TERS: Updates and Clarifications

The blog post today is aimed at trying to provide some much needed clarity on the TERS process. These changes, as outlined in a recent UIF update letter, were first introduced in our blog post from 5 October. The content of this blog post is taken from and summarises the UIF’s official update letter dated 14 October, sent to all employers.

Our post today covers:

how to determine salary and remuneration paid on applications;
the finer details of the bank verification step;
an update on foreign national applications; and
a reminder of how to end service on SimplePay.

1.a – How to Determine the Correct Monthly Salary to Declare

The monthly salary column of your TERS CSV, should reflect the aggregate of the wage and fringe benefits you pay to each of your employees. As SimplePay pre-populates this column, provided your employee’s salary information is correct, there’s nothing further to worry about. It is worth noting that if this value is not accurate, the UIF has introduced a new verification step.

The UIF is cross referencing the “taxable earnings” value for your employees’ March 2020 uFiling submission, in order to ensure that salaries are not inflated. If the values differ, the lower value will be used for the calculation of TERS benefits.

This is not a retrospective change, meaning it will only be applied to applications that have been processed from 3 September onwards. The change will though apply to all applications past this date, regardless of the lockdown period to which they relate. Unfortunately, even if you had legitimate reasons for increasing an employee’s salary, there is no way to apply to receive the higher sum that this would yield.

1.b – What is the Correct Value for Remuneration?

To answer this question, it helps to take one step back. An employee is entitled to TERS benefits where he or she earns a reduced salary due to:

business closure;
comorbidities (an illness which puts the employee at an increased risk);
reduced working hours; or
having to take a temporary reduction of salary due to operational requirements.

Any of your employees satisfying the above can receive TERS benefits. Importantly though, where your employees receive remuneration in addition to TERS benefits for any given period, this needs to be recorded. This is because the aggregate of the TERS payment, plus the reduced remuneration paid by you cannot be greater than the amount the employee would ordinarily earn. Because of this, it’s important you know what falls under remuneration.

The UIF has clarified that all amounts / payslip components that would normally count as remuneration are included, except for loans, advances and payments related to leave taken.

2. Bank Verification

As part of the improvements to the TERS process, bank verification steps have been introduced. To help avoid delays it is important that you provide correct banking information.

Some of the most common reasons for the failure of bank verification include:

The incorrect Personal ID number is used. This should be that of the bank account holder. If it is a joint account, you should ensure that it is the primary holder’s ID used.
If the bank account is held in a trade name, it is important that it matches the bank account’s name.
- If the bank account includes special characters, these should be used
- Do not include any “t/a” sections of the bank account information
- If the account’s name is in Afrikaans, this is how it should appear

Single Bank Account for Several UIF Entities

If you have several companies that pay into one bank account and you wish to claim TERS benefits to all the employees of the different companies, you will need to use the “Trade Name Verification” option to verify these UIF entities.

On the TERS portal, you will need to change all of your companies’ names to match the company name stated on the bank account. This will mean that you will have more than one UIF entity with the same name on the TERS portal, but also allows you to apply for benefits for all employees.

If you are at all unsure about this we would encourage you to get in touch with the UIF on 0800 030 007.

3. Foreign Nationals Update

The UIF has said that it’s currently working with the Department of Home Affairs to verify the foreign nationals. No payments will be made until the UIF has verified individuals’ identities, but it hopes it will manage this within the next fortnight.

Foreign nationals must be declared via uFiling, regardless of whether you submitted their declarations to the UIF using SimplePay.

How To Change Existing Applications

If you now realise that there’s an issue with one or more of your applications, this can be done using the UIF’s discrepancy function. Corrections can only be made once per employee, per application period so it’s crucial that you make the amendments carefully and accurately.

The discrepancy functionality is open for claims made up to and including the July / August application period, and will open in due course for the later lockdown periods.

How To End Service on SimplePay

It is important to correctly reflect your employees’ current working status on SimplePay for several reasons. Having this information allows:

SimplePay to provide you with accurate auto filled TERS CSVs;
you to make correct submissions to SARS;
Your employees to claim UIF where necessary; and
Reduces your monthly charge to the number of active employees

To allow for SimplePay to provide you with accurate auto filled TERS CSVs, make correct submissions to SARS and reduce your monthly premium to an appropriate amount, it is important to correctly reflect your employees’ current status on SimplePay.

For a reminder of how to end an employee’s service on SimplePay, you can read this previous blog post.

