Free South African
Payroll Resources

Calculate your PAYE tax for 2025/2026 using official SARS tax tables.

Calculate UIF contributions for employee and employer in seconds.

Work out your Skills Development Levy liability.

See your full net take-home pay after all statutory deductions.

Calculate the total cost of an employee to your business.

Calculate overtime pay for weekdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Calculate leave pay and leave balances under the BCEA.

Calculate annual leave entitlement and payout.

Determine sick leave entitlement for your employees.

Calculate maternity leave duration and UIF maternity benefit.

Calculate pay for employees working on public holidays.

Step-by-step PAYE calculation guide with worked examples for 2025/2026.

Complete guide to calculating UIF contributions for employees and employers.

Everything you need to know about Skills Development Levy.

End-to-end guide to running your first payroll.

All payroll deadlines, SARS submission dates and public holidays for 2026.

End-to-end guide to running payroll correctly and compliantly.

Multi-client payroll management for SA accountants and bookkeepers.

Manage teaching staff, admin and part-time educators — SARS compliant.

Simple, affordable payroll for churches and NPOs — PAYE, IRP5 and more.

Handle site workers, variable hours, overtime and COIDA compliance.

Plain-English guide to Pay-As-You-Earn tax — how it works, who pays it, rates and rebates.

UIF is 1% of your monthly remuneration (employee) — capped at R177.12/month. See the full calculation table.

Can UIF be deducted after resignation? Yes — and what employees can and can't claim.

Only employers pay SDL — at 1% of total monthly remuneration. Employees do not contribute.

BCEA overtime rates — 1.5× weekday, 2× Sunday/public holiday. Worked examples included.

No — UIF contributions are capped at R177.12 per party per month based on the R17,712 ceiling.

What is the difference between payroll and wages? Between salary and wages? Clear guide.

Plain-English definitions for PAYE, UIF, SDL, ETI, EMP201, IRP5, BCEA and every other payroll term.

Everything to do before a new hire's first day — contracts, registrations, documents and payroll setup.

The full list of documents to collect from a new employee before their first payslip.

Step-by-step onboarding process for new employees in South Africa, from offer to first payslip.

How long probation can last, extending it, and ending employment during probation fairly.

Fair reasons for dismissal, notice periods, due process and final pay obligations under the LRA and BCEA.

What must be included in a final payslip — leave payout, notice pay and final deductions.

10 days of parental leave for fathers and non-birth parents — is it paid, and how to claim UIF.

10 weeks of adoption leave for one adoptive parent — eligibility, pay and UIF benefits explained.

Do probationary employees accrue annual and sick leave? Yes — here's how it works.

Under the BCEA, unused annual leave can lapse after 6 months past the leave cycle — here's how it works.

Common causes of PAYE errors and how to fix an under- or over-deduction.

Missed UIF contributions? Here's how to catch up and what it costs.

How to correct an employee's IRP5 tax certificate after submission.

How duplicate employee records happen, why they're risky, and how to fix them safely.

Is it legal to pay employees late? Risks, fixes and how to prevent it recurring.

The most common overtime calculation mistakes and how to fix them.

Everything that becomes required the moment you take on your first employee in South Africa.

Monthly and annual payroll obligations for South African small businesses, and where they get caught out.

Manage seasonal and permanent farm workers with minimum wage and UIF compliance built in.

Manage guards on rotating shifts, night work and multiple sites with correct overtime.

Manage hourly and part-time cleaning staff across multiple client sites.

Payroll for doctors, nurses and admin staff at South African medical and dental practices.

Manage waitstaff, kitchen teams and casual workers with correct shift-based overtime.

Manage shop floor, part-time and seasonal retail staff across multiple stores.

Get compliant with your first hire, then scale to a full team without switching systems.

Step-by-step worked PAYE example for a R20,000/month salary using current SARS tax tables.

Worked UIF examples at different salary levels, including how the earnings ceiling applies.

Worked SDL examples for individual employees and a full team payroll.

Worked example of public holiday pay at 2× the ordinary hourly rate.

Worked example calculating an employee's unused annual leave payout on resignation.

Worked example showing exactly how a R25,000 gross salary becomes take-home pay.

Is running payroll a legal requirement in South Africa? Yes — here's what's required from your first employee.

It's legal, but risky. Here's what Excel payroll can't do, and when to switch to dedicated software.

How to decide whether you need payroll software, based on team size and pay complexity.

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly — what the BCEA allows and how to choose.

Weekly pay is fully legal in South Africa — what's required and how PAYE works.

Cash pay is legal, but PAYE, UIF and payslip requirements still apply in full.

BCEA requires 3 years, tax law requires 5 — what to retain and for how long.

Step-by-step guide to monthly PAYE and UIF submissions on SARS eFiling.

Annual reconciliation guide for EMP501 submissions on eFiling.

Complete guide to generating and submitting IRP5 tax certificates.

How to claim ETI to reduce your PAYE bill and support youth employment.

Full calendar of monthly EMP201 submission deadlines for 2026.

SARS charges a 10% penalty per month. Here's what to do if you've missed the deadline.

Step-by-step guide to registering as an employer for PAYE on SARS eFiling.

UIF registration is included in the PAYE employer registration on SARS eFiling.

SDL registration is part of the PAYE employer registration — plus SETA registration to claim grants.

What SARS charges for a late or incorrect EMP201 — the 10% penalty, interest and how to avoid it.

How to correct an EMP201 after submission, and how errors flow through to your EMP501.

Everything to prepare and verify before submitting your annual SARS EMP501 reconciliation.

Worked ETI examples at different salary levels — see exactly how much you can claim.

Step-by-step guide to eFiling and e@syFile — registering, EMP201, EMP501 and IRP5 certificates.

Annual, sick, maternity and family responsibility leave rules under the BCEA.

What every South African payslip must include under the BCEA.

Updated NMW rates for all sectors effective 1 March 2025.

BCEA leave entitlements — annual, sick, maternity, family responsibility and public holidays.

A printable checklist for onboarding new employees in South Africa.

Monthly payroll checklist to ensure nothing is missed each pay run.

Printable checklist covering final pay, UIF documents, asset return and record retention when an employee leaves.

Compare TSS Payroll vs SimplePay — features, pricing and migration.

Compare TSS Payroll vs Sage Payroll — features, pricing and migration.

Compare TSS Payroll vs PaySpace — features, pricing and migration.

Compare TSS Payroll vs Payday — features, pricing and migration.

Still doing payroll in Excel? See why businesses switch to TSS Payroll.

Compare TSS Payroll vs VIP Payroll — modern cloud vs legacy desktop.

Compare TSS Payroll vs Pastel Payroll — cloud vs desktop, pricing and migration.

QuickBooks Payroll is not available in SA. TSS Payroll is the purpose-built alternative.

Xero Payroll is not available in SA. TSS Payroll is the dedicated SARS-compliant solution.

Compare TSS Payroll vs Payroll Professional — modern cloud payroll vs desktop software.