Salary and PAYE calculator

How PAYE is worked out on a monthly salary

Make it a year. The monthly salary is multiplied by twelve, because the tax tables are annual.

Take off retirement contributions. What the employee pays into a pension fund, provident fund or retirement annuity is deducted before tax, up to 27.5% of their pay and no more than R430 000 a year.

Apply the tax table, then the rebates. The tax on the yearly figure comes from the table above. Everyone gets the primary rebate; employees of 65 and older get a second one, and 75 and older a third. If the rebates are bigger than the tax, no PAYE is due, which is why nobody under 65 pays tax below R99 000 a year.

Take off the medical scheme fees tax credit. A fixed amount a month for each person on the medical aid, taken off the tax itself rather than off the income.

Divide by twelve. That is the PAYE for the month. UIF is then 1% of the salary, up to a ceiling, from the employee, and another 1% from the business.

Started part-way through the year? Payroll scales your pay up to a full year, works out the tax on that and deducts it for the months you work. SARS's own example: R110 000 earned over 7 months is taxed as if it were R188 571 a year. If you earned less over the whole tax year, the extra PAYE comes back when your return is assessed. Only SARS can refund it, not your employer.

This is a calculator, not tax advice. Bonuses, commission, travel allowances, fringe benefits and directors' pay are taxed differently and are not covered here. Check anything that matters with your accountant or with SARS.

Tax rules worth knowing, 2026/27

The rules and figures for the tax year 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, from SARS and the National Treasury 2026 Budget Tax Guide.

Retirement contributions

Pension, provident and retirement annuity contributions are deducted before tax, up to 27.5% of the greater of your pay or taxable income, and no more than R430 000 a year. The cap went up in 2026 for the first time since 2016.

Two-pot withdrawals from the savings pot: at least R2 000, once per tax year, taxed at your normal income tax rate.

Medical aid and medical costs

The medical scheme fees tax credit is R376 a month for you, R376 for the first dependant and R254 for each one after that. It comes off your tax, not your income.

Additional medical expenses credit, claimed on your tax return:

• 65 or older, or someone in the family has a disability: 33.3% of qualifying medical costs you paid, plus medical aid contributions above 3 times the monthly credits.
• Everyone else: 25% of qualifying costs plus contributions above 4 times the monthly credits, counting only the part above 7.5% of your taxable income.

Medical aid your employer pays for you is a taxable benefit, but it also counts as paid by you for these credits.

Savings and interest

• Interest exemption: the first R23 800 of South African interest a year is tax-free under 65, R34 500 from 65.
• Tax-free savings account: up to R46 000 a year (up from R36 000) and R500 000 over your lifetime. Growth and withdrawals are tax-free.

Donations

Donations to approved public benefit organisations (section 18A) are deductible up to 10% of taxable income. Anything above that carries forward to next year. Keep the section 18A receipt, unless your employer deducts the donation from your salary, in which case it shows on your IRP5.

Travel allowance and company car

• Travel allowance: PAYE is worked out on 80% of it, or 20% if your employer is satisfied the car is used at least 80% for business. To claim against it on your return you need a logbook.
• Paid per business kilometre: no tax up to R4.95 a km, provided you get no other allowance for the car.
• Company car: a taxable benefit of 3.5% of the car's cash cost a month, or 3.25% if it came with a maintenance plan.

Working from home

You can claim home office costs only if the room is specifically equipped for work and used regularly and only for it. Salaried employees must do more than 50% of their duties there. Commission earners qualify if more than half their pay is commission and more than half their work is done away from the employer's office. Keep a floor plan, photos and a record of the days worked from home.

Capital gains

The first R50 000 of capital gains each year is tax-free (R440 000 in the year of death), and R3 million of the gain on your main home. 40% of the rest is added to your taxable income, so the most anyone pays is 18% of the gain.

Lump sums from a retirement fund

• At retirement, death or retrenchment: the first R550 000 is tax-free, then 18% to R770 000, 27% to R1 155 000, and 36% above that.
• Withdrawing when you resign: the first R27 500 is tax-free, then 18% to R726 000, 27% to R1 089 000, and 36% above that.

Both tables add up every lump sum you have received before, not just this one.

Income that is not a salary

If you earn money that is not a salary, such as a business, rent or freelance work, you are likely to be a provisional taxpayer, paying twice a year: by 31 August and by the end of February. You are exempt if you run no business and your interest, dividends and rent come to R30 000 or less a year.

Do you need to file a return?

Under the current rule you do not, if your only income is a salary of R500 000 or less from one employer with PAYE deducted, plus tax-free interest. That rule does not apply if you get a travel allowance or earned money for work outside South Africa. For 2026 returns, auto-assessments ran in July and the deadline is 23 October 2026, or 22 January 2027 for provisional taxpayers.

Sources: 2026 Budget Tax Guide, SARS filing season, SARS two-pot system, SARS home office expenses. Checked 28 September 2026.