How we check our figures
Last updated 10 November 2026
A calculator is only as good as the numbers behind it. This page lists where each group of figures comes from, whether we have checked it against the official source, and what we could not confirm.
How we check
- Find the primary source. For tax, that is the South African Revenue Service. For interest rates, it is the Reserve Bank. For employment rules, it is the law itself. We do not use blogs or other calculators as authority.
- Compare, figure by figure. We read the official page and compare each number with the one the site uses.
- Keep every figure in one place. Figures live in the site’s data files, never inside a calculator, so a change reaches every page that uses it.
- Say what we could not confirm. If a figure cannot be confirmed, the tool asks you to type it in, labels it as an example, or leaves it out.
What the statuses mean
- Checked against the source. We read the official page and the figure matched.
- Partly checked. Part of the figure was confirmed; the row says what was not.
- Worked out from a rule. The official source gives a rule, and we apply it.
- Fixed definition. A unit or rule that does not change from year to year.
- Our assumption. A planning figure, always shown as an input you can change.
- Not confirmed. We could not confirm it on a primary page, and the tool says so.
- Left out. We could not read the source, so no figure is shown.
The register
| Figures | Source | Status | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax brackets, rebates and tax thresholdsTake-home pay, graduate salary, tax-year planner | SARS: Rates of tax for individuals | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| Medical scheme fees tax creditTake-home pay | SARS: Medical tax credit rates | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| UIF rate and monthly ceilingTake-home pay, graduate salary | SARS: Unemployment Insurance Fund | Partly checkedMatched on the SARS page. The Department of Employment and Labour page was not checked. | 10 November 2026 |
| Retirement contribution deduction and cap; interest exemptionRetirement annuity tax, take-home pay | SARS: Budget 2026 FAQ page | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| Tax-free savings account limits and penaltyTFSA calculator | SARS: Tax-free investments | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| VAT rateVAT calculator, invoices, quotations | SARS: Value-added tax | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| Transfer duty bandsTransfer duty, home buying costs, rent versus buy | SARS: Transfer duty | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| Tax on retirement lump sums and severance benefitsSeverance pay, lump sum versus annuity | SARS: tax on lump sum benefits | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| Severance pay rule (one week for each completed year)Severance pay calculator | Basic Conditions of Employment Act, section 41, on gov.za | Partly checkedRead in the original Act text. Later amendments were not checked. | 10 November 2026 |
| Policy rate, its history and the next meeting datesBond, car finance, rates dashboard | SARB monetary policy statements | Checked against the source | 10 November 2026 |
| Prime lending rateDefault rate in bond and loan tools | No primary page states the number | Not confirmedIt equals the policy rate plus a fixed margin, but that is a calculation, not a quoted figure. Use your own lender’s rate. | 10 November 2026 |
| Monthly fuel price change and levy reliefRates dashboard, fuel tools | gov.za: fuel price announcement | Partly checkedThe change in cents is checked. Pump prices for your area could not be read, so none are shown. | 10 November 2026 |
| Filing season and tax year datesTax-year countdown | SARS: Filing season | Checked against the sourceThe second provisional tax date is worked out from the SARS rule. | 10 November 2026 |
| Maximum interest rates under the National Credit ActInterest rate limit checker | National Credit Regulator documents | Worked out from a ruleThe formula was read in regulator documents. A current notice was not found, and fee limits are not used. | 10 November 2026 |
| Inflation (consumer price index)Not shown on any tool | Statistics South Africa | Left outThe page could not be read, so no figure is shown. We link to it instead. | 10 November 2026 |
| Unit conversionsLength, weight, volume, area, time and storage converters | NIST Special Publication 811 | Fixed definition | Not date-based |
| Planning assumptions: returns, inflation, withdrawal rate, upkeep, car depreciationSavings, financial independence, rent versus buy, car tools | Our own starting values | Our assumptionAlways shown as an input with a label, never as a statutory figure. | Not date-based |
| Company tax rate, small business corporation (SBC) table and trust rateSole proprietor vs company tax calculator | SARS: Companies, trusts and small business corporations | Partly checkedRate and table match the SARS page (years of assessment ending 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027). The page we read does not list who qualifies as an SBC, so the tool asks you to check that with SARS. | 10 November 2026 |
