What changed in the Budget

Choose two tax years and see every figure that changed, and what it does to the tax on your income.

Under 65, no medical aid, before any other deductions.

Tax on R 450 000 a year, 2026/27 compared with 2025/26

−R 1 855

Tax in 2025/26
R 84 772
Tax in 2026/27
R 82 917
Figures that changed
11 of 18

This compares the tax tables for the same income in each year (before any other deductions). It shows what the tables did, not what you will actually pay. The current year always comes from the figures the calculators use.

Estimates only. Not financial advice.

Every figure compared

Figures for 2025/26 and 2026/27
AreaFigure2025/262026/27Change
Tax bracketsTax-free income, under 65 (tax threshold)R 95 750R 99 000+R 3 250
Tax bracketsTop of the 18% bracketR 237 100R 245 100+R 8 000
Tax bracketsTop of the 36% bracketR 673 000R 695 800+R 22 800
Tax bracketsWhere the 45% top rate startsR 1 817 000R 1 878 600+R 61 600
RebatesPrimary rebate (everyone)R 17 235R 17 820+R 585
RebatesSecondary rebate (65 and over)R 9 444R 9 765+R 321
RebatesTertiary rebate (75 and over)R 3 145R 3 249+R 104
Medical tax credit, a monthMain member and first dependant (each)R 364R 376+R 12
Medical tax credit, a monthEach additional dependantR 246R 254+R 8
SavingTax-free savings account: yearly limitR 36 000R 46 000+R 10 000
SavingTax-free savings account: lifetime limitR 500 000R 500 000No change
SavingRetirement contribution deduction: yearly capR 350 000R 430 000+R 80 000
SavingInterest exemption, under 65R 23 800R 23 800No change
SavingInterest exemption, 65 and overR 34 500R 34 500No change
Other taxesVAT standard rate15.0%15.0%No change
Other taxesUIF monthly earnings ceilingR 17 712R 17 712No change
PropertyTransfer duty: no duty up toR 1 210 000R 1 210 000No change
PropertyTransfer duty: top rate (13%) starts atR 13 310 000R 13 310 000No change

Tax on example incomes

Income tax at different yearly incomes
Taxable incomeTax 2025/26Tax 2026/27Change
R 150 000R 9 765R 9 180−R 585
R 300 000R 41 797R 40 572−R 1 225
R 450 000R 84 772R 82 917−R 1 855
R 800 000R 211 442R 208 033−R 3 409
R 1 200 000R 374 284R 370 293−R 3 991

How the what changed in the budget works

Last updated 10 November 2026

After each Budget, the headlines are about the big announcements. This page shows the actual figures: which numbers moved, by how much, and what a change in the brackets and rebates is worth for a given income.

How it works

  • Each year’s figures were read from SARS pages and the Budget Tax Guides.
  • The tax comparison applies each year’s brackets and primary rebate to the same income.
  • The change is the new figure minus the old one.

Worked example

With the starting figures:

  1. On an income of R 450 000, tax in 2025/26 is R 84 772 and in 2026/27 it is R 82 917.
  2. 11 of 18 figures changed.

How to read your result

The headline is the change in tax for the income you entered, between the two years you picked. A minus sign means less tax in the later year. A plus sign means more. With the starting figures, tax in 2025/26 is R 84 772 and in 2026/27 it is R 82 917.

The first table lists every figure that was compared, grouped by area, with the old value, the new value and the change. Figures that did not move show as no change. The second table shows the tax at a few example incomes, so you can see how the effect differs at lower and higher incomes.

What the tax comparison does and does not show

The comparison applies each year’s tax brackets and primary rebate to the same income. It assumes you are under 65, with no medical aid and no other deductions. It shows what the tables did, not what you will pay.

Your own tax depends on other things as well: your age, retirement contributions, medical scheme credits and any other income. For a full picture of your pay, use the take-home pay calculator.

Why the same income can pay less tax

When the brackets and rebates move up, a person on the same income can pay less tax even though the rates themselves have not changed. When they stay the same while wages rise, more of a person’s income falls into higher brackets over time. Looking at the same income in two years strips out the effect of a pay rise, which helps you see what the tables did on their own.

Where the figures come from

  • Each year’s figures were read from SARS pages and the Budget Tax Guides.
  • The current year always comes from the same figures the other calculators use, so the pages agree with each other.
  • The tool shows tax years, which run from 1 March to the end of February. A Budget is usually announced in February, and its changes then apply from the start of the next tax year.

Things to watch

  • Bracket changes help most people only slightly and the effect depends on income.
  • Wage growth, not these tables, drives most of what you pay.
  • Figures are for tax years that run 1 March to the end of February.

Work out your own pay with the take-home pay calculator. Read the full disclaimer.

Like every tool on MoneyMzansi, this one runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent.

Questions people ask

Where do the figures come from?

From the official pages named at the bottom of this page, with the date they were read. Each figure was compared with the primary source, not with news sites or other calculators.

Why did so little change from 2024/25 to 2025/26?

SARS shows the income tax brackets, rebates and medical credits as unchanged between those two years. Transfer duty changed on 1 April 2025 and the 2025 Budget was delivered late, on 12 March 2025.

Is the current year the same as the calculators?

Yes. The latest year is read straight from the figures the calculators use, so the two cannot disagree.

What does the tax comparison show?

The income tax on the same income under each year’s tables, for someone under 65 with no other deductions. It shows the effect of the tables, not your own tax.

Take-home pay calculatorYour salary after PAYE, UIF and retirement contributions.Tax-year plannerWhat you can still contribute before the tax year ends, and the tax it could save.Tax-year countdownDays to filing deadlines, the end of the tax year, the Budget and the next rate decision.

Figures last checked on 10 November 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. Sources: SARS: Rates of tax for individuals, SARS: Transfer duty, SARS: Budget Tax Guide 2025, SARS: Budget Tax Guide 2026.

Estimates only, based on 2026/27 figures. Not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.