VAT Calculator

South Africa’s standard VAT rate is 15%, unchanged since 1 April 2018 when it increased from 14% — no further changes have been announced for 2026/2027. VAT applies to the supply of goods and services by registered vendors, and to imports of goods.

As a consumer, VAT is already included in the price you see on shelves — shops must display VAT-inclusive pricing. As a business, whether you charge VAT depends on whether you’re a registered vendor and whether the supply is standard-rated, zero-rated, or exempt.

• Mandatory registration kicks in when your taxable turnover exceeds R1,000,000 in any 12-month rolling period, or when you reasonably expect it to exceed that within the next 12 months (e.g., from a signed contract).
• Voluntary registration is available once turnover exceeds R50,000/year — useful if you sell mostly B2B (your VAT-registered customers can claim input VAT back, so charging VAT doesn’t cost them anything).
• Registration is per legal entity. A sole proprietor registers in their personal name; a company registers under its registration number.

Registration creates a VAT number (10 digits, starting with 4), obligations to file VAT returns (usually bi-monthly), and authority to claim input VAT on purchases. Deregistration is possible if turnover drops below R1m and you cease to make taxable supplies.

Zero-rated and exempt look similar (no VAT charged to customer) but matter enormously for the vendor. Zero-rated means you don’t charge VAT on the sale but you can still claim input VAT on your business purchases. Exempt means you don’t charge, and you can’t claim input VAT on related purchases — making exempt activities more expensive to run.

South Africa zero-rates a list of basic foodstuffs and certain other supplies to keep essentials affordable. Typical zero-rated items:

• Brown bread and brown bread flour.
• Maize meal, samp, and mealie rice.
• Rice (uncooked), dried beans and lentils.
• Fresh milk and dairy powder.
• Fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Eggs, edible legumes and pulses.
• Paraffin (illuminating).
• Sanitary pads (zero-rated from 1 April 2019).
• Exports of goods (when the exporter can prove they left South Africa).
• International transport of goods and passengers.

• Most financial services (interest, insurance, banking fees).
• Residential rental (long-term lease of a dwelling).
• Public transport by road or rail.
• Educational services by approved institutions.
• Child-care services by approved providers.

The rule for working backwards from a VAT-inclusive price: multiply by 15/115 (or divide by 1.15 and subtract) to get the VAT component. A R115 retail item contains R15 of VAT and R100 of net sale.

• Category A (most common) — bi-monthly returns for odd-numbered periods (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, etc.). Due by the 25th of the following month, or 30th via eFiling.
• Category B — bi-monthly but on even-numbered periods.
• Category C — monthly returns for large vendors (turnover R30m+).
• Category D — six-monthly, for farming and certain businesses with seasonal turnover below R1.5m.
• Category E — annually, for letting/investment companies where no significant VAT is typically due.

All returns are filed via eFiling. Keep valid tax invoices (R5,000+ requires a full tax invoice with vendor’s VAT number and your details) — SARS can reject input VAT claims without proper invoices.

Enter a VAT-inclusive or VAT-exclusive amount and the calculator extracts the VAT component, shows you the other two, and indicates what the output VAT, input VAT, or net payable would be depending on context.

For a full VAT period calculation, use the calculator with your total output (sales) figure and total input (qualifying purchases) figure — the difference is what you owe SARS (or claim back if inputs exceed outputs, common for exporters and start-ups with high setup costs).

• SARS — Value-Added Tax
• SARS — VAT 404 Guide for vendors
• SARS — Zero-rated and exempt supplies