Is the 10% penalty per month or once off?

Per late month. Three late months means three separate 10% penalties on those amounts.

Does the penalty apply to UIF and SDL too?

Yes. Late payment of the amounts declared on the EMP201, including UIF and SDL, attracts the same 10% penalty and interest.

Can SARS hold a director personally liable?

Yes. A representative taxpayer or person who controls the finances can be held personally liable for PAYE withheld but not paid over.

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.

Penalties

PAYE late payment penalty — what SARS charges and how to fix it

When PAYE is not paid to SARS by the 7th of the following month, SARS imposes a 10% late-payment penalty on the outstanding amount plus interest at the prescribed rate from the day after the due date. The penalty applies per late month and is not scaled to how many days late the payment is.

Start free trial See pricing

SARS-aligned 2025/26 No credit card Free migration

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

How the penalty is calculated

The 10% is a flat percentage of the PAYE due for that month under paragraph 6 of the Fourth Schedule. One day late costs the same 10% as thirty days late, which is why cut-off timing on the 7th matters so much.

Interest runs separately at the prescribed rate on the unpaid PAYE and on the penalty until the account is settled.

Other penalties employers hit

Late payment is only one of several exposures for the same payroll month.

Non-submission of the EMP201 — administrative penalties under the Tax Administration Act
Late EMP501 reconciliation — up to 10% of the annual PAYE, at 1% per month outstanding
Understatement penalties where PAYE was under-declared, from 10% to 200% depending on behaviour
Personal liability for a representative taxpayer who fails to withhold and pay over PAYE

Requesting remission

A request for remission (RFR) can be lodged on eFiling. SARS may remit the penalty for a first incidence within a compliant history where the failure was outside your control — a bank error, a system outage, a natural disaster. Cash-flow pressure alone is generally not accepted, though SARS may agree a deferred payment arrangement.

Preventing the next one

Approve payroll by the 25th, load the SARS credit-push payment the same day, and confirm the PRN matches the EMP201. Payroll Africa locks the approved run, produces the EMP201 with its figures immediately, and reminds administrators before the 7th so the payment clears in time.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to run compliant SARS payroll?

Start free, migrate in a day, and process your first payroll in minutes.

Start free trial Talk to us