Salary Calculator South Africa Guide: How to Work Out Your Take-Home Pay in South Africa

PAYE: the SARS tax brackets for 2026/27

PAYE is progressive: only the slice of your income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate. The tax year runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, and the SARS brackets for 2026/27 are:

• 18% on taxable income up to R245,100
• 26% on income from R245,101 to R383,100 (R44,118 + 26% above R245,100)
• 31% on income from R383,101 to R530,200 (R79,998 + 31% above R383,100)
• 36% on income from R530,201 to R695,800 (R125,599 + 36% above R530,200)
• 39% on income from R695,801 to R887,000 (R185,215 + 39% above R695,800)
• 41% on income from R887,001 to R1,878,600 (R259,783 + 41% above R887,000)
• 45% on income above R1,878,600 (R666,339 + 45% above R1,878,600)

Two points matter here. First, your marginal rate — the rate on your next rand — is not your average rate: most of your income is taxed at the lower bands, so your overall tax rate is lower than your top band. Second, PAYE is worked out on your annual income, not your monthly pay: your employer annualises your monthly salary, runs it through the table, then divides the result by twelve. That is why a once-off bonus in a single month can look heavily taxed — it pushes that month's annualised figure into a higher band — even though SARS settles the difference when you are assessed for the full year.

Rebates and thresholds: why many low earners pay no PAYE

After the bracket calculation, SARS subtracts tax rebates — credits taken directly off your tax bill, not off your income. For 2026/27 the primary rebate, which everyone gets, is R17,820 a year. People aged 65 and older get an additional secondary rebate of R9,765, and people aged 75 and older get a further tertiary rebate of R3,249.

The rebates create tax-free thresholds: if you are under 65, you pay no income tax on annual earnings up to R99,000 (R8,250 a month), because 18% of R99,000 is R17,820 — exactly the primary rebate. The thresholds are R153,250 for ages 65 to 74 and R171,300 for ages 75 and older. Below your threshold you still pay UIF, but no PAYE. Medical scheme members get a further reduction: the medical scheme fees tax credit is R376 a month for each of the first two people covered and R254 a month for each additional dependant, taken off your PAYE after the rebate calculation.

UIF: the 1% contribution with a ceiling

UIF is charged at 1% of your remuneration by you as the employee, and your employer pays a matching 1% on top — the employer's share never comes off your pay. The employee contribution is capped: it applies only up to monthly earnings of R17,712, so the maximum employee UIF deduction is R177.12 a month (R2,125.44 a year). Anyone earning above that ceiling pays exactly R177.12, which is why UIF takes a smaller share of pay as income rises. The Skills Development Levy, at 1% of payroll, is an employer cost and is never deducted from an employee's pay.

A worked example: R600,000 gross salary

Take a gross salary of R600,000 a year (R50,000 a month) and work through the 2026/27 calculation for a person under 65 with no other deductions or credits. Tax before rebates is 18% of R245,100 (R44,118), plus 26% of the next R138,000 (R35,880), plus 31% of the next R147,100 (R45,601), plus 36% of the remaining R69,800 (R25,128) — a total of R150,727. Subtract the primary rebate of R17,820 and annual PAYE is R132,907.

Monthly, that is PAYE of R11,075.58 and UIF of R177.12 (the capped maximum, since 1% of R50,000 exceeds the cap), leaving net pay of R38,747.30 a month — R464,967.56 a year. Your marginal rate here is 36%, but your average tax rate is only about 22% of gross pay, which is exactly why the marginal rate should never be used to estimate take-home pay.

Five common South African salary mistakes

• Budgeting on gross pay — the salary in the offer letter is before PAYE and UIF. Budget on net pay, which at R600,000 is over R11,000 a month lower.
• Treating the marginal rate as the average rate — only income inside the top band is taxed at the top rate. Your overall tax rate is always lower than your marginal rate.
• Using last year's brackets — the 2026/27 brackets and rebates were adjusted for the first time since 2023/24. An old table understates the tax-free threshold and overstates tax.
• Forgetting the UIF ceiling — UIF stops growing at R177.12 a month, so it is a fixed amount for everyone earning above R17,712 a month, not 1% of the full salary.
• Panicking over a bonus month — a bonus annualises your monthly pay and can push that month into a higher band. Over the full tax year it evens out, and SARS settles the difference on assessment.