Use TaxTim's free SARS tax bracket calculator to find out exactly which of the seven South African income-tax brackets you fall in for the 2026 tax year (1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026). Enter your annual taxable income and your age and the calculator shows your marginal tax rate (the rate charged on your next Rand of income), your effective (average) tax rate, the age-based rebate that applies, your net annual tax, the income threshold below which you pay no tax, and a slice-by-slice breakdown of how each portion of your income is taxed. It uses the official SARS PAYE and rebate tables, so there are no brackets to look up by hand.
South Africa uses a sliding-scale (progressive) tax system with seven brackets. Your income is not all taxed at one rate: the first slice is taxed at 18%, the next at 26%, and so on up to 45% on the top slice. The calculator first finds the bracket your taxable income falls in and reads its marginal rate from the SARS PAYE table. It then works out the gross tax using the SARS formula for that bracket (a fixed base amount plus the marginal rate on the portion above the bracket's lower limit). Next it subtracts your age-based rebate — the primary rebate for everyone, plus the secondary rebate if you are 65 or older and the tertiary rebate if you are 75 or older — to give your net annual tax, floored at zero. Your effective rate is that net tax divided by your total taxable income, which is always lower than your marginal rate. The per-bracket breakdown shows the Rand amount of income falling in each bracket and the tax on each slice, and the slices add up to your gross tax.
Tax brackets — 2026 tax year (1 Mar 2025 – 28 Feb 2026):
| Taxable income (R) | Rates of tax |
|---|---|
| 0 – 237,100 | 18% of taxable income |
| 237,101 – 370,500 | 42,678 + 26% above 237,100 |
| 370,501 – 512,800 | 77,362 + 31% above 370,500 |
| 512,801 – 673,000 | 121,475 + 36% above 512,800 |
| 673,001 – 857,900 | 179,147 + 39% above 673,000 |
| 857,901 – 1,817,000 | 251,258 + 41% above 857,900 |
| 1,817,001 and above | 644,489 + 45% above 1,817,000 |
Rebates: Primary R17,235 • Secondary (65+) R9,444 • Tertiary (75+) R3,145
Tax thresholds (no tax below): Under 65 R95,750 • 65–74 R148,217 • 75+ R165,689
Top marginal rate: 45% (unchanged for 2026 and 2027)
Example (2026 tax year): Lerato, age 40 (under 65), has a taxable income of R450,000 with no extra income.
Slice check: R0–R237,100 at 18% = R42,678; R237,100–R370,500 at 26% = R34,684; R370,500–R450,000 at 31% = R24,645. The slices add up to R102,007, reconciling with the cumulative formula. Note her 31% marginal rate is far higher than her 18.84% effective rate. Figures are illustrative; your actual liability may differ once medical credits and other deductions are applied.
Your marginal rate is the percentage charged on your next Rand of taxable income — it is the rate of the bracket you are in (for example 31%). Your effective (average) rate is the total tax you actually pay divided by your total taxable income, which is always lower because the first slices of your income are taxed at 18%, 26% and so on, and the rebate reduces the total. In our worked example a 31% marginal rate produces only an 18.84% effective rate.
Seven. For both the 2026 and 2027 tax years the marginal rates are 18%, 26%, 31%, 36%, 39%, 41% and 45%. South Africa uses a sliding scale, so being 'in the 45% bracket' does not mean all your income is taxed at 45% — only the portion above the top threshold is.
A rebate is a fixed amount SARS subtracts from your calculated tax. Everyone gets the primary rebate (R17,235 for 2026; R17,820 for 2027). If you are 65 or older you also get the secondary rebate, and 75 or older adds the tertiary rebate. Because rebates come off the tax (not your income), they create the tax threshold — the income level below which you pay no tax at all.
For the 2026 tax year you pay no income tax if your taxable income is below R95,750 (under 65), R148,217 (65 to 74), or R165,689 (75 or older). For the 2027 tax year these thresholds rise to R99,000, R153,250 and R171,300 respectively, reflecting the Budget 2026 inflation adjustment.
Yes. The 2026 brackets were unchanged from the prior two years (the top bracket starts at R1,817,000). For the 2027 tax year, effective 1 March 2026, SARS adjusted the brackets, rebates and thresholds upward by 3.4% for inflation — the first adjustment since 2023/24 — but kept the top marginal rate at 45%. The first bracket now runs to R245,100 and the top bracket starts at R1,878,601.
Enter your taxable income — that is your income after allowable deductions such as pension or retirement-annuity contributions (section 11F) and the deductible portion of a travel allowance. If you only know your gross salary, use TaxTim's Income Tax Calculator first to work out your taxable income, then come back to see your bracket and marginal rate.
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