When it is due
The 10th of the following month. March’s PAYE is due by 10 April. This is one of the tightest deadlines in the Zambian compliance calendar — ten days from the end of the period. Your payroll must be finished well before it.The recommended monthly sequence
1
Run payroll before your cutoff day
Monthly inputs in, payroll previewed, payroll processed. See
Running payroll.
2
Open the PAYE filing
ZRA workspace → Filings → the PAYE return for that month.
3
Pre-fill from your payroll run
Choose the pre-fill option. Bumara populates the employee data from the completed pay run.
4
Review every employee's figures
Described below. This is the part that matters.
5
Upload the payroll summary
Generated from your pay run. Uploading it completes the matching task automatically.
6
Confirm and request submission
By the 10th, not on the 10th.
The checklist
A PAYE filing carries four required tasks:
Two documents are involved: the payroll summary (required) and an employee list
(optional, useful where the return is complex).
What is reported per employee
Reviewing the figures
Pre-filling saves the typing, not the responsibility. Check these before confirming:Employee count
Employee count
Does it match who you actually paid? Leavers who were paid part-month should be included.
Joiners mid-month should be included. Someone on unpaid leave who was paid nothing may not be.
Missing TPINs
Missing TPINs
Every employee needs their own TPIN on the return. A missing one will cause a rejection. Add
it to the employee’s record in Payroll, then re-run the pre-fill.
Unusual gross figures
Unusual gross figures
A large jump usually means a bonus, a back-payment or a leaver’s final settlement. Confirm it
is intentional rather than an input error in monthly inputs.
Chargeable versus gross
Chargeable versus gross
These differ where an employee has non-taxable elements. If chargeable equals gross for
everyone and you expected otherwise, check your allowance configuration in
Pay elements.
Total PAYE against your bank
Total PAYE against your bank
The total being remitted should match what you are about to pay ZRA. Reconcile these before
submitting, not afterwards.
How PAYE is calculated
Bumara applies ZRA’s progressive tax bands to each employee’s chargeable emoluments during the pay run. The bands are maintained centrally and updated when ZRA changes them. The calculation happens in payroll, not in the return. The return reports what payroll calculated. If a figure is wrong, correct it in payroll and re-run — do not edit the return in isolation, or your payroll records and your ZRA filings will disagree.Nil returns
If you had no employees or paid nobody in the month:1
Open the filing and mark it as a nil return
In the figures section.
2
Choose the reason
No employees, below threshold, temporarily inactive, seasonal, unpaid leave, or other.
3
Submit
A nil return becomes ready immediately — there are no employee figures to enter.
Paying the PAYE
Filing the return and paying the tax are separate acts. Filing on the 10th and paying late still attracts interest on the unpaid amount. The total PAYE from your return is what you remit to ZRA. Record the payment reference against the filing so your evidence trail is complete.Return statuses
If a return is rejected
Reopen the affected task, correct it, and request submission again.
Amending a filed return
If you discover an error after filing, you file an amended return rather than editing the original. Raise this through the messages panel on the filing — the Bumara team will guide the amendment, because ZRA’s amendment process differs by circumstance.Related: Running payroll and
Statutory returns.