| Dividends tax rateSole proprietor vs company tax calculator | SARS: Dividends tax | Checked against the sourceThe rate applies unless an exemption or a reduced rate applies. The tool does not model exemptions. | 10 November 2026 |
| Public holidays: the twelve holidays, Easter rule and Sunday rulePublic holidays tool | Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (Schedule 1 and section 2) and gov.za public holidays | Checked against the sourceThe 2026 and 2027 lists match gov.za. The Monday after the Day of Goodwill in 2027 follows from the Act but was not on the gov.za list when we read it. One-off proclaimed days are added only when we have seen the declaration. | 10 November 2026 |
| Public school terms and school holidays, 2026 and 2027School terms and holidays tool | Department of Basic Education: 2026 and 2027 calendars for public schools, Government Gazette 52177 and 52178 (25 February 2025), read on gov.za | Checked against the sourceTerm dates were read from the gazette PDFs. The education.gov.za site refused the connection, so it was not read. The gov.za summary page lists different term 3 and 4 dates for 2027 from the gazette; the tool follows the gazette. The notices give one set of dates for all public schools, with no separate Gauteng, coastal or inland dates. | 10 November 2026 |
| Payslip particulars (BCEA section 33)Payslip generator | Basic Conditions of Employment Act, section 33, on acts.co.za | Partly checkedSection 33 was read in full. Form BCEA 4 is an image we could not read, so the tool covers the section 33 particulars and links the form. | 10 November 2026 |
| Home Affairs fees: passports, Smart ID, birth certificatesHome Affairs fees and documents checklist | Home Affairs tariffs page (headed updated August 2026), passports, identity documents and birth certificates pages | Checked against the sourceFee table and requirement pages agree except that the fee table and the birth certificates page word the abridged and unabridged certificate fees differently; the tool follows the birth certificates page and says so. Visa, permit and name-change fees were not used. | 10 November 2026 |
| SARS fixed late filing penalty table, recurrence and interest methodSARS late filing penalty and interest calculator | Tax Administration Act sections 187-189, 210-211 (SARS copy); SARS Admin Penalty page; public notice 1531 (GG 45540) | Partly checkedThe Act copy is the 2012 publication, so later amendments were not read. SARS’s page and the Act differ by one on the number of months. The 10.25% prescribed rate is from SARS’s provisional tax guide (from 1 December 2025); the day count is our assumption. The percentage penalty rate was not read. | 10 November 2026 |
| Bank branch codes and USSD codes: Absa, FNB, Nedbank, Discovery Bank, TymeBankBank branch codes and USSD codes page | Each bank’s own website and documents (links on the tool page) | Partly checkedCapitec and Standard Bank block our reader, so they are left out. TymeBank states no branch code. FNB’s USSD code comes from a 2008-dated FAQ. Banks word the code differently and the tool shows each bank’s own wording. | 10 November 2026 |
| National minimum wage, EPWP and contract cleaning rates, hours conversionMinimum wage calculator | Government Gazette 54075 (3 Feb 2026), Department of Employment and Labour flyer | Checked against the sourceR30.23 an hour from 1 March 2026. The 2027 rate is not announced. | 10 November 2026 |
| BCEA earnings thresholdMinimum wage calculator | Department of Employment and Labour media statement, 21 April 2026 | Partly checkedR269 900.90 a year from 1 May 2026. Gazette 54544 notice 7384 exists but its text could not be read. | 10 November 2026 |
| Public service salary ranges, 2026/27 (general levels, nurses, social services, health OSD, educators, SAPS)Public service salary scales | DPSA vacancy circulars 20 to 30 of 2026; DBE Gazette 54758 (29 May 2026); SAPS 2026/27 adverts; DPSA Circular 15 of 2026 | Partly checkedRanges as advertised: the circular scale appendices could not be retrieved. Levels 1, 8 and 9, enrolled nurse, SANDF and ranks above warrant officer are left out. Levels 13 to 16 have an unconfirmed effective date. | 10 November 2026 |
| Streaming service prices in rand (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium, Spotify)Streaming services cost comparison | Each service own South African price page | Partly checkedShowmax, DStv Stream and Apple services could not be read and are not listed. Only Netflix states tax treatment. | 10 November 2026 |
| Domestic airline baggage allowances and bag prices (FlySafair, LIFT, Airlink, CemAir, SAA)Airline baggage comparison | Each airline own baggage policy page | Partly checkedAirlink, CemAir and SAA show allowances by cabin only. VAT basis stated only by Airlink and SAA. | 10 November 2026 |
| Residential electricity tariffs 2026/27 (Eskom, Cape Town, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni)Electricity tariff comparison | Eskom tariff booklet 2026/27 and each municipality tariff schedule | Partly checkedEskom booklet is informational. Johannesburg, Tshwane, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City not listed. | 10 November 2026 |
