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.
Every year thousands of South Africans open their notice of assessment, see a list of four-digit numbers, and search for what they mean. The three that come up most often for salaried people are 3817, 4001 and 4003. They all relate to retirement fund contributions, and together they decide how much of what you and your employer paid into a pension or provident fund SARS deducts from your taxable income. This guide explains each code in plain language, using the wording of the SARS Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 Income Tax Return for Individuals (IT-AE-36-G05, revision 40, effective 29 June 2026), and shows you how to check them before you accept an assessment. For the wider picture of how retirement deductions work, read our guide to tax deductions for pension, retirement and provident funds.
What is the ITA34 and why does it show source codes?
The ITA34 is the SARS notice of assessment: the document that tells you what SARS assessed after it processed your ITR12 income tax return. The ITR12 guide explains that when SARS auto-assesses you, it provides an auto-completed ITR12 and a Notice of Assessment (ITA34) marked as an original estimate assessment, built from data received from employers, financial institutions, medical schemes and retirement annuity fund administrators.
Where do the source codes come from?
The codes start on your IRP5/IT3(a) employee tax certificate. Your employer reports each type of income, deduction and fringe benefit under its own four-digit source code, and SARS prepopulates those amounts into your ITR12. The ITA34 is the result of SARS reading those codes together with anything you add or change on the return.
Is the ITA34 the same as the ITR12?
No. The ITR12 is the return you or SARS completes. The ITA34 is the assessment SARS issues on that return. If you want the difference between the annual return and the provisional return explained too, see our guide to IRP6 vs ITR12.
What does SARS code 4001 mean?
Source code 4001 is your total current pension fund contributions for the year of assessment. The ITR12 guide defines it as "Total current pension fund contributions (includes current plus arrear contributions)". It is the figure SARS uses as your pension fund contribution when it calculates your retirement fund deduction.
Does 4001 include what my employer paid?
Yes, from 1 March 2016. The ITR12 guide explains that from that date the employer's contribution is a taxable fringe benefit in the employee's hands, and that fringe benefit then becomes a deemed contribution by the employee. So the 4001 total combines the amount deducted from your salary with the employer contribution reported as a fringe benefit under code 3817.
Why is my 4001 amount different from my payslip deductions?
Because your payslip usually shows only the amount taken from your salary, while 4001 carries your own contribution plus the deemed contribution from your employer. If the total still does not match what your employer and fund report, ask your payroll department for the breakdown behind the IRP5.
What does SARS code 4003 mean?
Source code 4003 is your total current provident fund contributions. The ITR12 guide notes that this code is only available from 1 March 2016, the date provident fund contributions became deductible for the employee. Before that date, provident fund contributions were not deductible in the employee's hands, which is why older certificates do not show 4003.
Is a provident fund deduction treated differently from a pension fund deduction?
Not for the deduction itself. From 1 March 2016 pension, provident and retirement annuity contributions share one deduction under section 11F of the Income Tax Act, with one combined limit. The difference between the funds lies in the benefits you receive at retirement, which our two-pot retirement system guide covers.
What does SARS code 3817 mean on the IRP5?
Source code 3817 is the fringe benefit for your employer's contribution to a pension fund on your behalf. The ITR12 guide lists the three fringe benefit codes side by side: 3817 for a pension fund, 3825 for a provident fund and 3828 for a retirement annuity fund. The amount is added to your taxable income as a fringe benefit and, in the same step, counts as a contribution you made for the deduction.
Does code 3817 mean I pay more tax?
Code 3817 adds the employer contribution to your income, and the same amount flows into your 4001 contribution total. Within the section 11F limit, the deduction offsets the fringe benefit. The net effect depends on how your total contributions compare with the limit, which the next section explains.
Where do I find 3817 on my IRP5?
It appears in the income section of the IRP5/IT3(a), among the fringe benefit codes, while 4001 and 4003 appear in the deductions section. Your eFiling return shows the same amounts in the IRP5/IT3(a) section once SARS has prepopulated it.
How do the retirement source codes compare?
The table below sets out the retirement and related codes you are most likely to meet, as the ITR12 guide describes them.
- 3817: What it carries: Employer pension fund contribution (fringe benefit); Where you see it: IRP5 income section
- 3825: What it carries: Employer provident fund contribution (fringe benefit); Where you see it: IRP5 income section
- 3828: What it carries: Employer retirement annuity contribution (fringe benefit); Where you see it: IRP5 income section
- 4001: What it carries: Total current pension fund contributions; Where you see it: IRP5 deductions, ITR12
- 4003: What it carries: Total current provident fund contributions; Where you see it: IRP5 deductions, ITR12
- 4006: What it carries: Total current retirement annuity contributions; Where you see it: IRP5 or RA certificate, ITR12
- 4007: What it carries: Arrear retirement annuity contributions; Where you see it: ITR12 RA section
- 4005: What it carries: Medical scheme contributions paid via employer; Where you see it: IRP5 deductions
Is code 4006 the same as an RA certificate?
Code 4006 is the code under which retirement annuity contributions are reported. If you pay your retirement annuity through your employer, the amount shows next to 4006 on your IRP5. If you pay it yourself, the fund issues a certificate, and the ITR12 guide states that this amount must be inserted next to source code 4006 in the Retirement Annuity Fund Contributions section for the deduction to be taken into account. Our guide to how a retirement annuity reduces your tax explains the benefit in more detail.
