An IRP5 is the employee tax certificate your employer issues after each tax year. It records what you earned and how much PAYE was deducted, and it is what SARS uses to populate your annual income tax return. You check it rather than submit it.
What is IRP5?
An IRP5 is a tax certificate issued by your employer. It summarises, for one tax year, what the employer paid you and what they deducted and paid over to SARS on your behalf.
A typical certificate shows:
- Your details and your employer’s, including their PAYE reference number.
- The period it covers.
- Income by source code — salary, bonus, travel allowance, overtime and so on, each with its own numeric code.
- Deductions — PAYE, UIF, SDL, pension or provident fund and medical scheme contributions.
- A certificate number, which identifies it uniquely.
The South African tax year runs from 1 March to the end of February, so an IRP5 covers that period rather than a calendar year.
An IRP5 is a record, not a payment or a claim. It reports what already happened during the year. Whether you end up owing SARS or receiving a refund depends on how the PAYE deducted compares with the tax actually due once your full circumstances are assessed.
If you had more than one employer in a tax year, you receive an IRP5 from each. An IT3(a) is the related certificate used where income was paid but no employees’ tax was deducted.
What is IRP5 used for in South Africa?
- Filing your annual income tax return (ITR12). This is its main purpose.
- Proving your income — commonly requested for home loan, vehicle finance and rental applications.
- Checking that PAYE was correctly deducted and declared to SARS on your behalf.
- Supporting a claim for deductions such as retirement fund contributions.
- Confirming employment and earnings for visa applications, bursaries and some financial products.
- Reconciling your tax position if you changed jobs, or worked more than one job, during the year.
You do not normally submit your IRP5 to SARS. Your employer submits the data directly as part of their annual reconciliation. SARS then uses it to pre-populate your return on eFiling or the MobiApp, so the figures appear already filled in.
Your job is to check that what appears is correct against the certificate your employer gave you. If a figure is missing or wrong, the fix is with your employer — they must correct and resubmit their reconciliation, because you cannot overwrite employer-supplied data yourself.
When you may be asked for IRP5
- When filing your tax return, to verify the pre-populated figures.
- By a bank or credit provider, as proof of income.
- By a landlord or rental agent.
- When applying for a visa that requires proof of employment and earnings.
- By a new employer, in some circumstances, or when a tax directive is involved.
- By SARS, if your return is selected for verification or audit.
- When claiming from a retirement fund, or on withdrawal or retirement.
Keep your IRP5s. SARS generally requires supporting records to be kept for five years from the date a return is submitted, and an IRP5 is one of the documents worth holding onto.
Where IRP5 fits in the process
The sequence, in the order it happens:
- During the tax year, your employer deducts PAYE from each salary payment and pays it to SARS monthly.
- After the tax year ends at the end of February, the employer completes an annual reconciliation and submits certificate data to SARS.
- Your employer issues your IRP5, usually before filing season opens.
- SARS pre-populates your ITR12 with that data.
- You check, complete and submit your return during filing season, adding anything the employer data does not cover — other income, medical expenses not on a certificate, donations, or business travel against a travel allowance.
- SARS issues an assessment (ITA34) showing whether you owe or are owed.
Not everyone has to file. SARS sets a threshold and criteria each year, and some people with a single employer and no other income are not required to submit. Some are auto-assessed. Check the current year’s rules rather than assuming last year’s still apply.
What to verify with the official authority
Check the current position with SARS directly — filing dates, thresholds and auto-assessment rules change from year to year, and this page cannot be current on all of them.
- SARS at sars.gov.za is the authoritative source. eFiling and the SARS MobiApp show your pre-populated return, your assessments and your tax status.
- Confirm the filing season dates for the current year. They differ for individual taxpayers, provisional taxpayers and trusts.
- Confirm whether you are required to file at all, and whether you have been auto-assessed.
- If your IRP5 is missing or wrong, contact your employer first — they own the submission. If they will not correct it, SARS can be approached.
- If your employer has closed down or will not issue a certificate, contact SARS about your options.
- Verify anyone who contacts you. SARS does not ask for banking details or passwords by email or SMS. Phishing messages claiming a refund is waiting are common around filing season — log in through the official site rather than following a link.
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Frequently asked questions
What is an IRP5 used for? It records your income and the PAYE deducted for a tax year, and SARS uses it to pre-populate your annual income tax return. It is also widely accepted as proof of income.
Do I submit my IRP5 to SARS? No. Your employer submits the data directly. You check that the pre-populated figures on your return match the certificate you were given.
When should I receive it? After the tax year closes at the end of February, usually before filing season opens. Ask your employer if it has not arrived.
What if the figures are wrong? Contact your employer. They must correct and resubmit their reconciliation — you cannot overwrite employer-supplied data on your return yourself.
What is the difference between an IRP5 and an IT3(a)? An IRP5 is issued where employees’ tax was deducted. An IT3(a) is issued where income was paid but no tax was deducted.
How long should I keep it? SARS generally requires supporting records to be kept for five years from submission of the related return.