Best Free Income Tax Calculators for South Africa (2026/27), Tested Against SARS

For a worked PAYE example, see how much tax you pay on R35,000 a month, with income tax and UIF shown separately.

How we tested

We compared nine tools, including ours, and ran two profiles through eight of them (seven competitors plus Mzansify), using each tool’s real web interface with the 2026/2027 tax year selected wherever a selector existed. Every figure below is that tool’s own output on its row’s test date. Where a tool could not be tested we say “Not tested” and do not infer. Mzansify is shown as our own tool, not counted among the competitors that matched.

• Normal profile: R30,000 a month gross, age 35, no medical aid, no retirement contributions.
• High-RA profile: R150,000 a month gross (R1,800,000 a year), under 65, with R45,000 a month (R540,000 a year) into a retirement annuity. That is above both 27.5% of income (R495,000) and the R430,000 cap, so the cap decides the answer.

Reference figures, worked by hand from the SARS table

We did not use a competitor, or only our own calculator, as the yardstick. We worked each profile out step by step from the published SARS 2026/2027 individual rates (SARS rates of tax for individuals), then confirmed Mzansify’s calculator gives the same figures. The retirement rule is from the SARS Budget 2026 FAQ: 27.5% of the greater of remuneration or taxable income, subject to an annual cap. SARS applies a R430,000 cap from 1 March 2026, announced in Budget 2026, but the 2026 Rates Act left the change out and it is due to be added back retrospectively with effect from that date. The cap was R350,000 the year before. We assume a taxpayer under 65 with no medical credit.

Normal profile (R30,000 a month):

1. Taxable income: R360,000 (no retirement contribution) = R360,000.
2. Bracket R245,100 to R383,100: R44,118 + 26% x (R360,000 - R245,100) = R44,118 + R29,874 = R73,992.
3. Less the primary rebate of R17,820: R56,172 a year, which is R4,681 a month.

High-RA profile (R150,000 a month, R45,000 a month into an RA):

1. Retirement contributions of R540,000 a year are deductible up to the lower of 27.5% of income (R495,000) and the annual cap, so the deduction is R430,000.
2. Taxable income: R1,800,000 less a retirement deduction of R430,000 = R1,370,000.
3. Bracket R887,000 to R1,878,600: R259,783 + 41% x (R1,370,000 - R887,000) = R259,783 + R198,030 = R457,813.
4. Less the primary rebate of R17,820: R439,993 a year, which is R36,666.08 a month.

The same profile if a R350,000 cap were applied, as last year:

1. Taxable income: R1,800,000 less a retirement deduction of R350,000 = R1,450,000.
2. Bracket R887,000 to R1,878,600: R259,783 + 41% x (R1,450,000 - R887,000) = R259,783 + R230,830 = R490,613.
3. Less the primary rebate of R17,820: R472,793 a year, which is R39,399.42 a month.

What we ran on each tool:

• Mzansify: Income tax calculator, 2026/2027 selected (the default), retirement entered as R540,000 a year.
• SalaryCalculator.co.za: Year option "2027 tax year" (its tax tables page defines it as 2026/2027; it was the default), retirement field R45,000 a month.
• Rand Tools: Salary calculator (no year selector seen), pension/RA field R45,000 a month.
• TaxTim: Income tax calculator, year 2027 selected (the form opened on 2026), R45,000 entered in "salary includes pension contributions".
• Accounter: Income tax calculator, 2026/27 (Current) selected, annual income, retirement R540,000 a year.
• Old Mutual: Income tax calculator, Basic mode (normal profile) and Advanced mode with "Retirement annuity" R45,000, monthly (high-RA profile).
• South Africa Facts: Income Tax & PAYE Calculator, under 65, salary per month, retirement Rand a month, no medical aid or other deductions.
• Sage: Recheck on 20 October 2026 returned HTTP 403 and a blocked page, so neither profile could be run.
• PaySpace: Tax calculator, 2026 / 2027 (the default), "Retirement annuity" own contribution R45,000 a month.

Tool results change. If one of them is out of date, see how we handle corrections on the methodology page.

Results as observed

Comparison table

“Our reading” is an inference from the PAYE figure each tool returned: “consistent with” means within R1 of the hand-worked figure for that cap. It is not a cap the tool states. “None found” means we looked at the calculator and its calculator list and did not find the feature; it does not prove the feature is absent elsewhere on the site. “Listed” means the tool’s own menu or hub lists it and we did not run it.

For current-year accuracy with RA and medical inputs: Mzansify

Mzansify’s income tax calculator: Defaults to 2026/2027, takes monthly or annual income, age, medical aid members and a retirement contribution, and showed a R430,000 retirement deduction on the high-RA profile. Calculations run in your browser and there is no sign-up. Mzansify has a bonus tax calculator and a net-to-gross mode in its income tax calculator. See the bonus tax calculator and the salary after tax table.

Limitations: It does not file returns. Its take-home line subtracts UIF by default as well as PAYE (you can switch it off), so it can read lower than tools that show gross less PAYE.

For bonus and net-to-gross in one place: SalaryCalculator.co.za

SalaryCalculator.co.za: Opens on its "2027 tax year" option, which its own tax tables page defines as 2026/2027. Has a medical aid members field, and its menu lists a bonus tax calculator and a net-to-gross calculator (we did not run those two).

Tables and RA cap, as observed: Year option "2027 tax year" (the default), which its tax tables page defines as 2026/2027. Normal profile matched the 2026/2027 result (R4,681); high-RA result consistent with the old R350,000 cap.

Limitations: On the 2027 option, the high-RA profile came out as a R350,000 deduction (taxable R1,450,000 a year), not the R430,000 cap. SARS applies a R430,000 cap from 1 March 2026, announced in Budget 2026, but the 2026 Rates Act left the change out and it is due to be added back retrospectively with effect from that date.

