March to 28 or 29 February for PAYE, the Skills Development Levy and UIF, as the SARS PAYE Business Requirements Specification describes it. The same document sets out an interim reconciliation for 1 March to 31 August, for which employers create interim certificates where applicable.
Why does SARS have my IRP5 before I do?
The employer submits the certificates to SARS with the reconciliation. The ITR12 guide states that SARS uses the IRP5/IT3(a) data submitted by employers, institutions and fund administrators through the EMP501 process to prepopulate your return, so the data can reach eFiling before you receive a printed copy.
What if I changed jobs during the year?
Each employer issues its own certificate for the months you worked there, with its own PAYE reference number in the certificate number. The BRS records that the certificate number contains the employer's PAYE reference number, which is how SARS links the certificate to the employer.
How Is an IRP5 Laid Out?
An IRP5 is read in four blocks: income, deductions and contributions, employees' tax and tax credits, and the period and directive details. The SARS Guide for Codes Applicable to Employees Tax Certificates 2027 explains what each source code in these blocks means and the years in which it is valid.
- 3601 to 3623: Block: Normal income; Examples: Salary, bonus, commission
- 3701 to 3724: Block: Allowances; Examples: Travel, reimbursive travel
- 3801 to 3835: Block: Fringe benefits; Examples: Company car, medical aid
- 3901 to 3926: Block: Lump sums; Examples: Severance, savings withdrawal
- 3696, 3699: Block: Gross totals; Examples: Non-taxable, taxable
- 4001 to 4589: Block: Deductions; Examples: Pension, RA, medical aid
- 4101 to 4150: Block: Employees' tax; Examples: PAYE, UIF, SDL, credits
What do the codes in brackets mean?
Most income codes have a twin 50 numbers higher, such as 3601 and 3651. The SARS code guide states that the higher code is used only for foreign services income, meaning remuneration for services rendered outside South Africa. Our guide to foreign employment income explains the exemption that applies to some of it.
What Do the Income Codes on an IRP5 Show?
The income block shows each type of remuneration under its own source code, so salary, bonuses, allowances and benefits stay separate. The SARS code guide describes code 3601 as an amount paid or payable to an employee for services rendered, with salary and wages as the main example.
Which income codes appear most often?
- 3601: income such as salary and wages, subject to PAYE.
- 3602: non-taxable income, such as a war pension paid on a regular basis.
- 3605: an annual payment, with the annual bonus, an incentive bonus and leave pay on resignation as the guide's examples.
- 3606: commission.
- 3607: overtime.
- 3603 and 3610: pension and retirement annuity fund annuities, which is why a fund issues its own IRP5.
What do the allowance codes cover?
Code 3701 is a travel allowance or advance for business travel. Codes 3702 and 3703 are reimbursive travel allowances, separated by whether the rate the employer used exceeds the prescribed rate. Code 3713 collects all other allowances that fit no other description. Our guide to SARS code 3701 explains how the travel codes interact with a logbook claim.
What do the fringe benefit codes cover?
Fringe benefits are non-cash benefits valued under the Seventh Schedule. Code 3802 is the right of use of an employer-owned vehicle, explained in our guide to the company car fringe benefit. Code 3810 is medical aid contributions your employer paid for you, covered in our guide to SARS code 3810. Code 3817 is the taxable benefit for employer pension fund contributions, with 3825 and 3828 doing the same for provident funds and retirement annuities.
What are codes 3696 and 3699?
They are totals. The code guide defines 3696 as gross non-taxable income and 3699 as gross employment income that is taxable, with amounts in 3696 not part of 3699. The 3699 figure is the one to compare with the taxable remuneration on your final payslip.
What Do the Deduction Codes on an IRP5 Show?
The deduction block shows contributions you made, or are deemed to have made, through the payroll. It does not reduce the income above it on the certificate; the deductions are applied on assessment. The BRS defines code 4001 as total pension fund contributions paid and deemed paid by the employee, code 4003 as the provident fund equivalent and code 4006 as the retirement annuity equivalent.
Why does a deduction appear that I never paid?
"Deemed paid" covers contributions your employer paid on your behalf, which are first taxed as a fringe benefit under 3817, 3825 or 3828 and then counted as your own contribution. Our guide to code 4472 shows how the employer pension contribution and the deemed contribution sit together.
Where does medical aid appear in this block?
Code 4005 is medical scheme fees paid and deemed paid by the employee, and 4474 is the employer's medical scheme contribution. Our guide to SARS code 4005 explains how these feed the medical scheme fees tax credit.
What is code 4497?
Code 4497 is the total of the deductions and contributions block. The ITR12 guide states that on eFiling this total is calculated automatically from the amounts you insert.
What Do the PAYE and Tax Credit Codes Show?
This block shows the tax and levies withheld. The ITR12 guide lists the fields as 4102 PAYE, 4115 PAYE on a lump sum benefit, 4141 UIF from employer and employee, 4142 the employer's SDL, 4149 the total of tax, SDL and UIF, 4116 the medical scheme fees tax credit and 4120 the additional medical expenses tax credit.
Is code 4102 the tax I have already paid?
Yes. Code 4102 is the PAYE your employer withheld from your remuneration during the year. On assessment SARS compares your liability on all your income with the PAYE on all your certificates, and the difference is a refund or an amount payable.
Why is code 4149 higher than my PAYE?
The BRS defines 4149 as the total of 4101, 4102 and 4115 (tax), 4141 (UIF) and 4142 (SDL), excluding the 4116 and 4120 credits. UIF and SDL are in the total, so 4149 is higher than the tax you paid. Only the tax codes count as tax withheld on your assessment.
