South Africa Transfer Duty Tax & Bond Cost Calculator

About the South Africa Transfer Duty Tax & Bond Cost Calculator

Transfer duty is the tax on the value of property acquired in South Africa: land and buildings, real rights in land and shares in a residential property company or share block. The buyer pays it, and the same table applies to individuals, companies and trusts: nothing on the first R1 210 000, then 3%, 6%, 8%, 11% and 13% on the part of the value in each higher band (SARS).

When the seller is a VAT vendor selling in the course of its business — usually a developer selling a new home — the sale carries 15% VAT inside the price instead, and no transfer duty. Add your bond to see the monthly repayment, the interest over the term and a year-by-year balance, and enter your conveyancer’s quote to see the cash you need on the day. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Without a pass, the free preview shows the transfer duty in full, with the first rows of the band table, of the cash needed upfront and of the bond; a Pro pass unlocks every figure, the bond’s year-by-year balance, the summary to copy and the CSV.

The transfer duty table

On the value of the property (SARS):

• Up to R1 210 000: no duty
• R1 210 001 – R1 663 800: 3% of the amount above R1 210 000
• R1 663 801 – R2 329 300: R13 614 + 6% of the amount above R1 663 800
• R2 329 301 – R2 994 800: R53 544 + 8% of the amount above R2 329 300
• R2 994 801 – R13 310 000: R106 784 + 11% of the amount above R2 994 800
• R13 310 001 and above: R1 241 456 + 13% of the amount above R13 310 000

Each rate applies only to the part of the value in its band; the amount in front is the duty on everything below it.

Who pays, and when

The person acquiring the property pays the duty. It is payable within 6 months of the date of acquisition; after that, SARS charges interest at 10% a year for each completed month. In a conditional sale the six months run from the date the agreement is signed, not from the date the conditions are met. Your conveyancer submits the declaration and pays the duty through SARS eFiling, and SARS then issues the receipt (SARS).

VAT instead of transfer duty

A sale by a VAT vendor in the course or furtherance of its enterprise is a taxable supply: VAT at the standard rate of 15% is included in the price, or 0% when a going concern is sold, and no transfer duty is payable. A sale is never subject to both. The price of a new home from a developer therefore includes VAT of 15/115 of the price (SARS, VAT).

Your bond and the other costs

The repayment is worked out with the rate you enter, compounded monthly, as banks quote it: most bond rates are quoted against the prime lending rate, so a change in prime changes your repayment. Besides transfer duty, buying costs the transfer attorney’s fees, the bond attorney’s fees for registering the bond, Deeds Office fees and often a bank initiation fee and a valuation: they depend on the price and the bond, so ask your conveyancer and bank for quotes and enter them.

Selling later

When you sell, the gain on your home may be subject to capital gains tax above the primary residence exclusion: the South Africa capital gains tax calculator works it out, and the transfer duty and fees you paid now count towards the base cost.

Limitations

• Uses the transfer duty table in force; a property acquired before the table last changed was taxed on an older table (see SARS).
• Exemptions under section 9 of the Transfer Duty Act are not applied, and the VAT rule is only as your answer to the VAT question.
• Conveyancing, bond registration and Deeds Office fees are not worked out: enter them from your quotes.
• The bond is a fixed rate for the whole term with equal monthly repayments; real bonds follow the prime rate and may add monthly service fees.

Privacy

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