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.
Code 4472 sits in the deductions and contributions block of an IRP5, next to codes such as 4001 and 4005, and it usually carries one of the larger numbers on the certificate. Because it appears among the deduction codes, many employees assume it is a deduction they have not yet claimed, or that SARS has missed it. Neither is right. This guide explains what code 4472 reports, how it links to codes 3817, 4001 and 4585, how it affects your retirement fund deduction on the ITR12, how to check it on eFiling, and what to do when it is wrong. For the provident fund version of the same mechanism, read our guide to SARS code 3825.
What Is SARS Code 4472?
Code 4472 is the employer's pension fund contributions paid for the benefit of the employee during the year of assessment. The SARS Business Requirements Specification for the PAYE Employer Reconciliation (version 25.3.0, June 2026) defines it in section 6.6 as "Employer's pension fund contributions paid for the benefit of employee, excluding the value of code 4585". The SARS Find a Source Code page lists it as "Employers pension fund contributions - current".
Who puts code 4472 on my IRP5?
Your employer does. The employer reports it on each employee's IRP5 or IT3(a) as part of the annual and interim PAYE reconciliation. You do not capture it yourself; SARS receives it from your employer and prefills it on your ITR12.
Is code 4472 my own contribution?
No. Code 4472 is only the employer's share. What you contribute through payroll is part of code 4001, which SARS defines as the total pension fund contributions paid and deemed paid by you.
Which years does code 4472 apply to?
SARS states that code 4472 is valid for the 2006 to 2009 years of assessment and again from the 2017 year of assessment, and is not applicable for the 2010 to 2016 years. The SARS Guide for Codes Applicable to Employees Tax Certificates 2027 (PAYE-AE-06-G06, revision 14) carries the same rule in its list of deduction codes.
Why Does My Employer's Pension Contribution Appear on My IRP5?
It appears because the employer's contribution is a taxable fringe benefit in your hands. Section 10.3.1 of the SARS Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 (IT-AE-36-G05, revision 40) states that from 1 March 2016 the employer's contribution is a taxable fringe benefit in the hands of the employee, and that this fringe benefit in return becomes a deemed contribution in the hands of the employee.
Which law makes the contribution a fringe benefit?
The Seventh Schedule to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 sets out taxable benefits. Paragraph 2(l) brings an employer's contribution to a retirement fund for the employee's benefit into the employee's income, and paragraph 12D sets how that benefit is valued. Section 11F of the same Act then allows the deemed contribution as a deduction.
Why did code 4472 return in 2017?
The 2017 year of assessment is the first full year after the 1 March 2016 retirement reform. From that year SARS needed employers to report the contribution itself (4472), its taxable value (3817) and the employee's total paid and deemed paid contributions (4001) together, so the three can be tested against each other.
How Does Code 4472 Link to Codes 3817 and 4001?
The three codes describe one contribution from three angles: what the employer paid, what is taxed, and what is deducted. The PAYE BRS makes the link a validation rule: if code 4472 is completed, then code 3817 and/or 3867 and code 4001 must be completed. A certificate that carries 4472 on its own fails SARS validation.
- 4472: What it reports: Employer's pension contribution; Effect on your tax: Reporting only
- 3817: What it reports: Taxable value of that contribution; Effect on your tax: Added to income
- 3867: What it reports: Same benefit, foreign service; Effect on your tax: Added to income
- 4001: What it reports: Your paid and deemed paid contributions; Effect on your tax: Deduction under s11F
- 4585: What it reports: Employer contribution, retired member; Effect on your tax: No value benefit
What does code 3817 add to my income?
The BRS defines code 3817 as the value of the taxable benefit in respect of the employer's pension fund contributions paid for the benefit of the employee. Code 3867 is used only for the same benefit on contributions to a local fund while you are on foreign service. Our guide to codes 4001, 4003 and 3817 on your ITA34 shows where the benefit sits on the assessment.
What does "deemed paid" mean in code 4001?
The BRS states that "deemed paid" by the employee is the value of the taxable benefit under code 3817 included in the employee's income. So code 4001 carries your own payroll contributions plus the 3817 value, and that total is what SARS uses for the retirement deduction.
Is the 3817 amount always equal to the 4472 amount?
Not always. Code 4472 reports what the employer contributed, while code 3817 reports the taxable value of the benefit, which paragraph 12D of the Seventh Schedule determines. The BRS rule requires both codes to be present together; it does not require the two amounts to match.
What Is Code 4585 and Why Is It Excluded From 4472?
Code 4585 is the employer's pension fund contribution for a member who has retired from the fund, or for the dependants or nominees of a deceased member. The BRS states that it covers contributions that qualify for the "no value" provisions in paragraph 12D(6) of the Seventh Schedule, so it is reported separately and excluded from code 4472.
What happens on a certificate with only code 4585?
The BRS rule reads: if code 4585 is greater than zero and code 4472 is equal to zero, then codes 3817/3867 and 4001 must be zero. A contribution that carries no taxable value creates no deemed contribution either.
What is the provident fund equivalent?
Code 4473 is the employer's provident fund contribution, linked to the benefit code 3825 and the deduction code 4003, with code 4586 for retired members. Code 4475 is the employer's retirement annuity contribution, linked to codes 3828 and 4006. The provident fund side is covered in our code 3825 guide.
Does Code 4472 Change the Tax I Pay?
