Salary and Pension Tax Shortfall Calculator South Africa (2026/2027)
Combine taxable salary and recurring pension income, enter PAYE from both payers, and estimate additional monthly withholding. Supports partial-year pension receipts and age rebates. Your inputs stay in your browser.
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Last reviewed: Tax year: 2026/2027Source: SARS — Income from two sources
Read the guide: Understanding South African Income Tax Brackets (2026/2027)
SARS 2027 tax year: 1 March 2026 – 28 February 2027. Enter totals for this period only. Age is your age on its last day.
Each entry mode keeps its own figures. Switching does not convert amounts. Check the active pension entries and confirm PAYE again before using the estimate.
PAYE already paid and still expected
Use payslips and pension statements. Remaining PAYE means the total still expected, including any existing voluntary or SARS-directed withholding. Do not include it again in PAYE to date. Zero is valid only when no tax was or will be withheld.
Already established deductions and medical credits (optional)
Use only an allowable current-year retirement deduction and annual section 6A/6B medical credits you have already established. These are not gross contributions or medical bills. Leave zero if none apply; an eligible omitted claim can overstate the shortfall. Each amount is applied once across both incomes. A deduction above the section 11F limit for your combined income is rejected, but this tool does not determine eligibility, carry-forwards or shared medical contribution apportionment.
Assumes South African tax residence for the full year, fully taxable local salary and recurring pension, and accurate annual estimates. This estimates income tax only. UIF is not deducted from pension or included in PAYE. Your entries stay in this browser; this form does not send analytics events or save financial inputs.
Can salary and a recurring pension create a tax shortfall?
Yes. SARS adds your taxable income sources together and applies the annual tax brackets and your age rebates once. If each payer calculates PAYE on its own income, total withholding can fall short of the combined tax. A recurring spouse pension is your income as beneficiary; it is separate from the deceased person’s salary and a death benefit lump sum. This calculator does not calculate a GEPF benefit entitlement.
This also applies when you receive your own recurring retirement pension and later earn a full-time or part-time salary. For the same annual taxable income, age and allowable adjustments, the assessed tax is the same regardless of the work-hours label. Actual PAYE from each payer can differ. Retiring at 60 does not itself qualify you for the age-65 rebate. Retirement incentives, lump sums and programme-specific re-employment eligibility are outside this tool; do not enter incentive payments as an ordinary recurring pension.
GEPF does not always pay pensions without tax. PAYE may already reflect a SARS-directed combined-income rate or voluntary additional withholding. Enter the actual withholding and expected remaining amounts from your statements. The estimate always uses your PAYE figures, not hypothetical tax on separate incomes.
Worked example: SARS 2027 tax year
1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027: a resident under 65 receives R 300,000.00 salary and R 180,000.00 fully taxable recurring pension for the full year, with no deductions or medical credits. Tax on the combined income is R 92,217.00. If withholding equalled separate annual tax of R 40,572.00 on salary and R 14,580.00 on pension, the shortfall would be R 37,065.00. Over twelve remaining payments, that is R 3,088.75 extra each month in total.
This is a hypothetical start-of-year illustration, not a prediction of GEPF withholding. With zero pension PAYE and salary PAYE of R 40,572.00, the gap would instead be R 51,645.00. Actual PAYE can reduce or eliminate either gap. For a pension starting halfway through the year, include only payments falling in that tax year.
Method and limits
Use monthly entry for equal full-month receipts. For varying payments or part-month amounts, add the exact taxable pension receipts and expected payments for the selected tax year and choose the total option. Do not round a monthly average: three receipts totaling R10,002.77 must remain R10,002.77, rather than R3,334.26 × 3 = R10,002.78.
Taxable salary + the exact tax-year pension total (or equal monthly pension × payment months) − the established allowable retirement deduction = combined taxable income. The shared income-tax engine applies the selected year’s SARS brackets, then age rebates once. An established annual medical credit is subtracted once, floored at zero tax. Combined tax − actual PAYE to date − projected remaining PAYE = estimated balance. A positive balance is a shortfall; a negative balance is excess withholding. The shortfall divided by remaining payment months is the suggested additional withholding, rounded up to cents.
Only established current-year retirement deductions and section 6A/6B medical credits are supported. This planner does not establish deduction eligibility. Do not double-count amounts already removed from salary. Foreign or treaty cases, partial-year residence, death and retirement lump sums, arrears/backdated pension, rental or interest income, shared medical contributions, donations, assessed losses, carry-forwards, provisional tax and other adjustments need a fuller assessment with SARS or a registered tax practitioner. Do not enter those amounts here.
Discuss any change with your employer or pension administrator and confirm their current process. The monthly figure is not a SARS directive and does not settle an old tax debt. Recheck after income, tax-year or withholding changes.
Use the income tax calculator for salary PAYE and take-home pay, the medical credits calculator for supported medical claims, and our calculation methodology and South African income tax guide for background.
Official sources
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for a taxable recurring local pension and salary within the supported scope. Annual taxable income, age and allowable adjustments determine assessed tax; full-time or part-time labels do not change that calculation. Enter actual PAYE from both payers. Retirement at 60 does not itself qualify for the age-65 rebate. Benefit eligibility, incentives, lump sums and programme-specific re-employment restrictions are excluded.
SARS combines taxable income sources and applies progressive brackets and your age rebates once. PAYE calculated separately by each payer may be too low for the combined income.
No. GEPF may withhold PAYE using a SARS-directed rate or normal tables and additional voluntary withholding. Use your actual pension statements and expected remaining PAYE.
Yes. Enter only the taxable recurring pension payments within the selected tax year. Use equal monthly payments and payment months for level receipts, or enter the exact tax-year pension total for varying or part-month amounts. Do not round a monthly average; exclude arrears and lump sums.
It is one combined additional amount, on top of projected withholding. Discuss allocation with a payer; do not ask each payer to deduct the entire amount.
No. It estimates income tax on your own salary and taxable recurring pension. It excludes the deceased spouse’s salary, death lump sums, arrears, foreign/treaty cases and complex adjustments.