| Prepaid data bundle prices (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C)Prepaid data price comparison | Each network own published bundle pages | Partly checkedCell C standard any-time bundles are not shown without a phone number. rain has no prepaid GB bundles. | 10 November 2026 |
| SASSA grant amounts from April 2026, payment dates, eligibility and contactsSASSA grants page | Budget Speech 2026, DSD statement on 2026/27 increases, SAnews, SASSA booklet 2026 | Partly checkedMeans test limits for 2026/27 read in the National Treasury ENE 2026 Vote 19 (Treasury publishes them; SASSA pages do not) and match the regulation formulas. CSG top-up and SRD income limit not shown. | 10 November 2026 |
| CIPC registration and annual return fees, due datesCIPC fees calculator | CIPC annual returns FAQ v5.0 and CIPC presentation of 30 June 2026 | Partly checkedBoth CIPC documents agree. It is not clear whether the late amounts replace or add to the on-time fee, so the tool shows them as published. Customised-MOI and non-profit fees were not confirmed. | 10 November 2026 |
| AARTO charges, penalties and demerit points (Schedule 3); the points limit and disqualification ruleAARTO demerit points and traffic fines checker | AARTO Regulations, 2026 (GN R.7646, Government Gazette 54922, 30 June 2026) on gov.za; Act 46 of 1998 and Act 4 of 2019 | Partly checkedSchedule 3 is scanned images, read with software and checked row by row. Charge wording is shown only where repeated readings agreed. Two charges (2364, 2438) are left out. No official start date for demerit points was found, so none is shown. | 10 November 2026 |
| Toll tariffs for conventional toll plazas, vehicle classes 1 to 4Toll route cost calculator | SANRAL tariff poster, New toll tariffs from 1 March 2026, and SANRAL media release of 19 February 2026 | Partly checkedAll 73 plaza lines on the poster are used, as printed, and none was calculated by us. The poster says it does not replace Government Gazette Nos. 54087 and 54088 of 5 February 2026, which we could not fetch, so the gazette text was not compared. The class rule (by axles) comes from SANRAL’s March 2025 booklet. Discounts and Gauteng e-toll are not covered. | 10 November 2026 |
| LinkedIn data export: file and column names (Profile, Positions, Education, Skills, Languages)CV builder import | LinkedIn Help: Download your account data | Partly checkedThe help page names the data categories but does not list file or column headings, and we have not seen a real archive. The importer matches headings loosely and skips what it cannot find. Not a figure: no numbers are involved. | 10 November 2026 |
| Leave minimums (BCEA Chapter 3: annual, sick, family responsibility, maternity, parental, adoption, commissioning)Leave calculator | Basic Conditions of Employment Act, sections 20, 22, 25, 25A, 25B, 25C and 27, on acts.co.za | Partly checkedEach section was read as a summary, not word for word. The date the 2018 parental leave amendments took effect and the UIF benefit amounts are not shown, because we did not find an official source. | 10 November 2026 |
The “read” date is when we last compared the figure with the page. Figures that apply to a tax year are checked again after the Budget each February and when the tax year starts on 1 March, and rate figures after each Reserve Bank decision.
What changed and when
- 10 November 2026. Added AARTO charges, penalties and demerit points from the gazetted 2026 regulations, with the points limit and the disqualification rule from the Act.
- 10 November 2026. Added the SARS fixed late filing penalty table and interest rules, with their sources.
- 10 November 2026. Added bank branch codes and USSD codes read on each bank’s own pages. Capitec and Standard Bank could not be read, so no code is shown for them.
- 10 November 2026. Added SANRAL toll tariffs effective 1 March 2026 from SANRAL’s own tariff poster.
- 10 November 2026. Added Home Affairs fees and document lists from dha.gov.za.
- 10 November 2026. Added BCEA Chapter 3 leave minimums (annual, sick, family responsibility, maternity, parental, adoption, commissioning) from acts.co.za.
- 10 November 2026. Added CIPC registration and annual return fees from CIPC’s own documents.
- 10 November 2026. Added company tax, SBC table, dividends tax, public holiday rules and payslip particulars, each with its source. Official CIPC fees could not be confirmed, so no CIPC fee is shown.
- 10 November 2026. Every tax, savings, VAT, transfer duty and policy rate figure compared with its primary page. No mismatches found. The prime lending rate could not be confirmed.
- 10 November 2026. Added severance, lump sum tax, fuel, filing season and credit rate data, each with its source and what the page could not confirm.
- 9 November 2026. First check of the figures behind the original calculators, with medical credits and UIF confirmed separately.
Found something that looks wrong?
Tell us through the contact page. Say which page and figure, and where you saw the official number. We will check it against the source and correct it if it is wrong. The calculators give estimates, not advice: see the disclaimer.