🇿🇦 How tax works
in South Africa.
2026/27 (2027 assessment) · National income tax guide
The calculation, explained.
The 2027 year runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027. Seven progressive bands apply. Gross mode includes the R17,820 primary rebate for a resident below age 65.
UIF, retirement-fund deductions, medical scheme credits and additional age rebates are excluded. Private-practice provisional tax and business expenses require a separate assessment.
For doctors
This model is for ordinary individual employment income. Private-practice receipts, professional expenses and medical pension arrangements need a separate assessment. A hospital's withholding is not necessarily your final annual tax.
Tax brackets · ZAR
Each rate applies only to the income inside that band.
| Taxable income slice | Rate |
|---|---|
| 0 – 245,100 | 18.0% |
| 245,100 – 383,100 | 26.0% |
| 383,100 – 530,200 | 31.0% |
| 530,200 – 695,800 | 36.0% |
| 695,800 – 887,000 | 39.0% |
| 887,000 – 1,878,600 | 41.0% |
| Above 1,878,600 | 45.0% |
Your worked example
Based on your €100,000 annual gross salary estimate, equivalent to ZAR 1,852,700.
- 1. Annual input
- ZAR 1,852,700
- 2. Custom deductible expenses
- − ZAR 0
- 3. Modeled allowance / base deduction
- − ZAR 0
- 4. Modeled taxable base
- ZAR 1,852,700
| Taxed portion | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| ZAR 245,100 | 18.0% | ZAR 44,118 |
| ZAR 138,000 | 26.0% | ZAR 35,880 |
| ZAR 147,100 | 31.0% | ZAR 45,601 |
| ZAR 165,600 | 36.0% | ZAR 59,616 |
| ZAR 191,200 | 39.0% | ZAR 74,568 |
| ZAR 965,700 | 41.0% | ZAR 395,937 |
- 5. Modeled tax credits (capped at tax due)
- − ZAR 17,820
- 6. Included additional tax
- ZAR 0
- 7. Income tax
- ZAR 637,900
- Effective rate = tax ÷ annual input
- 34.4%
- After income tax, before other deductions
- ZAR 1,214,800
Sources & assumptions
Sources checked 12 October 2026. The schedule's tax year is shown above; checking a source does not make a simplified model a complete payroll calculation.
Assumptions: single, no dependent children, age 30+, full-year resident, ordinary employment income only. No capital gains, dividends, special expatriate relief or double-tax treaty adjustments.