For a quick take-home with other money tools nearby: Rand Tools

Rand Tools: Has a medical aid members dropdown and a pension/RA field, and sits beside a bonus tax calculator and many other calculators.

Tables and RA cap, as observed: Labelled 2026/2027, no year selector seen. Normal profile differed by R5.35 (R4,675.65 vs R4,681); high-RA result matched neither cap; its page showed a first bracket ending at R237,100, a primary rebate of R17,235 and a threshold of R95,750, where the 2026/2027 figures are R245,100, R17,820 and R99,000.

Limitations: The page is labelled 2026/2027 but, on 20 October 2026, it showed a first bracket ending at R237,100, a primary rebate of R17,235 and a threshold of R95,750, where the 2026/2027 figures are R245,100, R17,820 and R99,000. It states a R350,000 RA maximum. We found no net-to-gross calculator.

For filing a return afterwards: TaxTim

TaxTim: Its page says it is free with no sign-up, and it states a R430,000 cap for the 2027 tax year. Its results page promotes its tax return service, and its calculator hub lists bonus tax, net-to-gross and medical aid credit calculators (we ran only the income tax calculator).

Tables and RA cap, as observed: Year 2027 selected (the form opened on 2026). Normal profile matched the 2026/2027 result (R4,681); high-RA result consistent with the R430,000 cap.

Limitations: The year field opened on 2026 (March 2025 to February 2026), so check it. On the high-RA profile the "salary includes pension contributions" field applied the cap, but the separate "private contributions" field did not change the result in our test. The income tax calculator has no medical aid field.

For business owners and bookkeepers: Accounter

Accounter: Takes annual income, states "max R430,000" for retirement contributions, and has medical aid contribution and member inputs. It sits with a set of business calculators (VAT, PAYE/UIF/SDL, provisional tax, turnover tax), and its calculators page is addressed to business owners, accountants and financial professionals.

Tables and RA cap, as observed: 2026/27 (Current) selected (the default). Normal profile matched the 2026/2027 result (R4,681); high-RA result consistent with the R430,000 cap.

Limitations: Income is entered annually, and we found no bonus or net-to-gross tool in its calculator list.

For a quick estimate with few inputs: Old Mutual

Old Mutual: The page is headed 2026/2027. Basic mode needs only age, pay frequency and salary; Advanced mode adds other income, medical aid, pension, provident fund and retirement annuity.

Tables and RA cap, as observed: Page headed 2026/2027, no year selector seen. Normal profile matched the 2026/2027 result (R4,681); high-RA result consistent with the R430,000 cap.

Limitations: We saw no year selector and no bonus or net-to-gross inputs, and its "net salary" is gross less PAYE (UIF is not subtracted). The page points to its financial advisers.

For salary deductions and an inline bonus option: South Africa Facts

South Africa Facts: Takes monthly or annual salary, age group, retirement contributions, medical aid members and other after-tax deductions. Results are displayed in whole rands. On the high-RA profile it showed R430,000 deducted for retirement and R439,993 annual PAYE. An inline annual bonus or 13th-cheque input was present but was not run.

Tables and RA cap, as observed: 2026/27 shown; no year selector seen. Normal profile matched the 2026/2027 result (R4,681); high-RA result consistent with the R430,000 cap.

Limitations: We found no tax-year selector or net-to-gross input. Its page says it does not model travel allowance, company car, commission or business income.

For Sage customers: Sage

Sage: Sage's page says the calculator is based on the 2026/2027 tax tables and takes monthly income, bonus, allowances and deductions. That is Sage's own description, not something we verified.

Tables and RA cap, as observed: Not tested (its page says 2026/2027)

Limitations: Not tested. Sage's website blocked our test browser on a second visit and again when we rechecked on 20 October 2026 (a "you have been blocked" page, HTTP 403), so we did not run the calculator. We show no figures for it. See also our guide to Sage and TaxTim calculator alternatives.

For checking a past tax year: PaySpace

PaySpace: Part of Deel Local Payroll. It defaults to 2026/2027, goes back to 2022/2023, and has inputs for allowances, an annual bonus, medical aid, pension, provident fund and retirement annuity.

Tables and RA cap, as observed: 2026 / 2027 selected (the default). Normal profile matched the 2026/2027 result (R4,681); high-RA result consistent with the old R350,000 cap.

Limitations: Its "net salary" is gross less PAYE, with UIF shown separately. We found no net-to-gross tool.

How to choose

• You contribute a lot to a retirement annuity: pick a tool whose result is consistent with the R430,000 cap, and check its answer against the hand-worked figures above.
• You need a bonus or reverse (net-to-gross) calculation: SalaryCalculator.co.za and TaxTim list both a bonus tax calculator and a net-to-gross calculator on their sites; we did not run them. Mzansify has a bonus tax calculator and a net-to-gross mode in its income tax calculator.
• You are about to file: use a filing service or SARS eFiling. A calculator is an estimate, not a return.
• You run payroll: use your payroll system, and use these only as a sanity check.
• Whatever you use: confirm the tax year selected and run your own salary through two tools.

The theory behind the numbers is in Understanding South African income tax brackets, and our sources are on the methodology page.

Sources

• SARS Budget 2026 frequently asked questions (retirement deduction cap)
• SARS tax guide 2026/27 (retirement fund deduction limit)
• Act No. 3 of 2026, Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act (Government Gazette, 1 April 2026; it does not contain the retirement deduction change)
• Moonstone Information Refinery: Budget retirement threshold changes in effect despite legislative omission (14 May 2026)
• SARS rates of tax for individuals
• SARS medical scheme fees tax credit rates
• SARS Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)
• Each tool’s own calculator page, linked in the comparison table, as it appeared on 20 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions