The Compensation Fund's Return of Earnings season closes on 30 June 2026. Here is what to file, what it costs to be late, and how to stop the deadline catching you out next year.
In brief
Every employer registered for COIDA must submit a Return of Earnings each year. The 2026 season runs from 1 April to 30 June 2026 [1][2]. File late, and a 10 percent penalty applies automatically, with interest on unpaid amounts and the risk of a suspended Letter of Good Standing [2][3]. The Confirmation of Employer Registration Details form is compulsory this season [1][2]. Submit the return, settle the assessment, and keep the proof, because your renewed Letter of Good Standing depends on all three.
Background
The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA) requires registered employers to declare the earnings of their workers each year through a Return of Earnings, often called the ROE. The Compensation Fund uses that declaration to set the annual assessment, which is the levy that funds compensation for workers injured or made ill at work. In exchange for being assessed and paid up, an employer can obtain a Letter of Good Standing, the document that proves to clients, principals and tender boards that the business carries valid COIDA cover.
For the 2026 season, the submission window opened on 1 April and closes on 30 June 2026 [1][2]. Multiple compliance sources confirm the same closing date, and none report an extension as the deadline approaches [1][2][3]. This season, the Compensation Fund also requires employers to complete a Confirmation of Employer Registration Details form alongside the return, and this step is described as compulsory rather than optional [1][2].
Analysis
Two things make this deadline easy to underestimate.
The first is that the penalty is mechanical, not discretionary. After 30 June, a 10 percent penalty is applied to the assessment, and interest accrues on amounts not paid within 30 days of the assessment notice [2][3]. There is no warning letter to wait for. The cost lands on the account as a function of the calendar.
The second is the link to the Letter of Good Standing. The letter is not a separate certificate that you can renew on its own. It flows from a submitted return and a settled assessment. Miss the return, or leave the assessment unpaid, and the letter can be suspended [2][3]. For a business that supplies a larger company or relies on tenders, a suspended letter is frequently the silent reason a contract does not proceed. The damage is commercial, and it often outweighs the penalty itself.
There is a wider context. The Department of Employment and Labour has been explicit that in 2026 it is moving from paper compliance to demonstrable, evidenced compliance, and it is expanding its inspectorate. Recent COIDA amendments brought new inspector enforcement powers into force and extended cover to domestic workers, which widens the population of employers the Fund expects to see returns from [4]. The annual ROE is the most visible signal that an employer is inside the system and current.
What this means for you
If you are a registered employer, do these before 30 June:
Declare the right figures. Report actual earnings for the past assessment year (1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026) and a provisional estimate for the year ahead. Over-declaring ties up cash you do not owe. Under-declaring invites a shortfall assessment later.
Complete the registration confirmation form. It is compulsory this season, so a return submitted without it can be held up [1][2].
Pay the assessment and keep the evidence. Your Letter of Good Standing depends on the return and the payment clearing, so retain the assessment notice and proof of payment together.
Check your Letter of Good Standing expiry now, not when a client asks for it. If a contract requires a current letter, work backwards from that requirement to the return and the payment.
Put it on a calendar that is not a person's memory. The recurring failure is not a refusal to comply. It is a once-a-year task that surfaces too late. A reminder set in April removes the June scramble entirely.
The GRC Shop view
Opinion. The ROE deadline is a small, predictable event that causes outsized disruption because it is tracked informally. On the GRC Shop platform, COIDA dates belong on the same live compliance calendar as appointment letters, certificate expiries, and register reviews, so the system flags the return window, the assessment, and the Letter of Good Standing expiry well ahead of 30 June. The point is not to file the return for you; that remains the employer's responsibility, but to make sure the deadline never arrives unannounced. That is the difference between a binder on a shelf and a system that is inspection-ready.
Get inspection ready: request a quote
Abbreviations
- COIDA: Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993
- DEL: Department of Employment and Labour
- ROE: Return on Earnings
- SME: Small and Medium Enterprise
References
- Accounting Weekly / SAAA, "COIDA Return of Earnings (ROE) Submission Runs from 1 April to 30 June 2026", 2026. Link
- ClearComply, "COIDA Return of Earnings 2026: Deadline, Calculator and Step-by-Step Guide", 2026. Link
- Company Partners, "COIDA Return of Earnings 2026 Deadline Explained", 2026. Link
- Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, "COIDA Amendments now in force: A new era for workplace injury compensation", 12 Mar 2026. Link
Last updated: 25 June 2026