PAYE & Income Tax FAQ

PAYE is worked out in four steps: (1) your monthly gross salary is multiplied by 12 to get an annual figure, (2) South Africa's progressive tax brackets are applied to that annual figure — only the portion of income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, (3) your age-based rebate is subtracted from the result, and (4) the annual tax is divided by 12 to get your monthly PAYE deduction. See the full walkthrough on our methodology page.

You only start paying income tax once your annual income crosses these thresholds: R99,000 for taxpayers under 65, R153,250 for ages 65–74, and R171,300 for those 75 and older. Earning below the threshold for your age group means no PAYE is deducted at all.

Gross salary is your total pay before deductions — the number in your offer letter. Net salary (take-home pay) is what's actually paid into your account after PAYE and UIF are subtracted. For example, a R30,000.00 gross salary works out to roughly R25,141.90 net per month for someone under 65 in 2026/2027.

On a R20,000.00 gross monthly salary (under 65, 2026/2027), your monthly PAYE is approximately R2,115.00 and UIF is R177.12, leaving an estimated net take-home of approximately R17,707.88. That's an effective tax rate of about 10.58%.

On a R30,000.00 gross monthly salary (under 65, 2026/2027), monthly PAYE is approximately R4,680.98 and UIF is R177.12, for a net take-home of roughly R25,141.90 — an effective rate of about 15.6%.

On a R50,000.00 gross monthly salary (under 65, 2026/2027), monthly PAYE is approximately R11,075.51 and UIF is R177.12, for a net take-home of roughly R38,747.37 — an effective rate of about 22.15%. Use the calculator for your exact figures and age group.

No. PAYE is income tax paid to SARS. UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund) is a separate 1% deduction, capped at R177.12 a month, that goes toward a fund that pays out benefits if you lose your job, take maternity leave, or can't work due to illness. Read more in our UIF guide.

South Africa doesn't have a separate flat "bonus tax rate" — SARS adds your bonus to your annual salary and taxes the combined total using the normal progressive brackets. Because the bonus pushes your income into a higher slice of the brackets, it's often taxed at your top marginal rate, which is why it can feel disproportionately taxed. Try our bonus tax calculator to see the exact figure for your situation.

No. Your figures are processed to generate the result shown on the page and are not written to a database or shared with any third party. We don't require registration, an email address, or any personal information to use any calculator on this site.

No. SA Tax Guide is an independent resource. Our tax brackets, rebates and thresholds are sourced from official SARS and National Treasury publications, but for your official tax position always refer to SARS directly or a registered tax practitioner.