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IRP5 FAQs



What is an IRP5?
An IRP5 is the employee's tax certificate that is issued to him/her at the end of each tax year detailing all employer/employee related incomes, deductions, and related taxes. The employee uses it specifically to complete his/her income tax return for a specific year.

Do I need an IRP5?
Yes, you do if you were employed during the tax year.

Can I submit a return without an IRP5? OR Am I able to submit returns without my IRP5? OR Are you able to submit without the IRP5?
Yes, you can, however, SARS might request that you send them your IRP5 if they review your tax form.

Can I find my IRP5 form online?
You can check on your SARS eFiling profile to see if your IRP5 has been submitted to SARS (this should have been done by your employer). This can be done by requesting your Tax Return and it hopefully will already be populated with your IRP5 details.

Is there an expiry date of IRP5?
Your IRP5 can never expire, it is just a summary of all your payslips for the working year.

Is the number on my IRP5 a valid tax number or should I register?
There may be a number on your IRP5 beginning with a 0,1,2, or 3 - that would be your ten-digit reference number.

When is the right time to submit my IRP5?
We recommend that you file your return as soon as possible if you are due a refund.

What is the maximum number of IRP5's that can be submitted through eFiling per year?
On the eFiling wizard page (the first page), just enter the number of IRP5's that you have in the number entry box. Then when you click the button to generate your tax return form there will be multiple empty IRP5 documents for you to fill in. Don't worry about adding up any amounts or trying to combine multiple into one - you need to include each IRP5 separately on your single ITR12 tax return for the year so just do one at a time. eFiling allows you to add 15 IRP5s, but if you have more, you can add all the income for the rest of the IRP5s (e.g. more than 15 IRP5s) together on the last IRP5.

Should I correct my IRP5 myself or submit it as received? OR My IRP5 is wrong, how do I fix this? OR My bank details on IRP5 changed.
You would need to contact the company and ask them to reissue you the correct document both to you and SARS.
There is no need for you to fix your banking details on the IRP5 you can fix them on your tax return yourself.

SARS needs an IRP5 which I never received what must I do? Can't locate my IRP5 form, SARS holding back my current refund. Where do I get 20 years ago, my IRP5?
If SARS asks for verification go to the police station and swear an affidavit that you are unable to retrieve the IRP5's and take it with you into a SARS office, they will submit your return for you. You can also upload this onto eFiling. 

Unemployed with no IRP5 how do I claim tax? OR I'm unemployed without an IRP5 form, what now?
You need to contact your previous company and make sure they issue you with one.

The company closed, how do I get the IRP5? OR Employer never issued me my IRP5 form. OR Do I have to wait for my IRP5 from my employer? OR Outstanding tax return is holding up my refund, I cannot get the IRP5 as the employer is deceased.
If you cannot get your IRP5 then you need to go to the police station and swear and affidavit stating that you are unable to get your IRP5s and for what reason and then provide those to SARS.

What is the difference between and IRP5 and an ITR12? OR Is there a difference between submitting an IRP5 and a provisional tax?
An ITR12 is the Income Tax Return for all individuals (including provisional taxpayers) for a particular tax year. An IRP5 is just a summary of all your payslips for the year. 













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