SARS Tax Refund Calculator

How to use the SARS Tax Refund Calculator

Take the salary and PAYE figures from your IRP5, add your retirement and medical figures from your tax certificates, and the estimate updates straight away.

1. 1. Tax year
2. 2. Your age at the end of the tax year Rebates rise at 65 and 75
3. 3. Salary for the year (R) Gross income on your IRP5
4. 4. PAYE paid for the year (R) IRP5 code 4102
5. 5. Retirement contributions (R a year) Pension, provident and retirement annuity together
6. 6. People on your medical scheme You plus dependants
7. 7. Months on the scheme
8. 8. Medical scheme contributions you paid (R a year) Needed for the additional medical credit
9. 9. Out-of-pocket medical expenses (R a year) Qualifying costs your scheme did not pay
10. 10. You, your spouse or a child has a disability
11. 11. South African interest earned (R a year) R23,800 is exempt under 65, R34,500 from 65
12. 12. Other taxable income (R a year) Rental, freelance or trading profit after expenses
13. 13. Donations with section 18A receipts (R a year) Deductible up to 10% of taxable income

The result panel reports:

• Estimated refund or amount owed PAYE paid less the tax you owe for the year
• Tax for the year After rebates and medical credits
• Effective tax rate Total tax over total income

The arithmetic is laid out below the result, in the order it was performed.

Common results

What the calculator returns as retirement contributions change, with every other default unchanged and PAYE fixed at R83 193.

Figures used in this calculator

The South African figures this calculator relies on, and where each one comes from.

• Income tax brackets 2026/27: 18% to 45%, first bracket to R245,100. Source: SARS Income Tax Tables (verified 2 November 2026).
• Rebates 2026/27: R17,820 primary, R9,765 from 65, R3,249 from 75. Source: SARS Income Tax Tables (verified 2 November 2026).
• Medical scheme fees tax credit 2026/27: R376 a month for each of the first two people, R254 for each additional dependant. Source: SARS Budget 2026 (verified 2 November 2026).
• Retirement deduction: 27.5% of the higher of remuneration or taxable income, capped at R430,000 (R350,000 in 2025/26). Source: Retirement annuity deduction cap (verified 2 November 2026).
• Interest exemption: R23,800 under 65, R34,500 from 65. Source: SARS Budget 2026 tax guide (verified 2 November 2026).
• Section 18A donations: deductible up to 10% of taxable income. Source: Income Tax Act (verified 2 November 2026).

How the calculation works

The calculator follows the same order SARS uses on your assessment. It adds your salary, other taxable income and any South African interest above the exemption, deducts retirement contributions (up to 27.5% of income and the annual cap) and section 18A donations (up to 10% of what is left), and applies the tax brackets for the year you choose.

It then subtracts the rebates for your age and the medical scheme fees tax credit for each month and person on your scheme. If you are 65 or older, or someone in the family has a disability, the additional medical credit is a third of your out-of-pocket costs plus scheme contributions above three times the monthly credits; otherwise it is a quarter of the amount by which those costs exceed 7.5% of your taxable income. The tax that remains is compared with your PAYE.

A worked example in rand

With the defaults, the R480 000 salary less the R60 000 retirement annuity gives taxable income of R420 000. Tax on the 2026/27 brackets is R79 998 plus 31% of the R36 900 above R383 100, or R91 437. Less the R17 820 primary rebate and R9 024 of medical credits (R376 a month for two people), the tax for the year is R64 593.

Payroll withheld R83 193 because it did not know about the retirement annuity, so the estimated refund is about R18 600. The R15 000 of interest is below the R23 800 exemption and adds nothing, and the medical expenses are too small relative to income to earn the additional credit.

How to read the result

A refund means you overpaid during the year; SARS pays it after your return is assessed, provided your banking details are verified and you have no other tax debt. An amount owed means income was not taxed at source, and it is due by the date on your assessment; if you earn this kind of income regularly you may need to register as a provisional taxpayer.

The estimate is only as good as the inputs. Fringe benefits, travel allowances, capital gains, foreign income and lump sums are not included; if you have them, the capital gains tax calculator and the forex trading tax calculator cover the most common ones.

The South African angle

Many salaried South Africans with one employer and no other income are not required to file at all, because PAYE already settled their tax. Filing is still worth it if you pay a retirement annuity privately, have large medical costs or changed jobs during the year, because those are the usual sources of a refund.

The 2026/27 year runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027 and is filed during the 2027 filing season; 2025/26 was filed in 2026. Keep your IRP5, retirement annuity certificate, medical scheme certificate and section 18A receipts, because SARS can ask for them, and check the dates in the SARS tax season dates reference.