Understanding the SA Salary Slip

za_local's Salary Slip override computes the South African statutory amounts. This page explains what each calculated figure means so you can review slips with confidence.

What the engine calculates

Figure	How it is derived
Gross pay	Sum of earnings.
Taxable income	Gross, adjusted for each component's PAYE inclusion % (e.g. only 80% of a fixed travel allowance), less pre-tax deductions such as deductible retirement contributions. Annualised over the payroll period.
PAYE	Annualised taxable income run through the Income Tax Slab brackets, less age-based rebates (primary/secondary/tertiary), less the medical scheme tax credit, de-annualised to the period. ETI does not reduce the employee's PAYE on the slip — it reduces what the employer pays over on the EMP201.
UIF (employee)	1% of the UIF base (capped at the monthly UIF cap from the rate pack).
UIF (employer)	1% on the same capped base, as a company contribution.
SDL	1% of the SDL base, as a company contribution (employer cost).
ETI (`za_monthly_eti`)	Employment Tax Incentive for eligible employees, from the ETI Slab band for their remuneration and employment-month, prorated by hours. Stored on the slip and consumed by the EMP201.
Retirement excess (`za_retirement_fund_taxable_excess`)	Retirement contributions above the deductible cap, added back to taxable income.
Total company contribution	Sum of employer contributions (UIF employer, SDL, employer retirement/medical).
Net pay	Gross less employee deductions (PAYE, employee UIF, medical, retirement, etc.).

Reading the statutory bases

UIF, SDL and COIDA each have their own base, controlled by the UIF/SDL/COIDA Applicable flags on the salary components. A component only enters a base if its flag is set. This is why component configuration (Salary Components & SA Treatment) matters: a mis-flagged component silently shifts the statutory bases.

PAYE inclusion percentage

The PAYE inclusion % on a component determines how much of it is taxed monthly. A Fixed Travel Allowance defaults to 80% inclusion (the standard treatment where the employee uses the vehicle substantially for business). Where the statutory rule allows 20% inclusion, set the component's inclusion percentage accordingly. The engine annualises the included portion correctly across the period.

ETI on the slip vs the EMP201

The slip shows the calculated ETI (za_monthly_eti) for visibility, but ETI is an employer incentive: it reduces the PAYE the employer pays to SARS, declared on the EMP201. The employee's own PAYE and net pay are unaffected by ETI. Keep this distinction clear when explaining a payslip to an employee.

What to sanity-check on each slip

PAYE is non-zero for taxable earners and not absurdly high (a sign of wrong-year slab or missing rebate).
UIF employee and employer are equal and capped.
ETI appears only for eligible employees and is within the band maximum.
Retirement excess is zero unless contributions genuinely exceed the cap.
The medical tax credit reduced PAYE where the employee is on a scheme.

Work through the Review, Submit & Post routine.