The SARS & CIPC Deadline Calendar

About this guide

Almost every penalty we untangle for a new client started the same way: not an unwillingness to pay, but a date nobody was watching. SARS penalties for outstanding returns recur every month, quietly, until somebody files. By the time the letter arrives the amount has compounded into something that hurts.

This calendar sets out every submission a South African business repeats each year — the monthly EMP201 for PAYE, UIF and SDL, VAT201 returns on your allocated category, the interim and annual EMP501 reconciliations, both provisional tax payments and the voluntary third, the ITR14 company return, the CIPC annual return with its beneficial ownership filing, and the COIDA return of earnings.

Rather than a list of dates that expire, it explains how each due date is calculated from your own financial year end, VAT category and payroll cycle, so the calendar still works next year. It closes with the order to fix things in if you are already behind, and a month-by-month planner for a February year end.

What each section covers

How to use this calendar

Most penalties are not caused by an unwillingness to pay. They are caused by a date nobody was watching. This calendar lists the submissions that repeat every year, and explains how each due date is worked out, so you can put them in your own diary rather than relying on a reminder that may never come.

The recurring deadlines

Working out your own dates

Three things determine your calendar: your financial year end, your VAT category, and your payroll cycle. Write them down once and the rest follows.

What a missed deadline actually costs

Administrative penalties for outstanding returns recur every month until the return is filed. Filing stops the clock, which is why filing always comes before negotiating. · Interest on unpaid tax runs separately from penalties and is far harder to have reversed. · SARS can appoint a third party — your bank or your customer — to pay a tax debt out of your money, without negotiating with you first.

If you are already behind

Being years behind is more common than you would think, and it is fixable. The order matters.

Month-by-month planner

Print this page. For a February year end, a typical year looks like the following. Adjust the provisional tax and annual return months to your own dates.