Running payroll in Ghana means juggling more than just salaries. If you have employees, there are four recurring obligations to track every single month, and each has its own deadline.
PAYE (Pay As You Earn)
Income tax deducted from employee salaries before they're paid out. PAYE for a given month must be remitted to GRA by the 15th of the following month.
VAT (Value Added Tax)
If you're VAT-registered, returns are due monthly, by the last working day of the month.
Withholding Tax
Also due monthly, by the 15th, the same deadline as PAYE, which makes it easy to bundle the two together administratively.
SSNIT (Social Security and National Insurance Trust)
Employers must remit both the employer's 13.5% and employee's 5% contribution (18.5% total) by the 14th day of the month following the wage period. If the 14th falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the preceding working day. Late payments attract a 3% per month penalty, one of the steeper penalties in the system, so this is not a deadline to let slip.
A Simple Monthly Rhythm
| Obligation | Due Date |
|---|---|
| SSNIT contributions | 14th of the following month |
| PAYE | 15th of the following month |
| Withholding tax | 15th of the following month |
| VAT return | Last working day of the month |
Why SMEs Fall Behind
It's rarely one big mistake. It's four different deadlines spread across the month, each easy to miss when you're also running the actual business. Once one filing slips, the penalties and interest compound, and catching up gets harder than staying current would have been.
How Hemerge Helps
We run payroll processing, SSNIT filing, PAYE, withholding tax, and VAT filing on a single monthly schedule for our clients, so there's one point of contact keeping track of four deadlines, not four separate scrambles. If you're not sure your business is current on all four, that's worth a conversation.
This article is for general information and isn't a substitute for advice specific to your business. Confirm current deadlines with GRA or SSNIT, or talk to us directly.