What does a reason code under 4150 mean?
Code 4150 explains why no tax was withheld, and it appears on an IT3(a). The ITR12 guide lists the codes, among them 02 for earnings below the tax threshold, 03 for an independent contractor, 04 for non-taxable earnings including nil directives and 05 for exempt foreign employment income.
How Does the IRP5 Appear on My ITR12?
SARS copies the certificate data into the "Employee Tax Certificate Information [IRP5/IT3(a)]" section of your ITR12, one page per certificate. You check each page against the certificate rather than retyping it.
Can I change prepopulated IRP5 figures on eFiling?
No. The ITR12 guide states that SARS cannot alter or delete prepopulated IRP5/IT3(a) data provided by third parties, and that you must ask the third party to correct it. Once the corrected data is resubmitted and the reconciliation is processed, the updated information reflects on your return.
Can I add a certificate SARS has not prepopulated?
Yes. The guide states that the number of prepopulated certificates cannot be lowered but can be increased, and that an added certificate is blank for you to complete from the certificate you received. The return holds up to fifteen certificates; beyond that, the remaining certificates are combined code by code on the fifteenth page.
How does the IRP5 relate to an auto-assessment?
An auto-assessment is built from the same third party data, so an IRP5 error flows straight into it. The ITR12 guide states that where you disagree with prepopulated data, you inform your employer to correct and resubmit it, then edit and file your return. Our guide to the SARS auto-assessment covers that route.
How Do I Check My IRP5 on eFiling, Step by Step?
These steps follow the employee's tax certificate section of the ITR12 as the SARS guide describes it.
- Collect every certificate. Gather the IRP5 or IT3(a) from each employer and each fund that paid you during the year. Our list of documents needed to file your tax return covers the rest.
- Open the ITR12. Log in to eFiling, open Returns and select the ITR12 for the year of assessment.
- Check the certificate count. On the return wizard, read "How many certificates did you receive" and increase it if a certificate is missing.
- Compare each page. Match the income codes, the 3696 and 3699 totals, the deduction codes and 4102 against each certificate.
- Check the pay periods. Confirm the periods worked and the employment dates on each page.
- Check directive numbers. Where a lump sum code appears, confirm the directive number matches the certificate.
- Complete added certificates. Enter every code and amount on any certificate you added.
- Review the calculation. Use the eFiling calculation before you file, then compare the employees' tax credit on your ITA34 once it arrives. Our ITA34 codes guide shows where to look.
What If My IRP5 Is Wrong or Missing?
The issuer corrects an IRP5, not SARS and not you. Ask the employer or fund to issue a corrected certificate and to resubmit the data to SARS through its reconciliation, then file once your return reflects the correction.
My employer has closed down or will not respond
Complete the certificate details from the IRP5 you received, and keep your payslips and bank statements as evidence of the amounts. Where the employer was not registered for PAYE, the ITR12 guide records that SARS can convert you to a provisional taxpayer on assessment if certificates without a PAYE reference number, plus taxable investment income, exceed the provisional tax threshold. Our guide on who must register for provisional tax explains the threshold.
I have already filed with a wrong IRP5
Once the corrected certificate reaches SARS, a request for correction lets you file an amended return. Our guide to the ITR12 request for correction sets out the steps. If SARS has assessed you on wrong data and you disagree, the route is a notice of objection.
SARS asked me for my IRP5 in a verification
Upload the certificates SARS lists, with supporting payslips where the request asks for them. Our guide to SARS verification documents covers the upload.
How long must I keep my IRP5?
The ITR12 guide states, for taxpayers with more than fifteen certificates, that the certificates must be retained for five years after the date the return is submitted, as SARS can request them for verification. Keeping every IRP5 for that period is the safe practice for any taxpayer.
What Is the Difference Between an IRP5 and Other SARS Forms?
The IRP5 is a certificate an employer issues to you. The ITR12 is the annual return you file, and the IRP6 is the provisional tax return a provisional taxpayer files twice a year. Our guide to IRP6 versus ITR12 sets the two returns side by side.
How is the IRP5 different from an IT3(b)?
An IT3(b) reports interest and dividends from a bank or investment house, not employment income. Our guide to the IT3(b) certificate explains it.
Does a two-pot withdrawal appear on my IRP5?
Yes. A savings withdrawal benefit is a lump sum under code 3926, which the ITR12 guide states requires the tax directive number and the PAYE certificate number from the 2025 year of assessment. Our guide to the two-pot withdrawal on assessment explains why tax can still be owed.
What Are the Common Mistakes With an IRP5?
Most IRP5 problems come from treating the certificate as fixed when it is wrong, or editing the return when the certificate is the thing to fix.
- Missing a fund's certificate. A pension or annuity paid by a fund comes on its own IRP5. Leaving it out understates income.
- Reading 4149 as tax paid. It includes UIF and SDL.
- Expecting SARS to fix the data. SARS cannot alter prepopulated IRP5 data; the employer resubmits it.
- Counting a deemed contribution twice. An employer-paid RA premium already sits in 4006; adding it again from the fund certificate overstates the deduction.
- Ignoring foreign service codes. A 3651 amount is foreign service income and is handled under its own rules.
- Accepting an auto-assessment without checking. An IRP5 error passes straight into it.
- Discarding the certificate. Keep it for five years after submitting the return.
Do You Need Help With Your IRP5?
If your IRP5 does not match your payslips, a certificate is missing from your return, or your assessment left you owing SARS after PAYE was deducted, we check the certificates, complete your ITR12 and deal with SARS for you. See our personal tax return plans, browse more personal tax guides, or contact us to get started.
