What is Code 4115 on a South African Payslip?
The Skills Development Levy explained — who pays it, how it is calculated, and the critical distinction between an employer levy and an employee deduction.
4115Code 4115 is the Skills Development Levy (SDL) — a 1% employer levy on total employee remuneration paid to SARS monthly. It is an employer cost, not a deduction from your salary. If it appears on your payslip, it is for information only and should not reduce your net pay.
What Code 4115 Means
Code 4115 relates to the Skills Development Levy (SDL) — a mandatory statutory levy governed by the Skills Development Levies Act No. 9 of 1999. SDL is fundamentally different from PAYE (4102) and UIF (4101): while those deductions come from your salary and reduce your net pay, SDL is a cost borne entirely by your employer. It is calculated as 1% of the total remuneration your employer pays to all employees combined and is remitted to SARS as a separate obligation alongside PAYE and UIF via the monthly EMP201 declaration.
When code 4115 appears on a payslip, it typically reflects the employer's SDL contribution attributable to your individual salary — shown for transparency to give you a full picture of what your employment costs the business. The critical point is that this amount should never reduce your take-home pay. If it does, your payroll has been set up incorrectly.
SDL is your employer's obligation, not yours. If code 4115 is listed on your payslip and the amount is being deducted from your net pay, this is incorrect. Raise it with your payroll department immediately — under the Skills Development Levies Act, SDL must be paid by the employer from their own funds, not recovered from employee salaries.
How SDL Is Calculated
SDL equals 1% of the total leviable amount — broadly all remuneration paid to employees, including salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and the taxable value of fringe benefits. The calculation is applied at payroll level across all employees, then paid as a single monthly amount to SARS.
| Employee Monthly Salary | SDL Rate | Employer's SDL Cost |
|---|---|---|
| R10,000 | 1% | R100 |
| R20,000 | 1% | R200 |
| R35,000 | 1% | R350 |
| R60,000 | 1% | R600 |
For an employer with a monthly payroll of R500,000 across all employees, the monthly SDL payment to SARS is R5,000 — in addition to PAYE and UIF. These three payments are all submitted together via the EMP201 by the 7th of each month.
Who Pays SDL and Who Is Exempt
Employers with an annual payroll exceeding R500,000 are required to register and pay SDL. Employers below this threshold are exempt but may register voluntarily. Certain organisations are fully exempt from SDL regardless of payroll size:
- National, provincial and local government departments (public service employers)
- Religious, welfare, or charitable institutions where no employee is remunerated for private gain
- Public benefit organisations registered under Section 30 of the Income Tax Act
- Certain employers specifically excluded by Ministerial notice
What SDL Funds — and Can Employers Claim It Back?
SDL funds skills development across South Africa through the SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority) system. Each SETA covers a specific industry sector — manufacturing, retail, finance, construction, and so on — and uses the SDL pooled funds to finance learnerships, skills programmes, and workplace training grants.
Employers who pay SDL can recover a portion through mandatory grants. By submitting a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR) to their relevant SETA by the 30 April deadline each year, qualifying employers can claim the mandatory grant of 20% of their annual SDL contribution. This incentivises employers to document and report on the training they provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does code 4115 mean on my payslip?
Code 4115 is the Skills Development Levy — a 1% employer obligation on total employee remuneration paid to SARS monthly. It is an employer cost, not an employee deduction. If it appears on your payslip it is for information only and should not reduce your net pay. SDL funds skills training programmes through the SETA system across South Africa.
Is SDL deducted from my salary?
No. SDL is an employer obligation under the Skills Development Levies Act — it must be paid by your employer from their own funds, not recovered from employees. If SDL is appearing as a deduction that reduces your net take-home pay, this is an error and you should raise it with your payroll department immediately.
Who pays SDL and who is exempt?
Employers with annual payrolls above R500,000 must pay SDL. Those below this threshold are exempt. Certain organisations are exempt regardless of payroll size — including government departments, registered charities, and certain public benefit organisations. Individual employees never pay SDL from their own income.
How is SDL calculated?
SDL equals 1% of the total leviable amount — all remuneration paid to employees including salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and taxable fringe benefits. The employer calculates the total monthly SDL across all employees and pays it to SARS via the EMP201 alongside PAYE and UIF contributions by the 7th of each month.
What does SDL actually fund?
SDL funds South Africa's skills development system through the SETA network. SETAs use these funds to finance learnerships, skills programmes, bursaries, and workplace training initiatives across specific industry sectors. Employers who submit Workplace Skills Plans and Annual Training Reports can claim back 20% of their SDL as a mandatory grant.
Why does SDL appear on my payslip if it is not my cost?
Some employers include SDL on payslips to give employees a transparent view of the total employment cost beyond salary — a "total cost to company" approach. When shown this way, the SDL amount should appear as information only, not as a deduction from net pay. If your net pay calculation is unaffected by the SDL line item, it is being shown correctly.