We hope that this information has proved useful to you. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Equally, if you are not yet a client of SimplePay but would like to be, why not try out our service free? You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here, get to grips with our user-friendly service by reading our getting started page, or try our free online course. Concerned about cost? Don’t be; we’ve simplified that too – check out our pricing page. Alternatively, you can request a formal quote if you need one here.

Keep well and stay safe.

Team SimplePay

October 8, 2020

Repayment of the 35% PAYE Deferral

If you participated in the 35% PAYE deferral during the COVID-19 lockdown period, you may be aware that the first instalment is due this month. SARS has recently issued the following additional important information:

The first instalment must be paid separately from your usual monthly EMP201 payment.
The first instalment must make use of a separate reference number, referred to as the Payment Reference Number (PRN). This differs from your usual SARS reference number used for EMP201 payments.

Locating Your Reference Number and Amount Owed

It is important to note that Payment Reference Number (PRN) will be different from your EMP201 reference number for October. It’s crucial that you use the correct reference number, so that your payment matches with SARS’ records.

To find your PRN, first locate your Statement of Account on eFiling and in the row relating to October you should be able to see the label “COVID-19 INSTALMENT” (marked below with a red “A”).

The column to the right should contain the amount owed for October’s instalment, the column to the left contains the PRN / Transaction Reference.

Payment

Provided that you use the PRN, payments can be made to SARS via the normal means.

To pay the instalment on eFiling, you need to use the PRN when making the payment for the amount. If you are at all unsure about how to do this, we would encourage you to get in contact with SARS to confirm on 0800 00 7277.

Alternatively, you can make the payment by EFT using the “SARS-PAYE” public beneficiary option on your online banking platform. If unsure on what this is your bank should be able to assist you. Again, you will need to use the PRN on the statement of account as the reference for the transaction.

Going forward

SARS’ statement suggested that changes may be made before the next instalment falls due on 6 November. Hopefully this will combine the sums owed from your EMP201 submission and instalment, streamlining this process.

You can read the SARS notice released on 6 October here.

We hope that this information has proved useful to you. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Keep well and stay safe.

Team SimplePay

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020

TERS Update and September Recap

Another month has passed by meaning that it is time to reflect on September’s events, as well as see what October has to offer. September has been an eventful month, with the country entering level 1 of lockdown and so triggering a number of changes. This is a good thing, providing more freedom for businesses to reopen and recover.

In our blog today we will be giving you updates on some of the changes brought about by level 1 of lockdown, as well as updates on the TERS process after its recent rehaul.

TERS Update

Update 5 October: Due to a water leak, the office running TERS operations is experiencing some downtime. They expect the issue to be resolved by the end of today.

Since our last blog covering the TERS process on 15 September, the UIF has significantly updated its safeguards. The process had to be halted in order for the UIF, now headed by acting commissioner Marsha Bronkhurst, to address the findings of the auditor general.

On 21 September, after a two week pause, the UIF restarted its newer and better constituted TERS process. A key change is better bank verification, where you can opt to use your company’s CIPC / CK number, RSA ID number or the trade name which is linked to the account.

You should be careful to ensure that the information you enter exactly matches the bank’s records. The UIF has advised that the verification steps won’t take place till you’re next due to receive payment, meaning that unless instructed otherwise by a notification on your TERS profile, any amendments you’ve made are either still to be checked or are correct.

Applications for 16 August to 15 September

Applications for TERS benefits between 16 August and 15 September opened last Thursday (1 October 2020). Before applying you must ensure that your employees were still eligible for TERS benefits during this period, i.e. 16 August to 15 September.

For more information on the application period and eligibility requirements, you can read this Department of Employment and Labour media statement.

Duration of the TERS scheme

The COVID-19 TERS Direction from 7 September 2020 gave us some clarity on how long this support will last. In summary, based off this Direction, TERS will come to a conclusion either:

When South Africa is no longer under a national state of disaster (currently due to end on 15 October); or
When the Minister announces its conclusion on an earlier date.

Level 1 – Effect on Businesses

The key effect of level 1 is that it allows almost all normal commercial activity to resume. Below we have summarised some of the key changes that affect economic activity.

Gatherings

Provided that the safety measures are followed, gatherings are now permitted up to 50% of a venue’s capacity. This is up to a maximum of 250 people for an indoor venue, or 500 people for an outdoor venue.

An owner or operator of a venue where gatherings are held must display a certificate of occupancy, listing the maximum number of people permitted. The certificates are provided by your local municipality, meaning that you should be able to find out how to get one from their website.

