IRP5 Codes List & Meaning (2023)

As the tax season draws nearer, South Africans are trying to find out all they can about how to fill their tax returns, especially what the IRP5 codes mean. They are not just doing this because they want to be good citizens, but also because they want the possible tax refunds that can come with accurately filling in the tax information.

As you may already know, your IRP5 forms should already be filled and submitted by your employer. You will then receive the IRP5 certificate which already has the necessary details filled in. You may then use the information on your IRP5 to file your tax returns.

Anybody who has ever filled an IRP5 will tell you that the form is divided into sections and that it has codes that require certain specific information in order to be correctly filled. In this post, I provide information about IRP5 codes, as well as what information they require so that you don’t have a mistake when filing your tax information. 

IRP5 Codes

3601 – Income (Generally for the basic amounts received as salary)

3605 – Annual Payments (This is normally used for annual bonuses received outside salary payments or one-off payments)

3606 – Commission Payments (This is for commissioned received for services rendered which are paid separately from salaries)

3701 – Travel Allowances (Sometimes when an employee must travel on the job he is given an allowance to facilitate his travel. This is not necessarily taxable, but is documented.)

3702 – Reimbursive Travel Allowance (This is when the travel has been made in the employee’s pocket, and the employer then returns the money spent on travel back to the employee.)

3703 – Reimbursive Travel Allowance (non-taxable refunds to employees)

3713 – Other Allowances – Taxable (This is a collection of the money paid to the employee in order to facilitate the purchase of things like cell phones, computers, or any other tools that can serve for him to carry out the job, or for personal entertainment.)

 3810 – Fringe Benefit – this is for fringe benefits afforded the employee by the employer, outside his main salary and pension plan. This is for something like the company’ contribution to medical aid (the amount recorded must agree with that entered into code 4474)

The total of the income received is therefore categorized as Gross Employment Income (Taxable) – Code 3699 and Non-Taxable Income – Code 3696. This is for any income received that is non-taxable.

Deductions/Contributions/Information

This heading is for Employee salary deductions and any contributions that are deducted by the company so as to be paid in the interest of the employee.

 4001 – This is for the total pension fund contributions paid or supposedly paid by employee (in this code you may also include both employee and employer contribution)

 4003 – This is for the total provident fund contributions paid or deemed paid by the employer on behalf of the employee (this may also include both employee and employer contribution)

 4005 – This has been touched before as fringe benefits, and so the amount stated here must tally with what is put in that section as well. 

4006 – This is for the total amounts paid or deemed paid by the employer for retirement annuity fund contributions. 

 4472 – This is for money paid into the Employer’s pension fund for the benefit of the employee.

 4473 – This is for money paid in the form of the Employer’s provident fund contributions. 

 4474 – This is for money paid into the Employer’s medical scheme for the benefit of the employee.

 4582 – This is for money paid to the employee for allowances and benefits (travel-related).

 4497 – This is a summary of the total deductions and contributions for the period

Tax Credits and/Employee Contributions

 4102 – PAYE (this reflects the total amount of money as PAYE that was deducted from the employee and already paid during the period in review)

 4116 – Medical scheme fees tax credit (this amount reflects the total amount of the medical scheme fee tax credits that have already been deducted)

Related:

• IRP5 Certificate
• IRP5 FAQ
• Who Qualifies for NSFAS Bursary

Conclusion:

The SARS IRP5 document is an important document that enables one to provide accurate tax information to the South African Revenue Service. Therefore it is important to provide the correct information into all the boxes. It is important to go through this post again until you understand what information is required for each code. If you still do not understand this information then you may call the SARS on 0800 007 277, or go to the nearest SARS office.   

Disclaimer: The information in this post is deemed correct at the time of publishing. We are not affiliated with the SARS and have only produced this article in order to provide time-saving information when needed. However, the SARS reserves the right to make changes and alterations to these codes and other aspects of the IRP5, and other tax-related documents. Therefore, neither the author nor publisher of this post is liable for any damages that may result from the use or misuse of this document.