Your take-home pay?

[TheOracle]

I have build a calculator that turns your gross salary into your real take-home pay for the 2026/27 tax year, using the official SARS tables. Put in what you earn, your age, your pension or retirement annuity and how many people are on your medical aid, and it shows your PAYE, your UIF, your effective and marginal rate, and a full breakdown from gross salary to the cash you keep.

Anyone interested can have a look here: https://southafricafacts.co.za/income-tax-calculator-south-africa/

 

[Jules7]

Thanks,can you please add a sub thingy under medical where one can enter the amount that you pay for medical aid subs per month/year. Some people pay quite a hefty amount that qualifies for Additional Medical Expenses Tax Credit.

 

[TheOracle]

Thanks,can you please add a sub thingy under medical where one can enter the amount that you pay for medical aid subs per month/year. Some people pay quite a hefty amount that qualifies for Additional Medical Expenses Tax Credit.

Done, added a "What you pay for the scheme" field.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Grant]

yikes

 

[ghaye]

There's a fair difference between what my bank account sees and what you're saying it should see. I suspect it comes down to the medical aid. My employer pays 100% so I pay additional PAYE on that.

 

[Jules7]

Done, added a "What you pay for the scheme" field.

Thanks for the suggestion.

It applies to me as a retiree, so thanks.

 

[TheOracle]

There's a fair difference between what my bank account sees and what you're saying it should see. I suspect it comes down to the medical aid. My employer pays 100% so I pay additional PAYE on that.

That's likely it! Employer-paid medical aid counts as a taxable benefit under SARS rules, so it should be included in your "salary before tax" figure, not just your cash pay. If you used your basic salary instead of the full taxable gross off your payslip, that would explain the gap.
I've updated the calculator so the help text and a note in the results now flag this clearly. Worth double checking your payslip's taxable gross includes that medical aid line and re-running the numbers with that figure.

 

[The_Ogre]

Does this work for the SRD R370 grant? Asking for a friend.

 

[TheOracle]

Does this work for the SRD R370 grant? Asking for a friend.

Try this one:

SASSA Grant Eligibility Checker South Africa

A free, private tool that checks whether you are likely to qualify for South Africa's SASSA grants, shows what you would be paid, and lists exactly what to bring when you apply. It never asks for your ID number.

southafricafacts.co.za

 

[Grant]

Does this work for grant? Asking for a friend.

hell no, it doesn't

 

[B-1]

Does this work for the SRD R370 grant? Asking for a friend.

If you want to pay tax to fit in you can buy me a black label.

 

[ghaye]

That's likely it! Employer-paid medical aid counts as a taxable benefit under SARS rules, so it should be included in your "salary before tax" figure, not just your cash pay. If you used your basic salary instead of the full taxable gross off your payslip, that would explain the gap.
I've updated the calculator so the help text and a note in the results now flag this clearly. Worth double checking your payslip's taxable gross includes that medical aid line and re-running the numbers with that figure.

If I just add the medical contribution to my gross pay, it increases the take-home figure even more. So that's not the correct calculation.

 

[Smokey888]

need to add more deductions IE Life cover etc.

 

[The_Ogre]

If you want to pay tax to fit in you can buy me a black label.

The president said we should use that R370 for food, but there's only one thing I hate more than your president, it is paying tax. So here's what I plan to do to get you your beer without paying tax.

I'll buy a brown bread (R15) and 500ml milk (R8) - since both these items are zero-rated for VAT - and barter in front of the liquor store to trade it with someone for a quart of Black Label for you.

Follow me for more tax evasion tips

 

[The_Ogre]

By the way, nice calculator the oracle. Apologies on behalf of @B-1 for derailing your thread with his beer guzzling fetish.

 

[TauTooona]

Tree-fiddy

 

[SauRoNZA]

Why?

This is all on your payslip.

 

[TheOracle]

Why?

This is all on your payslip.

Fair question! A few reasons people still find it useful even with a payslip in hand:

"What if" scenarios, seeing how a raise, bonus, or extra retirement contribution changes your take-home before it actually happens, without waiting for the payslip.

Planning ahead, quoting a new job offer or salary negotiation where there's no payslip yet, just a number.

Sanity check a second, independent number to compare against your payslip in case there's a payroll error.

Things like "what if I get a raise" aren't on a payslip at all.

 

[hellfire]

Nice try, SARS

 

[Mosgi]

Great work - its good, but worth adding other deductions per the payslip. Namely disability, funeral, life which are mandatory for a lot for companies.