How do codes 4001 and 4003 link to your deduction limit?
SARS adds your 4001, 4003 and 4006 amounts together and applies the section 11F limit. The ITR12 guide states that SARS calculates the allowable deduction programmatically, so you do not enter a deduction figure yourself. The deduction is the lesser of a rand cap, 27.5% of the greater of your remuneration or your taxable income, and your taxable income before the deduction excluding taxable capital gains.
What is the rand cap for 2026 and 2027?
The ITR12 guide sets the cap at R350 000 for years of assessment up to 2026 and R430 000 from the 2027 year of assessment. The SARS Budget 2026 frequently asked questions confirm the increase to R430 000 for 2026/27 and describe it as the first adjustment since 2016.
What happens to contributions above the limit?
They are not lost. The ITR12 guide states that excess contributions are carried forward to the following year of assessment and taken into account when SARS calculates the allowable deduction for that year. The guide's own example shows a taxpayer with R50 000 of contributions and an allowable deduction of R36 000, with the balance of R14 000 carried forward.
Can a capital gain increase my deduction?
Partly. The 27.5% test uses the greater of remuneration or taxable income including taxable capital gains, but the third leg of the test caps the deduction at taxable income excluding taxable capital gains. In the SARS example, the third leg was the lowest figure and set the deduction.
How do you check codes 4001, 4003 and 3817 on eFiling?
Check the codes before you accept an auto-assessment or file your return. The steps below follow the eFiling screens the ITR12 guide describes.
- Open your return. Log in to eFiling or the SARS MobiApp, go to Returns, and open the ITR12 for the year. If SARS auto-assessed you, the ITR12 and the ITA34 are both available.
- Read the IRP5/IT3(a) section. Find code 3817 (and 3825 or 3828 if relevant) among the income codes, and 4001, 4003 and 4006 among the deductions.
- Compare with your documents. Match each amount to your IRP5 and your fund statements. Our list of documents needed to file your tax return sets out what to gather.
- Add what SARS does not have. Enter a privately paid retirement annuity next to source code 4006 in the Retirement Annuity Fund Contributions section, and arrear contributions next to 4007. Leave out amounts already on your IRP5.
- Correct the source, not the return. The ITR12 guide states that if prepopulated IRP5/IT3(a) information is incorrect, you must contact the employer or fund administrator to correct and resend the data to SARS. Once it is corrected, edit and file your return.
- Read the ITA34. After filing, check that the assessment reflects the contributions you declared and keep it with your records.
What is the deadline to edit an auto-assessment?
The ITR12 guide states that if you disagree with an auto-assessment you must edit the ITR12 and file it by the filing season due date. SARS lists the 2026 filing season dates as 23 October 2026 for non-provisional individual taxpayers and 22 January 2027 for provisional taxpayers. Our guide to disputing a SARS auto-assessment covers the full process.
What if SARS declines to reassess?
The ITR12 guide states that if SARS declines to reassess your edited return, you receive a rejection letter, and you may lodge an objection within 80 business days of that letter under section 95(8) of the Tax Administration Act.
What are the common mistakes with codes 4001, 4003 and 3817?
Most problems with these codes come from double counting or from fixing data in the wrong place.
Entering IRP5 contributions a second time
Contributions already on your IRP5 under 4001, 4003 or 4006 are already counted. Entering them again in the additional contributions sections overstates your deduction and is likely to trigger a verification. The ITR12 guide tells you to exclude amounts already reflected on the IRP5/IT3(a). If SARS does ask for proof, our guide to SARS verification supporting documents explains what to send.
Reading 3817 as extra salary
Code 3817 is a fringe benefit, not cash paid to you. It appears in income because the law treats the employer contribution as yours, and the same amount is then deducted as your deemed contribution within the limit.
Leaving out a private retirement annuity
If you pay a retirement annuity directly, SARS receives the fund's data, but the ITR12 guide still requires the amount next to 4006 in the Retirement Annuity Fund Contributions section. Check that it appears before you file.
Ignoring a carried-forward balance
Contributions above the limit in an earlier year roll into later years. If your contributions were high in a previous year, look for the carried-forward amount on your earlier ITA34 so that you know it is being applied.
Claiming for a spouse's contributions
The ITR12 guide states that you cannot claim retirement contributions made on behalf of a third party, such as a spouse or child.
How does code 4005 fit next to the retirement codes?
Code 4005 is not a retirement code, but it sits in the same deductions block on the IRP5. The ITR12 guide states that medical scheme contributions paid through your employer reflect next to source code 4005. SARS uses that figure to calculate your medical scheme fees tax credit rather than a deduction, which our guide to medical tax deductions explains.
Do I need to keep proof of these codes?
Yes. Keep your IRP5, fund certificates and statements. The ITR12 guide states that you must retain proof of your retirement annuity contributions for five years after the date you submit the return.
Do You Need Help With Your ITA34?
If the source codes on your ITA34 do not match your payslips or fund statements, or your retirement deduction looks lower than you expected, a registered tax practitioner can trace the difference, have the source data corrected and file the return for you. See what we charge on our personal tax pricing page, read how to appoint a tax practitioner for your ITR12, or contact us to get started.