Travel

Level 1 brings extremely positive news if you operate in the hospitality and travel industries. From 1 October, international travel is permitted, both into and from South Africa for business and leisure. We hope that this will provide a boost in business after what must have been an extremely trying time.

For travel by air, this is subject to the travellers country of origin not being on the red list, in addition to other safety measures such as the traveller providing a negative test upon arrival which is less than 72 hours old.

All 18 land borders are now open, subject to safety requirements and border post limitations. All docks are now also open, but passenger liners for luxury travel are still prohibited to disembark.

We hope that the timing of this change has been a good one and that October will mark a revival in your business.

You can find more information about travel restrictions on this Government page, under Alert level 1.

Economic Activity

Providing that all the relevant health protocols, social distancing measures, occupational health and safety direction and sector-specific health protocols are met, businesses can carry out economic activity. We hope that this is a positive and meaningful change for your business, that will help speed your recovery over the coming months.

Unfortunately the return to business is not universal. The following list of activities are still not permitted at the date of writing:

Night vigils
Night clubs.
The 35 land borders that remain closed.
Initiation practices.
Passenger ships for international leisure purposes.
Attendance of any sporting event by spectators.
International sports events.
Exclusions relating to public transport services as set out in the directions issued by the Cabinet member responsible for transport.
Exclusions relating to education services as set out in the directions

We hope that this information has proved useful to you. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Equally, If you are not yet a client of SimplePay but would like to be, why not try out our service on the house? You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. Get to grips with our user-friendly service by reading our getting started page, or trying our free online course. Concerned about cost? Don’t be; we’ve simplified that too – check out our pricing page. Alternatively, you can request a formal quote if you need one here.

Keep well and stay safe.

Team SimplePay

September 15, 2020September 16, 2020

Filing Reminder and TERS Update

In the blog today we are writing to remind you about both the interim employer reconciliation and the individual income tax return deadlines, in addition to an update on COVID-19 TERS. Both of the filing submission periods are now open and we recommend that you complete your submissions in good time to avoid any complications.

Employer Interim Filing Season

This year the employer interim reconciliation submission period will run between 14 September and 31 October 2020. Within this period you will need to submit your EMP501 return and your employees’ IRP5 / IT3(a)s to consolidate the period between 1 March and 31 August.

As mentioned in our previous blog post, SimplePay automatically generates these forms from your previous submissions, with all the latest legislative changes taken account of. All you need to do is log onto [email protected] or eFiling and submit the required forms. It really is that easy!

Manual Individual Income Tax Return

If you have already completed SARS new auto assessment process in August, as covered in this blog post, then you have already met your obligations and don’t need to do anything further. This reminder applies to you if you rejected or did not receive an auto assessment from SARS, but need to complete an individual income tax return.

If this is you, the submission period for individual income tax returns is between 1 September and 16 November 2020 if you are filing online. You can log into eFiling or the SARS Mobi App to complete your manual return.

COVID-19 TERS Update

The past few weeks have been challenging for the UIF with respect to COVID-19 TERS. The audit carried out showed a number of shortcomings in the validation steps for applications, which led to various misallocations of funds. As a result payments were halted on 11 September and access to the TERS portal was down over the past weekend to maintain and improve the process’s safeguards. The resumption of the payouts is yet to be announced, but we shall endeavour to let you know when this happens.

An additional point of note is that for those that meet the application requirements, TERS benefits have been extended to 15 September. The application deadline for this period is 30 October, after which no new applications will be accepted.

For all other application periods i.e. March to 15 August, the deadline for new applications is 17 September.

Update 16 September: The closing dates for new have been changed as follows:

New applications for March to end of May the deadline is now 25 September 2020.

New applications for June the deadline is now 15 October 2020.

New Applications for July to 15 September the deadline is now 30 October 2020.

The media statements on the audit findings can be found here and the announcement of an extension to COVID-19 TERS can be found here.

We hope that this information has proved useful to you. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Keep well and stay safe.

Team SimplePay

September 7, 2020

Extension of PAYE Deferment and Interim Employer Filing Reminder

There has long been a question mark over whether the Government is going to extend the duration of the 35% PAYE deferment to support the ongoing challenges that businesses face. We had been waiting for the release of the Government gazette to confirm this, but as it is now 7 September we want to inform you of the possibility that your PAYE liability may be reduced on this month’s Statement of Account from SARS.

In the blog post today we’ll explain what this extension would mean and change, as well as providing you with a brief reminder of the upcoming employer interim reconciliation period.

