Dear fellow taxpayer,

I don’t know what to do. I dug out all my winter garments in preparation for the cold weather, and then last Thursday The Star warns us of an impending Indian summer!

Who knows how long it will last but my cupboards are fit to bursting with woolly jumpers. I don’t always feel like rummaging around for light shirts so I throw on the offensive knitted clothing and proceed to boil in the office.

There’s another reason you should be paying attention to the fact that April’s just around the corner, and it’s not solely because I’ve become obsessed with the weather!

1 April begins the 60-day PAYE reconciliation period

Wednesday 1 April marks the start of the PAYE reconciliation period. As I mentioned in the 16 February Tax Brief, if you fail to submit your employee’s IRP5s within this time frame, you’ll have to pay a 10% penalty of the entire employee’s tax your company pays! So, it’s best to start gearing up...

4 tax steps to take

1. If you use payroll systems such as Softline VIP® or Pastel®, make sure you’ve captured all the relevant information.
2. Ensure that all the data you require to reconcile the monthly EMP201 with the employees’ tax certificates and payments is complete and ready.
3. Separate any liabilities, payments and/or certificates which aren’t related to your 2008/2009 tax year.
4. Make sure the employee information on certificates is up to date, including your employees’ tax reference and ID numbers. 

SARS will help you...

From Wednesday 1 April, you’ll be able to download the 2009 version of the e@syFile PAYE from www.sarsefiling.co.za or collect a CD from your nearest SARS branch. SARS will also be conducting free workshops to guide you through the process (more information on these will be available on the SARS website from April).

I’ll chat to you next Monday,

Jackie