Capital gains tax

Work out your capital gains tax in seconds – and see exactly how SARS builds the number. Enter what you sold the asset for, what it cost you, and whether it's the home you live in. The calculator subtracts the exclusions you qualify for, includes only 40% of what's left in your taxable income, and applies your marginal rate. CGT in South Africa is not a flat percentage of your profit: for an individual the most you can ever pay is an effective 18% of the gain. It runs in your browser, free, with no signup.

→ Calculate my CGT – free, no signup, shows every step.

New to this? Read the full guide: Tax on selling property or shares in South Africa.

How the calculator works it out

CGT isn't a separate tax with its own rate – it flows through your normal income tax in four steps. The calculator does each one and shows the workings:

1. Capital gain. Proceeds (what you sold for) minus your base cost – broadly what you paid, plus qualifying acquisition costs and improvements, plus selling costs like agent's commission.
2. Exclusions. If it's your primary residence, the first R2,000,000 of the gain comes off. Then the R40,000 annual exclusion (every individual gets it, on any asset) comes off what remains.
3. 40% inclusion rate. Only 40% of the net gain is "included" in your taxable income.
4. Your marginal rate. The included amount is added to your other income for the year and taxed at whatever bracket it lands in.

Because the top marginal rate for individuals is 45%, the maximum effective CGT rate is 18% (40% × 45%). Most people pay less, because their marginal rate is below 45%. Someone on a 26% marginal rate has an effective CGT rate of about 10.4% (40% × 26%).

All figures are for the 2026 year of assessment (1 March 2025 – 28 February 2026), the one you file in Filing Season 2026. The Budget 2026 increases (primary residence exclusion → R3,000,000; annual exclusion → R50,000) apply to disposals on or after 1 March 2026 – the 2027 year of assessment – and do not apply to a 2026 disposal.

Two things the calculator needs you to get right

• The exclusion applies to the gain, not the sale price. A home that sells for R4 million but was bought for R3 million has a R1 million gain, comfortably inside the R2m primary residence exclusion – no CGT. Enter the cost, not just the price.
• The R40,000 annual exclusion is used once across all your disposals for the year, not once per asset. Your house, a second flat and your shares share the same R40,000. The calculator pools them so you don't double-count.

Worked example: selling a second property

Sipho sells a buy-to-let flat (not his primary residence, so no R2m shield) in the 2026 year of assessment.

• Proceeds: R1,250,000
• Base cost: R900,000 (purchase price plus transfer and conveyancing costs and a verifiable improvement)
• Capital gain: R1,250,000 − R900,000 = R350,000
• Less the R40,000 annual exclusion: R350,000 − R40,000 = R310,000 net capital gain
• Apply the 40% inclusion rate: R310,000 × 40% = R124,000 added to taxable income
• Taxed at his marginal rate. If Sipho's marginal rate is 31%, the CGT cost is roughly R124,000 × 31% = R38,440 – an effective rate of about 11% of the gain, not 18%.

Had this been Sipho's primary residence, the R2,000,000 exclusion would have wiped the R350,000 gain out entirely: R0 CGT. That single switch is what the calculator's "is this your home?" toggle changes.

→ Calculate my CGT