
Pay As You Earn
All employers are required to submit to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) their employees’ monthly and yearly Pay As You Earn (PAYE) amounts using the Form 2 and 5 respectively. With the upgrade of its Tax Administration software and eServices platform, the GRA now offers a revamped facility to upload and manage your PAYE submissions online. This document serves to guide you on how to create the electronic file for upload to eServices.
For employers who have in the past electronically submitted PAYE Returns, please note that there are a few slight changes to the format of the data.
Process
For employers desirous of submitting the electronic data, the submission process will be as follows:
- The employer will prepare the data in the prescribed format and upload same to GRA’s eServices using their online account or through a tax agent. An employer should only submit one file per month or year (as appropriate).
- Once successfully submitted, you will receive an email that will inform you whether the submission passed the validity checks. If the file has errors, review and correct as much as possible before resubmitting. In cases where issues with the TIN cannot be resolved, leave the TIN field blank. When all the issues are resolved, you will receive an email indicating that the submission was successful.
File Requirements
The electronic file must be provided in a comma separated values (csv) format with a comma used as the separator. Each row must include all fields even if no data is provided.
A row represents the earnings and other details of an employee over the return period. If, for example, an employee worked two stints at the employer during the year, these must be summarised so that there is one record/row for the employee.
The name of the file should follow the pattern:
paye-[Employer Name]-[YYYY].csv e.g., paye-Guysuco-2020.csv
There should be no spaces in the file name.
Use the PAYE form validator to review and make corrections to your file before you submit. Click HERE to access the validator.
The table below explains the new electronic format for the electronic file submission:
| Column No. | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TIN | Employee’s Taxpayer Identification Number. Please ensure that this is the correct TIN for your employee as incorrect TIN can result in XXXXXX. |
| 2 | Employee_Number | Your internal employee number, if one exists. |
| 3 | First_Name | Employee’s First Name. If an employee only has one name, enter it in the Last_Name column. |
| 4 | Last_Name | Employee’s Last Name. If an employee only has one name, enter it here. |
| 5 | Other_Names | Employee’s middle names or other names. |
| 6 | Address | Employee’s current address. |
| 7 | Pay_Frequency | Indicate whether employee was daily, weekly or monthly paid.
The allowable values are: Daily, Weekly, Monthly. |
| 8 | Period_Employed | Using the Pay_Frequency indicated, specify the total number of days, weeks or months an employee worked with you for the month or year (as appropriate).
If an employee worked for only a part of the month/year then adjust accordingly using their employment start and/or end dates. |
| 9 | Employee_Type | Whether employee was either Full- or Part-Time.
The allowable values are: Full-Time, Part-Time. |
| 10 | Value_7A | Total salaries, wages, commissions, overtime or other emoluments payable for the period.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 11 | Value_7B | Total value of any residence quarters board and lodging for the period.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 12 | Value_7C_Taxable |
Total other taxable allowances in kind received by employee for the period. Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 13 | Value_7C_Non_Taxable | Total other non-taxable allowances in kind received by employee for the period.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 14 | Total_Income | Total income employee earned for the period.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 15 | Personal_Allowance | The tax/statutory allowance granted to employee for the period.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 16 | Employee_NIS_Contribution | The employee’s gross National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Employee Contribution based on Gross Earnings. Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 17 | Medical_Life_Insurance_Premiums_Deduction | The employee’s personal medical and life insurance premiums that were paid, limited to 10% of Gross Salary or $30,000 per month, whichever is lower.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 18 | Total_Deductions | Sum the Personal_Allowance, Employee_NIS_Contribution and Medical_Life_Insurance_Premium values.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 19 | Tax_Deducted | The total Tax Deducted for the period.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 20 | Date_Of_Birth | The employee’s date of birth in the format of YYYY-MM-DD. |
| Column No. | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TIN | Employer’s Taxpayer Identification Number. |
| 2 | Employee_Number | Leave blank |
| 3 | First_Name | Employer’s Name. |
| 4 | Last_Name | Leave blank |
| 5 | Other_Names | (Month of Income/) Year of Income
If the return is a Form 2, enter the year of the Return. However, if the Return is a Form 5, enter the month (1-12) followed by a ‘/’ and the year (yyyy). |
| 6 | Address | Employer’s registered address. |
| 7 | Pay_Frequency | Leave blank |
| 8 | Period_Employed | Total number of employees submitted (listed in the file). |
| 9 | Employee_Type | Leave blank |
| 10 | Value_7A | Total 7A amount.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 11 | Value_7B | Total 7B amount.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 12 | Value_7C_Taxable |
Total taxable 7C amount.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 13 | Value_7C_Non_Taxable | Total non-taxable 7C amount.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 14 | Total_Income | Total income for all employees.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 15 | Personal_Allowance | Total tax/statutory allowance granted to all employees.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 16 | Employee_NIS_Contribution | Total NIS Employee Contributions for all employees.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 17 | Total_Deductions | Total deductions for all employees.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 18 | Tax_Deducted | The total Tax Deducted for all employees.
Do not include any commas or other separators in the number. Do not include cents. |
| 19 | Date_Of_Birth | Leave blank |
Important
Employers should be mindful of potential areas for errors – some are listed below. These errors can be significant and lead not only to delays in processing of the returns but also to incorrect updating of their employees’ tax records.
– mismatched TINs with employee’s names and addresses
– incorrect TINs stored in a HR/Payroll computerised system
– incorrect amounts and TINs entered/generated in the electronic files for submission
– incorrect employer TIN entered
If you’re still experiencing issues uploading your PAYE submissions, use the PAYE form validator to review and make corrections to your file before you submit.
Click HERE to access the validator.