Code 4472 does not change your tax by itself. The tax effect runs through code 3817, which adds the benefit to your income, and code 4001, which includes the same value as a deemed contribution. Section 10.3.1 of the ITR12 guide lists 4001, 4003 and 4006 as the codes SARS uses for the retirement contribution deduction; 4472 is not among them.
How large is the retirement fund deduction?
The ITR12 guide states that the allowable deduction is the lesser of R350 000 for years of assessment up to 2026 and R430 000 from the 2027 year of assessment; 27.5% of the greater of remuneration or taxable income (both excluding retirement lump sums, withdrawal lump sums and severance benefits, and before the section 11F and section 18A deductions); and taxable income excluding taxable capital gains, on the same basis.
When is the employer contribution fully deductible?
When your total of codes 4001, 4003 and 4006 stays inside that limit, the 3817 value added to income is deducted in full and the net effect on taxable income is nil. When the total exceeds the limit, the excess is not deducted in that year, and the 3817 benefit stays in income for that part.
What happens to contributions above the limit?
The ITR12 guide states that SARS calculates the allowable deduction programmatically and that any excess contributions are carried forward to the following year of assessment. Our guide to the 27.5% retirement cap works through the limit with examples.
Where Does Code 4472 Show on eFiling and the ITR12?
It shows in the IRP5/IT3(a) details that SARS prefills on your ITR12, and on the IRP5 itself, which you can view on eFiling. Section 4.1.5 of the ITR12 guide describes this section as the one for remuneration and typical expenditure such as pension fund contributions.
Can I edit code 4472 on my return?
No. The ITR12 guide states that if any of the information prepopulated on the IRP5/IT3(a) section of the return is incorrect, you must contact the employer or fund administrator to rectify it and resend the correct data to SARS.
Does code 4472 appear on my ITA34?
The ITA34 shows the result of the codes, not 4472 itself: the 3817 benefit inside your income and the retirement contribution deduction calculated from 4001, 4003 and 4006. If the deduction looks wrong, compare it with the IRP5 codes first.
How Do I Check Code 4472 Step by Step?
Work from the certificate SARS holds, then from the return. These steps follow the SARS guide to viewing tax certificates on eFiling (GEN-ENR-01-G09) and the ITR12 guide.
- Log in to eFiling. Open your individual profile with your username and password.
- Open Third Party Data Certificate Search. Choose this option on the left menu; the Request Third Party Certificates screen opens.
- Select the IRP5 and the tax year. Pick the certificate type and tax year from the drop-down lists and click Submit Query.
- Find codes 4472, 3817 and 4001. Confirm all three are present on a certificate that shows 4472, and compare 4472 with your payslips or the fund's annual benefit statement.
- Open the ITR12. Check that the IRP5/IT3(a) section carries the same certificate and amounts SARS prefilled.
- Check other contributions. Add any retirement annuity paid outside payroll under code 4006 from the fund's certificate, as the ITR12 guide requires, so the limit is tested on the full total.
- File or correct. File if everything agrees; if a code is wrong, ask your employer to correct it before you file.
What if I already received an auto-assessment?
Section 3.5.2 of the ITR12 guide states that where you disagree with the prepopulated data you must inform your employer to correct and resubmit it, and once corrected you edit and file the return. Our guide to disputing a SARS auto-assessment covers the eFiling screens.
What If Code 4472 Is Wrong on My IRP5?
Ask your employer's payroll department to issue a corrected IRP5 and resubmit it to SARS. The eFiling certificates guide states that taxpayers take certificate queries to the third-party data provider, and that the provider directs corrections of submitted data to the SARS Third Party Data Unit before resubmitting.
What if my employer will not correct it?
Keep your payslips, the fund's benefit statement and your correspondence with the employer. If SARS assesses you on wrong data, you dispute the assessment with those documents; our guide to the Notice of Objection (NOO) sets out the process.
What if 4472 is missing but my employer contributes?
A contribution the employer pays for you belongs on the IRP5 under 4472, with its 3817 value and the deemed amount inside 4001. If all three are missing, your income and your deduction are both understated, and the employer corrects the certificate.
What Are the Common Mistakes With Code 4472?
Most mistakes come from reading 4472 as a deduction in its own right.
- Claiming 4472 a second time. The deemed contribution is already inside code 4001. Adding 4472 again, for example as a retirement annuity contribution, claims the same rand twice.
- Treating 3817 as unexplained income. The 3817 benefit is the taxable side of 4472 and is matched by the deemed contribution in 4001.
- Ignoring the limit. High earners with large employer contributions and private retirement annuities can exceed the section 11F limit; the excess carries forward rather than reducing the current year.
- Editing prefilled figures. IRP5 data is corrected by the employer, not by changing the return.
- Confusing 4472 with 4473. 4472 is a pension fund; 4473 is a provident fund. They link to different benefit and deduction codes.
- Missing a second certificate. A change of employer during the year means two IRP5s, each with its own 4472, 3817 and 4001.
Does code 4472 affect medical aid codes?
No. Employer medical scheme contributions are reported under code 4474, with the fringe benefit under code 3810; see our code 3810 guide.
Do You Need Help With SARS Code 4472?
If your IRP5 codes do not agree, your retirement deduction looks too low, or you hold contributions across several funds and a retirement annuity, we prepare and file your ITR12 and deal with SARS for you. See our personal tax pricing, read more in our personal tax guides, or learn how to appoint a tax practitioner for your ITR12. When you are ready, contact us to book a call.
