Every year, millions of South African employees receive an IRP5 certificate from their employer. It is the single most important document you need when filing your annual tax return with SARS — yet many people have no idea how to read it. This guide breaks down every section of the IRP5, explains the source codes, and shows you how to spot errors before you file.
What Is an IRP5 Certificate?
An IRP5 is your Employee Tax Certificate. It is issued by your employer and summarises all of the income you earned, deductions that were made, and contributions paid on your behalf for a specific tax year (1 March to 28/29 February).
Think of it as the official receipt from your employer to SARS — and to you — confirming exactly how much you were paid and how much tax was withheld.
IRP5 vs IT3(a) — What Is the Difference?
The IRP5 is issued to individuals who are employed under a standard employment contract. The IT3(a) certificate covers non-employment income, such as:
- Directors' fees (where no employment contract exists)
- Annuities and pension payments
- Commission earned by independent agents
Both certificates follow the same format and use the same source codes — the key difference is the nature of the relationship between the payer and the recipient.
When Do You Receive Your IRP5?
Employers are required to issue IRP5 certificates after completing their annual EMP501 reconciliation with SARS. This typically happens between August and October each year. Your employer must provide you with a copy once the reconciliation has been submitted.
You will also receive an IRP5 if your employment ends during the tax year — for example, if you resign, are retrenched, or your contract expires. In this case, the employer must issue the certificate as part of the exit process.
Tip: You can also access your IRP5 data directly on SARS eFiling. When you start your tax return, SARS pre-populates the data from your employer's submission. Always compare this with the physical certificate your employer gave you.
Key Sections of an IRP5
An IRP5 certificate is divided into several sections. Understanding each one helps you verify that your tax affairs are in order.
Employee Details
This section contains your personal information, including your full name, South African ID number (or passport number for foreign nationals), and your SARS tax reference number. Make sure your tax reference number is correct — an incorrect number means SARS cannot match the certificate to your tax profile.
Employer Details
Your employer's registered company name, trading name, and PAYE reference number appear here. The PAYE reference number is the unique identifier SARS uses to link your employer's payroll submissions to its records.
Employment Period
This shows the start and end dates of your employment during the tax year. If you worked for the full year, these will typically be 1 March and the last day of February. If you joined or left partway through the year, the dates will reflect your actual period of employment.
Income Codes (Source Codes Starting With 3)
All income you received is listed using SARS source codes in the 3000 range. Each type of income has its own code. The most common ones include:
- 3601 — Salary (your base pay)
- 3605 — Commission
- 3701 — Lump sum or severance benefit
- 3810 — Overtime payments
Deduction Codes (Source Codes Starting With 4)
Deductions from your salary are listed with codes in the 4000 range. These include amounts withheld for tax, retirement funds, and medical aid:
- 4001 — Pension fund contributions (employee portion)
- 4003 — Provident fund contributions
- 4005 — Medical aid contributions (employee portion)
- 4102 — PAYE tax deducted
- 4141 — UIF contributions (employee portion)
Employer Contribution Codes
Some contributions are made by your employer on your behalf and are not deducted from your salary. These still appear on the IRP5 because they affect your tax position:
- 4472 — Employer medical aid contributions
Employer contributions to retirement funds and medical aid can affect your taxable income and the tax credits you are entitled to claim.
Most Important Source Codes to Check
Here is a reference table of the source codes you are most likely to encounter on your IRP5. Take the time to verify each one against your payslips.
| Source Code | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 3601 | Salary | Income |
| 3605 | Commission | Income |
| 3701 | Lump sum / severance benefit | Income |
| 3810 | Overtime payments | Income |
| 4001 | Pension fund contributions (employee) | Deduction |
| 4003 | Provident fund contributions | Deduction |
| 4005 | Medical aid contributions (employee) | Deduction |
| 4102 | PAYE tax deducted | Deduction |
| 4141 | UIF contributions (employee) | Deduction |
Tip: Use our PAYE calculator to verify that the total PAYE on your IRP5 matches what you would expect based on your annual taxable income. If the numbers are significantly different, there may be an error on your certificate.