35% PAYE Deferment Update

In addition to the Government’s announcement extending COVID-19 TERS (covered in this blog post), they are now also expected to extend the 35% PAYE deferment to include the month of August. This might mean when you complete your monthly filing today, the amount of PAYE you have to pay in your monthly EMP201 return may automatically be reduced by 35%. EMP201s should be generated and submitted as normal on SimplePay, with the full amount of liability stated, then SARS will reduce the amount owed by the corresponding amount.

The value of this additional month’s deferred payment will be added to the values of the previous months. The repayments for the deferred PAYE liability will be spread equally across 6 months, with the first payment being due on 7 October 2020 and the last on 5 March 2021.

Mention of the extension can be found on this SARS page, dated 28 August.

Employer Interim Reconciliation Reminder

The submission period for the 2020 / 2021 employer interim reconciliation period opens on 14 September. During the reconciliation period you need to submit your EMP501 return and employee IRP5 / IT3(a)s, consolidating the period of 1 March to 31 August 2020.

Staying true to our ongoing commitment to make your payroll obligations a breeze, SimplePay automatically generates these forms for you, with all the latest legislative changes already incorporated.

You can complete the filing process using eFiling if you have less than 50 employees, or alternatively with [email protected] for any number of employees. You might also be able to complete the process in branch by prior arrangement, but we would encourage you to use one of the online methods. More on [email protected] can be read on this page.

We hope that you have found the above information useful. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

If you are not yet a client of SimplePay but would like to be, Why not try out our service on the house? You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. Get to grips with our user-friendly service by reading our getting started page, or trying our free online course. Concerned about cost? Don’t be; we’ve simplified that too – check out our pricing page. Alternatively, you can request a formal quote if you need one here.

Keep well and stay safe.

Team SimplePay

August 27, 2020August 27, 2020

Huge ETI Update and Improvements

Managing Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) claims can be difficult and time-consuming. However, it can also be highly beneficial for many employers and is well worth taking advantage of where you can.

Over the years we’ve taken note of the difficulties faced by our clients and have used this feedback to improve our system and your experience. Our team has been hard at work to deliver a massive ETI update, which will greatly improve and simplify your ability to correctly claim ETI and includes the following changes:

Backdating: You can now set an effective date for an employee’s ETI that’s in the past. You can also do the same for other ETI settings, like minimum wage. This allows you to update your ETI setup so that your ETI on SimplePay matches your records ensuring that your current claims are correct. In some cases, it may even result in further claims for ETI.

More effective handling of under-claims: SARS has specific rules for how ETI under-claims should be handled. More info can be found on our help site, but in short, you are only allowed to claim for ETI that you under-claimed in the current bi-annual filing period. For example, we are currently in the 1 March to 31 August bi-annual filing period, therefore under-claims for periods before 1 March will be forfeited. Any under-claims for the current bi-annual filing period have to be claimed in the current month if the ETI is for a month whose EMP201 deadline has already passed. The system will now assist you in remaining compliant with this and with making these claims.

Better auditing: Seeing ETI values change on your EMP201s has often been a cause of confusion for our clients. Going forward, the system will allow you to track the source of such changes, providing a clearer audit trail and helping remove some of the stress and confusion around ETI.

Stay in sync with employee information: When correcting a setup error which impacts ETI, (such as changing an employee’s date of birth), you now have the ability to recalculate historic ETI immediately. This functionality gives you the ability to claim historic errors immediately, rather than having to wait until bi-annual filing. As always, we advise clients to be very cautious when entering information used for calculating ETI.

The following help articles provide more information on ETI and how it works (including the changes mentioned above):

ETI
ETI Corrections (Over-claims and Under-claims)
EMP201 (contains information on ETI breakdown and ETI trace)
Additional ETI (COVID-19)
Accounting for ETI

Reminder:

It’s important to note that the August EMP201 is the last time you’ll be able to claim ETI under-claimed for the period March 2020 to July 2020. Any ETI for the current bi-annual filing period that was not claimed will have to be forfeited after the August EMP201.

Want to claim ETI but don’t have the right payroll software to help you?

SimplePay clients love having a hassle-free payroll experience that keeps them compliant and keeps up to date with changes in the payroll landscape. Not convinced? We offer a 30 day free trial that lets you see just how easy payroll can be. You can find out more and sign up here.

Team SimplePay

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020

Lockdown Level 2

Note: This information was correct at the time of writing, being based on the Government’s related media releases.

