Can I claim ETI for an employee earning R8,000?

No. Monthly remuneration must be below R7,500 for the month, after grossing up for part-month or part-time employment.

Does the 24-month window reset with a new employer?

No. The qualifying-month counter follows the employee, so a new employer only claims the months that remain.

What happens to unclaimed ETI?

It is carried forward within the six-month reconciliation cycle and can be refunded through the EMP501 if the employer is tax compliant. Unclaimed amounts are forfeited at the end of each cycle.

Does Payroll Africa handle this automatically?

Yes. Payroll Africa applies the current SARS and BCEA rules to every payroll run and produces the EMP201, EMP501 and IRP5 files ready for SARS e@syFile.

How much does Payroll Africa cost?

From R90 per month for 2 employees, R401 for 10 and R4,182 for 200. No setup fee, free migration from Sage, SimplePay, PaySpace or a spreadsheet, cancel anytime.

ETI

ETI qualifying employees — who you can claim the Employment Tax Incentive for

You can claim the Employment Tax Incentive for an employee who is 18 to 29 years old, holds a valid South African ID, asylum seeker permit or refugee ID, was employed on or after 1 October 2013, earns at least the applicable minimum wage and less than R7,500 a month, and is not a connected person to the employer.

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Payroll Africa Editorial · SARS Payroll Compliance Team

The Payroll Africa editorial team is composed of registered tax practitioners, payroll administrators and BCEA specialists who maintain the SARS PAYE, UIF, SDL and ETI engines that power the platform. Every article is reviewed against the current SARS BRS and Basic Conditions of Employment Act before publication.

SARS registered tax practitioners
SAPA-affiliated payroll administrators
BCEA and LRA compliance reviewers

Last updated 23 Aug 2026

The qualifying tests

Every test must be met in the month you claim. Age is measured on the last day of the month, and the R7,500 monthly remuneration ceiling is grossed up where an employee is employed for part of a month or works fewer than 160 hours.

Aged 18 to 29 on the last day of the month (no age limit inside a Special Economic Zone)
Valid SA ID, asylum seeker permit or refugee ID
Employment start date on or after 1 October 2013
Monthly remuneration below R7,500 and at or above the wage regulating measure or national minimum wage
Not a domestic worker, not a connected person to the employer

How much you can claim

ETI runs for 24 qualifying months per employee, at a higher rate in the first 12 months and half that in the next 12. The incentive reduces the PAYE payable on the EMP201 — it never reduces UIF or SDL, and it can never make the EMP201 negative in a way that creates a cash refund outside the reconciliation windows.

Employer eligibility

The employer must be registered for PAYE and tax compliant. An employer with outstanding returns or debt to SARS is disqualified from claiming for that month until the account is up to date, and displaced-worker arrangements — dismissing staff to hire ETI-eligible replacements — carry a penalty of R30,000 per displaced employee.

Getting the claim right

ETI is heavily audited because it is frequently over-claimed. Payroll Africa tests every employee against each rule every month, tracks the 24-month counter per employee across employers, carries forward unclaimed ETI correctly, and produces the ETI schedule that supports the EMP201 and EMP501.

Frequently asked questions

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