What is Code 4141 on a South African IRP5?
The combined UIF figure on your tax certificate, and why it is twice the UIF line on your payslip.
4141Code 4141 is the UIF contribution on your IRP5: your 1% and your employer's matching 1% added together. At or above the R17,712 monthly ceiling that is R354.24 a month (2 × R177.12), double what comes off your pay. SARS also counts it in the 4149 total on the certificate.
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What code 4141 means
Code 4141 is the SARS source code for UIF on your IRP5 tax certificate. SARS names the field "Employee and Employer UIF Contribution": one figure that adds your 1% and your employer's matching 1%, collected under the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act No. 4 of 2002.
It sits in the same group as PAYE (code 4102) and your employer's Skills Development Levy (code 4142). Your employer completes it for every employee it pays UIF for, and 0.00 is a valid entry where no UIF was payable.
UIF is 4141, not 4101. Code 4101 is SITE, an old withholding tax SARS no longer uses.
Why 4141 is double the UIF on your payslip
UIF is split down the middle. You pay 1% of your pay and your employer pays another 1%, and both halves stop at the same earnings ceiling of R17,712 a month, which caps each half at R177.12. Your payslip normally shows only your half, because your employer's half is a business cost and nothing comes off your pay for it. Code 4141 adds the two together.
| Monthly gross salary | Your 1% | Employer's 1% | Code 4141 (per month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R6,000 | R60.00 | R60.00 | R120.00 |
| R12,500 | R125.00 | R125.00 | R250.00 |
| R17,712 (at the ceiling) | R177.12 | R177.12 | R354.24 |
| R25,000 | R177.12 | R177.12 | R354.24 |
| R60,000 | R177.12 | R177.12 | R354.24 |
The R354.24 is simply 2 × R177.12. Over a full tax year at or above the ceiling, 4141 reads R4,250.88 (12 × R354.24), made up of R2,125.44 from you and R2,125.44 from your employer.
How to check your 4141 against your payslips
Add up the UIF line on the payslips for the months you worked, then double it. The result should match 4141 to the cent. If it doesn't, ask payroll to explain the gap. A missing month, a late payment or an employer share that was left out are all possible causes.
Your 4141 amount does not change your tax. UIF contributions are not tax-deductible, so 4141 does not lower your taxable income (code 3601) or your PAYE (code 4102). SARS also uses it as one of the five figures that make up the 4149 total (tax, SDL and UIF) on the certificate: 4101 (obsolete, so empty on current certificates), 4102, 4115, 4141 and 4142 must add up to that total, so a wrong 4141 will usually put the total out as well.
How 4141 feeds the 4149 total: a worked year
Take a salary of R25,000 a month, so R300,000 for the year. Code 4141 reads R4,250.88. Your employer's Skills Development Levy on the same pay (code 4142) is 1% × R300,000 = R3,000.00. For illustration, say your PAYE for the year (code 4102) was R40,000.00. The 4149 total is then R40,000.00 + R4,250.88 + R3,000.00 = R47,250.88.
Of the R4,250.88 of UIF in that total, only R2,125.44 came out of your pay. The other R2,125.44 and the R3,000.00 of SDL were your employer's cost, which is why 4149 is larger than the tax and UIF deducted from you.
What your UIF contributions cover
The money from you and your employer goes to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which pays these benefits when you qualify:
- Unemployment benefit if you are dismissed, retrenched or your fixed-term contract ends
- Illness benefit if you cannot work because of illness for more than 14 days
- Maternity benefit for up to 121 days (about 4 months), paid at a flat 66% of daily income
- Adoption benefit if you adopt a child under two years old
- Dependant's benefit paid to your dependants if you die while contributing
Use the UIF Calculator to estimate what a claim could pay.
Frequently asked questions
What does code 4141 mean on my IRP5?
It is the UIF line on your IRP5, printed alongside PAYE in 4102 and the Skills Development Levy in 4142. Read it as your 1% plus your employer's 1%, so expect about twice your yearly payslip UIF. A figure at or below your payslip total is the first thing to question.
Is UIF code 4101 or 4141?
UIF is code 4141. Code 4101 is SITE, an obsolete tax that SARS says does not apply from the 2014 year of assessment, so a current certificate carries no UIF amount there. If a payslip or payroll system shows 4101 next to UIF, treat that as the system's own label. The IRP5 itself uses 4141.
Why is my code 4141 double the UIF on my payslip?
Because it counts two people's contributions. The usual mistake is comparing one month's payslip UIF with a full-year 4141, or forgetting that 4141 for a part-year employee covers only the months worked. Compare like with like: the same months on both sides, with the payslip figure doubled.
Is code 4141 capped?
Yes. Each half is capped at R177.12 a month, which is 1% of the R17,712 earnings ceiling, so 4141 tops out at R354.24 a month and R4,250.88 a year. Below the ceiling it is 2% of your gross, so a R12,500 salary gives R250.00. Earnings above the ceiling add nothing.
Does code 4141 reduce my tax?
No, and there is nothing to enter on your return for it. UIF sits outside the deductions SARS lets you claim, so 4141 is a reference figure. Your tax follows your income in 3601 and the PAYE in 4102, so look there first if your assessment looks wrong.
Who has a value in code 4141?
Almost every employee, domestic and part-time workers included. The exclusions under section 4(1) of the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act are employees working fewer than 24 hours a month for one employer, public service employees, political office-bearers, municipal councillors and traditional leaders. For those, 4141 is zero or absent.
How many days of UIF benefit does a year of contributions build?
You build one day of benefit for every four days you work and contribute, up to 365 days in a four-year period. A full year of continuous employment (365 days) therefore builds about 91 days (365 ÷ 4). The 4141 amount is the money paid in. Your credit days decide how long a claim can run.