Employer Interim Filing Season 2027

It’s that time of year again – the Employer Interim Reconciliation filing season is just around the corner. The submission period will run from 21 September to 31 October 2026, covering the first six months of the tax year (1 March to 31 August 2026).

During this filing season, you’ll need to submit the following:

• EMP501 reconciliation declaration
• IRP5/IT3(a) tax certificates
• EMP201 declarations

Income Tax Numbers Remain Mandatory

Income tax numbers have been strictly enforced on eFiling and e@syFile Employer since the February 2026 filing season, and this continues for the interim season. Missing or invalid income tax numbers may delay processing, or even result in your EMP501 being rejected.

If any of your employees still need a tax number, you can use the ITREG/BundleReg process on eFiling or e@syFile Employer, or they can register or retrieve their own number via the SARS website.

What Else Is New This Season

SARS has flagged a few other changes worth knowing about:

• Updated e@syFile Employer release: A new build is expected in mid-September 2026 – make sure you download and use the latest version once it’s released.
• Updated BRS: The Business Requirements Specification (V25.3.0) has been updated for this submission period.
• Income tax registration support: The updated BRS includes a new source code for ITREG, aimed at helping prevent duplicate income tax registrations for employees.
• Validation and source code updates: A few minor amendments have been made to source code validations and descriptions.

We’re tracking these changes closely and will update our system where needed, so there’s nothing extra you need to do on your end.

Submitting an accurate interim reconciliation ensures that the PAYE, UIF, and SDL you’ve declared match your employees’ tax certificates. It also helps highlight any problems early, before the annual reconciliation season next year.

We recommend not leaving submissions to the last minute as the system can get busy close to the deadline.

Where to Get Help

• Use our new Smart Search (currently in beta) for quick answers to your filing questions – it pulls together the most relevant help site content into a single AI-generated response. Just log in to SimplePay, click the Question mark icon () > Support > Smart Search.

• Alternatively, for a step-by-step walkthrough of the reconciliation process on SimplePay, see our Guide to Bi-Annual Employer Reconciliation help page.

If you’re unsure about anything or need help getting your payroll ready, just let us know at support@simplepay.cloud. We’re ready to help make this filing season go smoothly for you.

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Take care,

Team SimplePay