South Africa Provisional Tax Calculator
Each IRP6 payment, the date to pay it by, the basic amount and the underestimation risk.
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- Free preview: your provisional tax payment for the period in full, with the first rows of each table (up to 3) and the first step of the working; every other figure is hidden.
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2027 tax year · 2026/27 South Africa · SARS provisional tax (IRP6) · Sources
Your payments and the dates to pay by
| Payment | Pay by | Amount |
|---|
How the first payment is worked out
Basic amount and the underestimation penalty
The working
Rules used and official sources
Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act: paragraphs 19 (estimates and the basic amount), 20 (underestimation penalty), 21 (the two payments) and 27 (late-payment penalty).
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Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
How this tool is checked
- Based on
- the rules of South Africa.
- Sources
-
This guide cites 3 sources:
- Tests
- 25 automated tests check its results.
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About the South Africa Provisional Tax Calculator
Provisional tax is how South Africans with income other than a salary pay income tax during the year: rent, a business or freelance work, interest above the exemption, foreign income. It is not a separate tax but two advance payments of the year’s income tax, worked out on your own estimate of taxable income in an IRP6 return: half the year’s tax within six months (by the end of August for a year that ends in February) and the rest by the last day of the year (the end of February), each less the PAYE already deducted. A third, voluntary top-up after the year ends avoids interest when the first two fell short (SARS provisional tax).
Enter your estimate, your PAYE and, if you have one, your latest assessment. The calculator works out each payment with the rebates and medical credits of the 2027 tax year, gives the date to pay by (moved back from a weekend to the Friday), the basic amount your estimate is measured against, and how high your final taxable income may go before the underestimation penalty applies. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to use it
- Choose the tax year and your age on its last day, then the payment you are working out: the first period (by the end of August), the second (by the end of February) or the top-up.
- Enter your estimate of taxable income for the whole year (with taxable capital gains, without retirement lump sums and severance benefits), and the PAYE deducted for the first six months and for the whole year.
- For the second payment, enter what you actually paid in the first period, and your second estimate if it differs. For the top-up, enter your final taxable income.
- Add your latest assessment under “Basic amount” to see whether your estimate is high enough to avoid the underestimation penalty, and the medical scheme details if you have them.
- Read the payment for the period: it shows in full in the free preview, while the cards, the tables beyond their first rows, the working, Copy, the CSV download and Print need a pass or unlocking this result.
Examples
Tax for the year: R168 727 − R17 820 rebate = R150 907
First payment R35 453,50 (R150 907 ÷ 2 − R40 000); second payment R35 453,50, by Friday 26 February 2027
Payments R9 090 + R9 090; top-up R17 192; penalty 20% × (R28 092 − R18 180) = R1 982,40
The estimate is below both 90% of the final income and the basic amount, so the penalty is worked out on the tax on 90% of the final income, the lesser of the two.
The estimate is below 80% of the final income (R1 200 000): penalty 20% × (R370 293 − R288 293) = R16 400
Basic amount R195 000 + 8% × 4 years = R257 400
The example of SARS’s guide for provisional tax and Interpretation Note 1.
Who pays provisional tax
Anyone who earns income other than remuneration from an employer registered for PAYE, every company, and anyone SARS tells is a provisional taxpayer. An individual without business income is left out when the year’s taxable income will not be more than the tax threshold (R99 000 under 65, R153 250 from 65 and R171 300 from 75 for the 2027 tax year), or when the taxable interest, foreign dividends, rent and pay from an unregistered employer will not be more than R30 000. Directors of private companies are not provisional taxpayers for their salary alone (SARS provisional tax).
The payments and the dates to pay by
- First period: half of the tax for the year on your estimate, less the PAYE of the first six months and foreign tax credits, within six months of the start of the year: by 31 August, or the last business day before it.
- Second period: the tax for the year on your second estimate, less the year’s PAYE, the first payment and foreign tax credits, by the last business day of February.
- Top-up (voluntary): what is still short on your final taxable income, before the effective date seven months after the year ends: by the last business day of September.
The tax for the year is the tax from the rates table less the primary, secondary and tertiary rebates and the medical scheme credits, as on the IRP6. Provisional tax is never refunded or moved between periods: what is overpaid comes back on assessment. A business day is any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday (business days); pay electronically a few days early, because bank transfers take time to clear.
The basic amount
Your estimate is measured against the basic amount: the taxable income on your latest assessment issued at least 14 days before you submit the estimate, less taxable capital gains, retirement fund lump sums and severance benefits. If that assessment is for a year that ended more than 18 months before the estimate, the basic amount grows by 8% for every year from the end of that year to the end of the year you are estimating. SARS accepts an estimate below the basic amount only if you can justify it, and may raise any estimate it finds unreasonable (Interpretation Note 1).
Penalties and interest
- Late payment (paragraph 27): 10% of any first or second payment not paid by its date, with interest at the prescribed rate.
- Underestimation (paragraph 20): when the final taxable income is above R1 million and the second estimate is below 80% of it, 20% of the difference between the tax on 80% of the final income and the PAYE and provisional tax paid by the end of the year. Up to R1 million, the penalty applies only when the estimate is below both 90% of the final income and the basic amount, and it is worked out on the lesser of the tax on those two. A late-payment penalty on the second payment is taken off it, and SARS may remit it if the estimate was seriously calculated.
- Interest on an underpayment: for individuals with taxable income above R50 000, from the effective date until the assessment, at the prescribed rate; the top-up payment avoids it (guide for provisional tax).
Limitations
- For individuals, with a year of assessment that ends in February; companies and trusts are not covered (trusts get no rebates, and most pay a flat rate).
- It does not work out interest, because the prescribed rate changes; it shows the 10% late-payment penalty and the underestimation penalty.
- The dates move back from a weekend to the Friday before. None of the public holidays falls on the end of August, February or September, but a holiday declared for one year only would move a date as well.
- It works out the 2026 and 2027 tax years only, with the rates of tax and rebates on SARS’s rates page.
Privacy
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Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, South Africa Provisional Tax Calculator shows your provisional tax payment for the period in full, with the first rows of each table (up to 3) and the first step of the working; every other figure is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded, copied or printed. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
When are provisional tax payments due?
For a year that ends in February: the first by 31 August, the second by the last business day of February and the voluntary top-up by the last business day of September. When the last day falls on a weekend, pay by the Friday before; the calculator shows the date for the year you choose.
How do I avoid the underestimation penalty?
It depends on your final taxable income. Above R1 million, make your second estimate at least 80% of it. Up to R1 million, 80% is not enough: the estimate must be at least 90% of the final taxable income or at least the basic amount. Even an estimate that falls short costs nothing when the PAYE and provisional tax paid by the end of February already cover the tax the penalty is worked out on.
Is the PAYE from my salary taken off?
Yes. The first payment takes off the PAYE of the first six months, the second payment the PAYE of the whole year, as your IRP5s show it.
What happens if I pay too much?
Provisional tax is not refunded during the year or moved to another period. It counts towards your tax on assessment, and what is left over comes back to you then.
Do I have to make the third payment?
No, it is voluntary. It is worth making when your final taxable income is higher than your estimates, because interest on the underpayment runs from the effective date seven months after the year ends.