Calculator · Costs and tax
Transfer duty calculator.
Enter a property price and see the transfer duty on SARS’s current table, with the band and the arithmetic shown. If the seller is a VAT vendor selling in the course of its business, tick the box and the result switches to VAT, because a sale carries one or the other, never both.
SARS table in force from 1 April 2025, unchanged from 1 April 2026 · Checked 8 October 2026
Calculator
Your figure, with the working.
This calculator needs JavaScript, which is switched off or blocked in your browser. The table and the worked example below give the same answer by hand.
Key takeaways
- Transfer duty is a SARS tax on acquiring property, and the purchaser pays it. On the table in force since 1 April 2025, unchanged from 1 April 2026, the first R1,210,000 of value carries no duty.
- Above that the rates are 3%, 6%, 8%, 11% and 13%, each on the slice of value inside its band: R1,500,000 attracts R8,700 and R2,000,000 attracts R33,786.
- Where a VAT vendor sells property in the course of its business, the sale carries VAT instead of transfer duty: usually at 15%, or at 0% for a business sold as a going concern between two VAT vendors that meets section 11(1)(e) of the VAT Act. If the contract does not say, the price is deemed to include the VAT.
- On an auction the value for duty is generally the bid plus the buyer’s premium and any seller’s debts you take on (Transfer Duty Act section 6). The auction cost calculator adds them for you.
- This is a guide to SARS’s table, not a ruling on your purchase: the conveyancer declares the value and pays the duty to SARS, and their figure is the one to budget on.
The table
SARS’s transfer duty table, in force now.
For property acquired on or after 1 April 2025. Enacted by the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act 3 of 2026, which made it apply from that date. Unchanged from 1 April 2026 (SARS). The same table applies to individuals, companies, close corporations and trusts. Checked against SARS on 8 October 2026.
| Value of the property | Transfer duty |
|---|---|
| R0 to R1,210,000 | Nil |
| R1,210,001 to R1,663,800 | 3% of the value above R1,210,000 |
| R1,663,801 to R2,329,300 | R13,614 plus 6% of the value above R1,663,800 |
| R2,329,301 to R2,994,800 | R53,544 plus 8% of the value above R2,329,300 |
| R2,994,801 to R13,310,000 | R106,784 plus 11% of the value above R2,994,800 |
| R13,310,001 and above | R1,241,456 plus 13% of the value above R13,310,000 |
The table is fixed by the date of acquisition, not the date the transfer registers. For an agreement concluded from 1 March 2023 to 31 March 2025 the nil band ended at R1,100,000; our transfer duty guide explains which year’s table applies.
Worked example
R2,000,000, step by step.
- R2,000,000 falls in the band from R1,663,801 to R2,329,300.
- The value above R1,663,800 is R336,200, and 6% of that is R20,172.
- Add the band’s fixed amount of R13,614. Transfer duty is R33,786, or 1.69% of the value.
If the same sale carried VAT instead
A VAT vendor selling R3,000,000 of business property “plus VAT” adds R450,000 of VAT (15%), and there is no transfer duty; on transfer duty the same R3,000,000 would have cost R107,356. If the price includes VAT, the VAT inside it is 15/115 of the price: R391,304.35 of the R3,000,000.
Duty at common values
| Value | Transfer duty | As a share of the value |
|---|---|---|
| R1,000,000 | Nil | 0% |
| R1,500,000 | R8,700 | 0.58% |
| R2,000,000 | R33,786 | 1.69% |
| R2,500,000 | R67,200 | 2.69% |
| R3,000,000 | R107,356 | 3.58% |
| R3,500,000 | R162,356 | 4.64% |
| R5,000,000 | R327,356 | 6.55% |
| R15,000,000 | R1,461,156 | 9.74% |
These assume transfer duty rather than VAT, and no exemption. On an auction, work them out on the bid plus the buyer’s premium and any seller’s debts you take on: the auction cost calculator does it with the figures from your lot’s conditions of sale.
What it does not do
Where your conveyancer takes over.
- Exemptions. Heirs inheriting, spouses on death or divorce, and some other acquisitions are exempt under section 9 and need an exemption receipt instead. Buying from a deceased estate is not one of them.
- The value declared. On an auction it is generally the bid plus the buyer’s premium and any seller’s debts you agree to settle; at a sheriff’s sale in execution, only commission above 5% of the price is added. Whether VAT on the premium counts is for the conveyancer.
- Interest. Duty paid more than six months after the date of acquisition carries interest at 10% a year for each completed month.
Every one of these is set out in our guide to transfer duty in South Africa, with the sections of the Act.
Common questions
Transfer duty, answered.
How is transfer duty worked out in South Africa?
On a sliding scale set by SARS. On the table in force since 1 April 2025, unchanged from 1 April 2026, there is no duty on the first R1,210,000 of value. Above that, each band’s rate applies only to the part of the value inside that band, so the duty is the fixed amount for your band plus its percentage of the value above the band’s floor. Crossing a threshold never makes the whole price dearer.
How much transfer duty is payable on a R1.5 million property?
R8,700: 3% of the R290,000 above R1,210,000, on SARS’s table in force since 1 April 2025. On an auction purchase, the buyer’s premium you pay and any of the seller’s debts you agree to settle are generally added to the value first, which our auction cost calculator does for you.
Do I pay transfer duty if the seller charges VAT?
No. A property sale carries either VAT or transfer duty, never both. If the seller is a VAT vendor and the property is sold in the course of its business, the sale carries VAT, usually at 15%, and section 9(15) of the Transfer Duty Act exempts it from duty. A business sold as a going concern between two VAT vendors can be zero-rated (VAT at 0%, VAT Act section 11(1)(e)): no VAT and no transfer duty, if every requirement is met. Ask your accountant. A VAT vendor’s private home is not part of its business, so its sale carries transfer duty. If the contract is silent, a vendor’s price is deemed to include the VAT.
When must transfer duty be paid?
Within six months of the date of acquisition, which for a sale is the date the last party signs; after that SARS charges interest at 10% a year for each completed month. In practice the conveyancer collects it from you much sooner, because the Deeds Office will not register a transfer without SARS’s receipt.
Does a company or a trust pay more transfer duty?
No. Since 23 February 2011 the same table has applied to every purchaser: individuals, companies, close corporations and trusts. Buyers who live outside South Africa pay on the same table too.
Read more
The detail behind the number.
Transfer duty in South Africa. Worked out to the rand.
SARS transfer duty rates in force since 1 April 2025, unchanged for 2026/27: worked examples, when VAT applies instead, when it is due, who is liable.
Read the guide Costs and tax · 16 minWhat buying property on auction really costs
Every cost on top of the hammer price: deposit, buyer's commission and VAT, transfer duty, conveyancing and Deeds Office fees, bonds, rates and levies.
Read the guide Costs and tax · 13 minBuyer’s premium: what it costs, and how to bid with it
What a buyer's premium (buyer's commission) is at South African auctions, where the rate is disclosed, how VAT and transfer duty apply, and setting a top bid.
Read the guideBidding on a property?
Read the conditions of sale for the lot first: they say whether the price carries VAT, and what you pay on the day. If anything in them is unclear, ask us before you register.
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