Today (18/08/2020) is the first day that South Africa has dropped down to lockdown level 2 out of 5. But what does this actually mean? In today’s blog we shall outline the new changes and provide a summary table of what changed between each level of lockdown.

Level 2

Travel and Accommodation

For the first time since 27 March 2020, people living in South Africa are allowed to travel between provinces for leisure purposes. This relaxation comes at the same time as the removal of the limit to the range of accommodation facilities which can be used, meaning that those of you in the hospitality sector can once again welcome nationwide guests.

Gatherings

Under level 2, provided that you observe the Government Regulations on social distancing and health protocols, a number of gatherings are now permitted. This further expands the number of businesses that are able to operate under level 2. You can read the full list of permitted gatherings in section 55 of the Government gazette, but we have picked out a handful of the most relevant ones below:

Accommodation establishments and tour operators (up to 50% of available floor space, with patrons at least 1.5 metres apart)
Bars, taverns, shebeens and similar establishments (up to 50 people)
Concerts and live performances (up to 50 people)
Tourist attractions
Gyms, subject to guidelines (up to 50 people)
Swimming pools (up to 50 people)
Sports grounds and fields
Beaches and public parks

Sale of Alcohol and Cigarettes

The Government has relaxed its stance on the sale of alcohol, meaning that bars, restaurants and other institutions with a license to sell alcohol on-site can again do so, provided strict adherence to the 10pm curfew.

Additionally, alcohol can now be sold in shops between the hours of 9am to 5pm. Cigarettes may also now be sold in shops.

Businesses that must Remain Closed

Despite the majority of businesses, there are a number which must remain closed at this moment under level 2. These are:

1. Night clubs
2. International passenger air travel for leisure purposes
3. Passenger ships for international leisure purposes
4. Attendance of any sporting event by spectators
5. International sports events
6. Exclusions relating to public transport services as set out in the directions issued by the Cabinet member responsible for transport

Comparative Table of Lockdown Levels

Below is a comparative table between lockdown levels 5 to 2. If changes were made within the period of a certain lockdown level, the changed position will be recorded within the table. For a more detailed evaluation of the level, you can click on the link at the head of each column.

Lockdown Level	Five (5)	Four (4)	Three (3)	Two (2)
Effective Date	27/03/2020	01/05/2020	01/06/2020	17/08/2020
Shopping	Food, medicine and healthcare only	Food, medicine, healthcare and limited others	Most shopping reopened, but alcohol and tobacco sales remain prohibited	Majority of shopping reopened
Travel	None, except essential	None, except essential and for business	Business travel and Intra-provincial leisure travel	All Inter-provincial travel, including domestic flights
Permitted Gatherings	None, except for funerals	Funerals, workplaces and obtaining certain goods and services	A large number of gatherings permitted, subject to conditions	A large number of gatherings permitted, including amateur sport and small social events
Public Spaces	Closed	Limited number open, e.g. exercise permitted between 6 – 9am	Limited number open for activities e.g. exercise between 6:00 – 18:00	Open, subject to the Minister announcing closure and adherence with health protocols
Workplaces	Open for the provision of Food, medicine and healthcare only	Open for the provision of Infrastructure, manufacturing and food, as well as some other services.	Majority reopened, except for some accommodation establishments and nightclubs	Majority reopened
Leisure	None	None	Large number of services reopened within provinces, minus gyms, sports facilities, beaches and others	Majority of services reopened, minus nightclubs, spectating live sport and limited others

We hope that you have found the above information useful. If you have any questions on how the information above relates to SimplePay, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Equally, if you are not yet a client of SimplePay but would like to be, or if you’d like to know how we can take the effort out of filing and calculating payroll, you can get a formal quote, sign up for our 30-day free trial or learn how to get set up on SimplePay. Alternatively, you can get in touch with one of our amazing support team at [email protected]

Keep well and stay safe.

Team SimplePay

SimplePay Blog

Posts

Repayment of the 35% PAYE Deferral

Locating Your Reference Number and Amount Owed

Payment

Going forward

TERS Update and September Recap

TERS Update

Applications for 16 August to 15 September

Duration of the TERS scheme

Level 1 – Effect on Businesses

Gatherings

Travel

Economic Activity

Filing Reminder and TERS Update

Employer Interim Filing Season

Manual Individual Income Tax Return

COVID-19 TERS Update

Extension of PAYE Deferment and Interim Employer Filing Reminder

35% PAYE Deferment Update

Employer Interim Reconciliation Reminder