How much tax do you pay on a R30,000 per month salary?

On a salary of R30,000 a month, with no other income or deductions, the PAYE for the 2026 year of assessment works out to about R4,783 a month, leaving a take-home of roughly R25,217 before UIF. Over a year that is R360,000 of income and R57,397 of tax, an effective rate of just under 16%. The number is lower than many people expect, because only the slice of your income above each bracket threshold is taxed at the higher rate, and a flat rebate is then taken off.

The figures below assume you are under 65, that the R30,000 is your full taxable income, and that you have no retirement-fund contributions or medical credits. Change any of those and the tax changes, which is the point of understanding the steps rather than memorising the answer.

Step 1: annualise the salary

PAYE is worked out on a yearly basis and then divided back to the month. R30,000 a month is:

• R30,000 x 12 = R360,000 a year

So the whole calculation is done on R360,000, and the monthly PAYE is one twelfth of the annual tax.

Step 2: find the bracket

For the 2026 year of assessment, R360,000 falls in the second bracket, R237,101 to R370,500. That bracket is taxed at R42,678 plus 26% of the amount above R237,100. Only the part of your income above R237,100 is taxed at 26%; everything below it has already been taxed at 18% inside the R42,678.

• R360,000 less R237,100 = R122,900
• 26% of R122,900 = R31,954
• R42,678 + R31,954 = R74,632 tax before rebates

Step 3: subtract the rebate

Every taxpayer gets the primary rebate, a flat amount taken off the tax due. For 2026 it is R17,235.

• R74,632 less R17,235 = R57,397 tax for the year

Step 4: divide back to the month

• R57,397 / 12 = R4,783.08 PAYE a month

That is the income tax your employer withholds. Your take-home pay is:

• R30,000 less R4,783.08 = R25,216.92 a month, before UIF

UIF is a separate statutory deduction, not income tax, so it comes off in addition to the PAYE above and is not part of this calculation.

What the rate actually is

It helps to separate two rates that people mix up:

• Your marginal rate is 26%. That is the rate on your next rand of income, which is why a raise or a bonus is taxed at 26% at this salary, not at your average rate.
• Your effective rate is R57,397 / R360,000, which is about 15.9%. That is the share of your whole income that goes to tax, and it is lower than the marginal rate because the lower brackets and the rebate pull the average down.

Confusing the two is what makes people fear a raise. Earning more is taxed at 26% on the extra, never at 26% on everything.

A summary of the calculation

Step	Amount
Annual salary	R360,000
Tax before rebate (R42,678 + 26% of R122,900)	R74,632
Less primary rebate	(R17,235)
Annual tax	R57,397
Monthly PAYE	R4,783.08
Monthly take-home (before UIF)	R25,216.92

Check it against your own payslip

These are the exact steps a payroll runs, so you can reconcile them to your IRP5. The Basic income tax and PAYE calculator does this calculation for any salary, including the rebate and medical credits, and shows each line. Our guide on how a bonus is taxed explains why a once-off amount is withheld more heavily than your normal salary, and for the principle behind the brackets see income tax brackets and rebates explained and the fuller walk-through in how PAYE is calculated.

SARS sources:

• https://www.sars.gov.za/tax-rates/income-tax/rates-of-tax-for-individuals/