News Flash 1 April 2025 – SOUTH AFRICA – New SARS PAYE BRS published

APRIL 2025 – SOUTH AFRICA
SARS PAYE BRS VERSION 24.0.0
It is important that employers note the following:

New SARS PAYE BRS published for 2025/2026 year of assessment
SARS regularly makes changes to the requirements for the generation of an import tax file for the yearly and interim submissions.

The requirements, as defined in this version of the BRS (Business Requirement Specification), became effective from 1 March 2025 for payroll suppliers and will be implemented on SARS systems in September 2025.

Overview of changes:

• Normal income codes:
  • Code 3623/3673 (‘Antedate salary/pension’): A new source code was added for employees’ tax from previous years, due to a settlement, arbitration or court order.
• Deduction codes:
  • Code 4042: A new source code was added for PAYE amounts deducted in the current year under s11 (nA) and paragraph 2(4)(g) for remuneration paid in the current or previous year.
  • Code 4588: A new source code was added for the total amount an employee repaid in the tax year under s11(nA).
  • Code 4589: A new source code was added for the total amount an employee repaid in the tax year under s11(nB) for a restraint of trade.
• Tax certificate information – employee information:
  • • Code 3020 (Indicates nature of person): The ‘Nature of Person’ value = “N” is extended to include savings withdrawal benefit recipients.
    • Lump sum codes:
      • Code 3907 (other lump sum payments (PAYE)): The description was amended to include ‘Antedate salary/pension’ extending over previous years of assessment for years of assessment prior to 2026 as part of the example.
    • Directive information:
      • Code 3230 (number of the directive issued by SARS):
        • The validation rule has been amended by the addition of the following – from the 2026 year of assessment, if codes 3623/3673 are completed, then the directive number is mandatory and MUST NOT be zero.
      • Code 3232 (the specific income source code indicated on the directive issued):
        • The following condition was added to this validation rule: The Directive Income Source code may only be one of the following: 3603/3653, 3610/3660, 3623/3723 (effective from the 2026 year of assessment).
        • The following codes were added to the condition: If the Directive Income Source code is 3603/3653, 3610/3660, or 3623/3723, then the Directive Number must contain only numeric characters.

In addition, SARS has introduced an enhanced version of the e@syFile™ Employer software (version 8.0) to enrich the employer filing experience. The latest version comes with improved capability, ensuring a smoother, more efficient reconciliation process. Employers, practitioners and payroll administrators are encouraged to download the new e@syFile™ Employer v8.0 from the e@syFile download page on www.sars.gov.za before submitting the employer annual declarations.

To view the PAYE Employer letter, follow the link.

To view the details in the new SARS PAYE BRS, follow the link.