SARS exempts a slice of local interest income from tax each year — R23,800 for taxpayers under 65, R34,500 for 65 and older (2026/2027 figures, unchanged for several years). Interest above the exemption is added to taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate, alongside salary and other ordinary income.
The exemption applies per individual, not per account — combined interest from all SA banks, fixed deposits, money-market funds, and bond funds counts toward the same threshold. Joint accounts split the interest between holders for exemption purposes; each holder claims their own exemption against their share.
Foreign interest gets no exemption — every rand is taxable from the first. The local exemption also doesn’t apply to dividend income (taxed separately under DWT) or to interest in tax-free savings accounts, which is already 100% tax-free regardless of amount.