EMP201 — PAYE, UIF, SDL
7th of the following month
The monthly employer declaration and payment to SARS. If the 7th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the last business day before it — not after it.
Guide · South African tax & compliance
The South African tax deadline calendar.
Every recurring SARS, CIPC and COIDA deadline an owner-managed South African business has to meet — what is due, when it is due, and what it costs to miss it. Maintained by Accounting Connect (Pty) Ltd, in practice since 2018.
Its companion reference page, rates and tax tables, carries the prime lending rate, exchange rates and the full SARS tax tables for 2025, 2026 and 2027.
01 · Every month
Monthly obligations.
VAT201 — value-added tax
Last business day of the month following the tax period
Category A and B vendors file every second month; Category C files monthly. eFiling submissions and payment are due by the last business day; manual submissions are due by the 25th.
Dividends tax — DTR01 / DTR02
End of the month following the month the dividend was paid
Applies whenever a company declares a dividend, including deemed dividends on loans to shareholders.
UIF declarations (uFiling)
7th of the following month
Separate from the EMP201 payment. Employee changes, new engagements and terminations must be declared each month.
02 · Provisional tax
Provisional tax IRP6.
First period (IRP6 – 1st)
31 August (for a February year-end)
Due six months into the year of assessment. Based on an estimate of taxable income for the full year; under-estimation attracts penalties and interest.
Second period (IRP6 – 2nd)
Last business day of February
The critical one. Estimates within the 80% / 90% accuracy rules avoid the under-estimation penalty, so the number needs current management accounts behind it.
Third / voluntary top-up payment
30 September (companies and individuals with a February year-end)
Not compulsory, but paying a shortfall here stops SARS interest running on the balance from the effective date.
03 · Annual
Annual returns and reconciliations.
EMP501 — annual employer reconciliation
April to May (for the March tax year)
Reconciles EMP201s, actual payments and IRP5/IT3(a) certificates for the full tax year. Certificates only become available to employees once this is accepted.
EMP501 — interim reconciliation
September to October
Covers the six months from March to August. Getting this right materially reduces the work in the annual recon.
ITR14 — company income tax return
Within 12 months of financial year-end
Filed off signed annual financial statements. A late ITR14 carries administrative penalties per month outstanding.
ITR12 — individual filing season
Roughly July to October (non-provisional); January (provisional taxpayers)
SARS confirms exact opening and closing dates each year, and auto-assesses a growing share of taxpayers before the season opens.
CIPC annual return
Within 30 business days of the anniversary of incorporation
Plus the annual financial statements or a Financial Accountability Supplement. Repeated non-filing leads to deregistration of the company.
COIDA — return of earnings (W.As.8)
Annually, following the 1 March to 28/29 February earnings period
Required to keep a valid Letter of Good Standing — which most corporate and government clients ask for before they contract with you.
Beneficial ownership register (CIPC)
Filed together with the annual return
Mandatory for all companies. The register must be kept current whenever ownership changes, not only at annual return date.
04 · Questions
Deadlines, answered.
What happens if I miss a SARS deadline?
It depends on the return. Late VAT201 and EMP201 submissions attract a 10% late-payment penalty plus interest on the outstanding amount. Late income tax returns attract fixed administrative penalties that recur every month the return stays outstanding. Under-estimated provisional tax attracts a separate under-estimation penalty. In every case the amount grows the longer it is left, so filing late is materially cheaper than not filing at all.
What if a deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday?
For SARS payments the deadline moves earlier, not later — the last business day before the due date. This catches employers out with EMP201 payments most often, because a 7th falling on a Sunday means the money must clear by the Friday.
Do these dates change every year?
The recurring ones do not: EMP201 on the 7th, VAT201 on the last business day, provisional tax at the six-month and year-end points. What does change each year is the individual filing season window and the specific EMP501 submission periods, which SARS confirms by public notice. We keep this page updated when those are announced.
Does a dormant company still have to file?
Yes. A dormant company still files a nil ITR14, still lodges its CIPC annual return, and still keeps its beneficial ownership register current. Dormancy is not an exemption, and deregistration for non-filing is far more expensive to reverse than compliance would have been.
Can you take over the filing calendar for our business?
That is exactly what a monthly compliance engagement does. We hold the deadline calendar, prepare and submit the returns off a reconciled set of books, and tell you what is payable before the due date rather than after it. Start with a short fit call and we will map your specific dates from your year-end and VAT category.
This calendar is general information for South African businesses, not advice on your specific circumstances. SARS confirms filing season and reconciliation windows by public notice each year; your own dates depend on your financial year-end, VAT category and registration status.
Let us hold the calendar.
Reconciled books, returns filed on time, and the number before the due date.