How to Verify Your IRP5 Is Correct
Do not simply accept your IRP5 at face value. Take the following steps to confirm everything is accurate before filing your tax return.
Cross-Check Against Your Payslips
Add up your gross salary from all 12 monthly payslips. The total should match the amount next to source code 3601 on your IRP5. Do the same for overtime (3810), commission (3605), and any other income types you received.
Verify Total Gross Income
Your IRP5 will show a total gross income figure. This should equal the sum of all income source codes listed. If the total does not match, one or more codes may be incorrect or missing.
Check Your PAYE Deductions
Add up the PAYE deducted from each monthly payslip and compare it to source code 4102 on the IRP5. Small rounding differences (a few rand) are normal, but large discrepancies indicate a problem. You can use our take-home pay calculator to estimate what your annual PAYE should be.
Confirm UIF Was Deducted Correctly
UIF (source code 4141) should equal 1% of your gross remuneration for each month, up to the monthly income ceiling. Add up 12 months of UIF from your payslips and compare. If UIF was not deducted at all, your employer may not be registered for UIF — which is a compliance issue.
Review Pension and Medical Aid Contributions
Confirm that pension fund (4001) and medical aid (4005) amounts match your payslips. These figures directly affect your tax calculation — incorrect pension contributions will result in too much or too little tax, and incorrect medical aid figures affect your medical tax credits.
Common IRP5 Errors
Payroll systems are not infallible. Here are the errors that appear most frequently on IRP5 certificates:
- Wrong tax reference number — If your SARS tax reference is incorrect, the IRP5 data will not appear on your eFiling profile. This is one of the most common and most disruptive errors.
- Missing income codes — Overtime, bonuses, or commission may be omitted or incorrectly combined into the base salary code (3601), which can affect your tax bracket calculations.
- Incorrect PAYE totals — The total PAYE deducted on the IRP5 does not match the sum of monthly PAYE from your payslips. This often happens when mid-year salary changes are not processed correctly.
- Employer not submitting to SARS — In some cases, your employer may give you a physical IRP5 but fail to submit the EMP501 reconciliation to SARS. When this happens, the data does not appear on eFiling, and SARS will not recognise your PAYE payments.
- Incorrect employment dates — If you started or ended employment mid-year, the dates may be wrong, affecting how SARS calculates your annual tax liability.
What to Do If Your IRP5 Has Errors
If you spot any discrepancy on your IRP5, take these steps:
- Contact your employer's payroll department immediately. Provide specific details of the error — which source code is wrong and what the correct amount should be (backed up by your payslips).
- Request a corrected IRP5. Your employer must issue a corrected certificate by submitting an amended EMP501 reconciliation to SARS. This updates the information on your eFiling profile.
- Keep records. Retain copies of all your payslips, the original IRP5, and any correspondence with your employer. If SARS queries your return, you will need this documentation.
- Do not file with incorrect data. Filing your tax return with an IRP5 that does not match SARS records will trigger discrepancies and may delay your refund or result in penalties.
Important: Only your employer can correct an IRP5. You cannot amend it yourself on eFiling. If your employer is unresponsive, you can raise a dispute directly with SARS — but this should be a last resort.
Why Accurate Payslips Matter
The data on your IRP5 comes directly from your employer's payroll system. If your monthly payslips are inaccurate, your IRP5 will be too. As an employer, generating correct payslips every month is the best way to ensure a clean EMP501 reconciliation and error-free IRP5 certificates for your employees.
With SmartSheets's free payslip generator, PAYE, UIF, and pension deductions are calculated automatically using the latest SARS tax tables. Every payslip you generate feeds into accurate year-end records — so when it's time to issue IRP5s, the numbers are already correct.