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What is the difference between an ITR12 and an IRP5?
What is the difference between an ITR12 and an IRP5?
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Direct answer
An IRP5 or IT3(a) is an employees' tax certificate issued by an employer or other institution for the relevant income. An ITR12 is your individual annual income-tax return to SARS. They are connected, but they are not the same document.
SARS uses IRP5 and IT3(a) information submitted by third parties to prepopulate parts of an ITR12. You still need to check the return against the certificates and your own records before submitting it.
What this means in practice
Think of the IRP5 or IT3(a) as a certificate about a particular source of income. An employer or institution issues it to show the information it reported for that income. It can show that tax was withheld. SARS's ITR12 guidance also explains that a certificate can contain a reason code where no tax was withheld.
The ITR12 is the annual return that brings the relevant information together for the tax year. It is the document you review and submit to SARS if a return is required. A prepopulated entry can make the return easier to complete, but it is not a reason to submit without checking it.
This distinction is especially useful if you had more than one employer or institution in the year. You can have more than one certificate, while still completing one annual ITR12 for the tax year. Separate certificates should not be merged or deleted merely because they appear on the same return.
The source of an error also matters. If an IRP5 or IT3(a) is wrong, the employer or other issuer needs to correct the certificate information it supplied. The taxpayer should not try to change or delete prepopulated certificate information in the ITR12 as a workaround.
Step-by-step
- Collect every certificate for the correct tax year.
Ask each employer or institution for the IRP5 or IT3(a) that relates to the year you are filing. Keep the certificate details together before opening the return.
- Open the ITR12 and check the prepopulated certificate entries.
Compare the issuer, certificate details, income and tax information shown on the ITR12 with the original certificate. Check one certificate at a time so that a difference can be traced to the right issuer.
- Check the rest of the return as well.
Prepopulation is not a complete tax review. Check personal, contact and banking details and any other information that the ITR12 asks you to confirm. Do not assume that a generated return includes everything you need to disclose.
- Deal with an incorrect certificate at source.
Contact the employer or institution that issued the IRP5 or IT3(a). Give it the relevant certificate and tax-year details, explain the discrepancy and ask it to make the required correction to SARS. Keep a record of the request and response.
- Recheck the return after a correction.
Once the issuer confirms that it has corrected and resubmitted the information, recheck the ITR12 before filing. Keep the original certificate and the corrected certificate or correspondence in case the difference needs to be explained later.
- Submit the annual return only when it is accurate.
The ITR12 is the taxpayer's annual declaration. Save proof of submission and any assessment notice SARS later issues.
Documents and records to keep
- IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates from every employer or institution.
- The completed ITR12 and proof that it was submitted.
- Any employer or institution correspondence about a certificate correction.
- A corrected certificate, if one is issued.
- Any SARS assessment notice received after the return is processed.
Keeping the certificate and the return together makes it easier to see whether a later question concerns a source record or the annual return itself.
Important limits and exceptions
An IRP5 is not an assessment, and it is not a return submitted by the employee. It is a certificate issued by an employer or institution. An ITR12 is not a replacement for an issuer correcting an incorrect certificate.
Do not assume that every prepopulated certificate is correct. SARS says taxpayers must check the data. Equally, do not assume that an unfamiliar entry may simply be deleted. The correct next step is to check the certificate and ask the relevant issuer to correct an error.
This article does not explain the employer's EMP501 reconciliation process, calculate tax on the certificate, or decide whether you must submit an ITR12. Those are separate questions.
When to get tailored advice
Get tailored help if you cannot obtain a certificate, cannot identify the issuer, have several income sources that do not reconcile, or have already filed a return with incorrect certificate information. Help is also useful where SARS has started verification or the correction affects a material amount.
TaxProof can help you organise the certificates, return records and correction correspondence. The employer or institution must correct its own certificate data, and SARS processes the annual return and assessment.
Related TaxProof guides
- Employer IRP5 and EMP501 guide
- How do I report income from two employers on one SARS return? (B02-IND-002)