Withholding tax

Withholding tax (WHT) is tax your customer deducts from your payment and remits to the tax authority on your behalf. PaidFast helps you track what's been withheld and manage the certificates that prove it. Withholding tax tracking is available on every plan.

#How withholding works

When a customer withholds tax, they pay you the invoice amount minus the withheld portion, and give you a withholding certificate for the amount deducted. You later use those certificates when filing, since the withheld tax counts toward your liability.

#Tracking WHT in PaidFast

Open Withholding tax in the sidebar to see WHT-related activity across your invoices — amounts withheld and the certificates recorded against them. This gives you a running view of tax that customers have deducted.

#Certificates

For each withholding, you can record the certificate the customer issued — its reference and amount — so you have a complete, exportable record. Each certificate is tied to the relevant invoice and customer.

#Automated certificate reminders

You can have PaidFast nudge customers who still owe you a certificate for a withheld payment — an independent cadence from the overdue-invoice reminders. Configure it under Settings → Collections → Withholding certificate reminders:

• Channels — WhatsApp, email, or both.
• Frequency — days between nudges.
• Number of reminders — how many times to nudge per channel before stopping, or check Unlimited to keep nudging every cycle for as long as the certificate is missing.

A reminder stops automatically the moment you record either a certificate number or a file for the payment — no need to turn anything off manually. Automated certificate reminders are a Starter feature.

#Letting customers upload their certificate

Every reminder includes a link the customer can use to upload the certificate themselves — no sign-in required, just click and attach the file (plus the certificate number, if they have it). It's the simplest way for a customer to clear a reminder without going back and forth with you.

What happens next:

1. The upload lands in PaidFast as a pending submission — it doesn't count as "on file" yet, so reconciliation stays accurate until you've actually looked at it.
2. You're notified by email, and it shows under Updates in the notification bell.
3. Open Withholding tax to see a Pending certificate submissions panel at the top, with the file, the invoice, and the customer. Open the file, then Approve or Reject.
4. Approve records it as the certificate on file — reminders for that payment stop for good. Reject asks for a reason, which the customer receives by email along with a fresh upload link to try again; reminders resume on their normal cadence.

Reminders automatically pause while a submission is pending review, so the customer isn't nagged again while you're looking at what they just sent.

#Exporting

PaidFast lets you export your withholding tax records and certificates, so you can hand them to your accountant or use them when filing your return. Look for the export action on the Withholding tax page.

#Reconciling

• Match each certificate to the invoice it relates to.
• Confirm the withheld amount matches what the customer deducted from their payment.
• Keep the certificate reference for your filing records.

Withholding tax reduces what you receive, not what you invoiced — the invoice total still reflects the full amount billed, while the payment recorded accounts for the deduction. Recording the certificate keeps the picture complete.