Frequently asked questions

It is South African personal income-tax software that computes your income tax and explains how it got there. It checks your figures against the SARS rules for the year you choose, shows which schedules applied and how each figure was reached, and exports a plain-language report you can keep or attach at SARS eFiling. The engine, every schedule and the reports are free. Encrypted sync, off-device backup and the multi-client portfolio are the paid features. See pricing.

Both. Individuals use it to prepare and understand their own return, and tax practitioners use it to run many client computations, compare scenarios, and produce reports. The Firm tier adds multiple seats that share encrypted client workspaces, so a practice can share one set of client computations across its team. See pricing for how the tiers differ.

No. It prepares and explains your computation; it does not submit anything to SARS. You or your practitioner file at SARS eFiling, where you can keep or attach the exported report.

The 2017 to 2027 years of assessment. Every rate, rebate and threshold is checked against the published SARS tax tables for each of those years, and an automated accuracy suite guards the math on every change.

Yes to both. The calculator is responsive web, so it works on a phone, and because it runs on your device, the calculator works fully offline. Only turning on sync needs a connection; the calculation runs offline.

No. You can compute your income tax for any supported year of assessment, see which schedules applied and how each figure was reached, and export a plain-language report without paying. The paid features are encrypted sync, off-device backup and the multi-client portfolio. See Pricing for the full breakdown.

The engine, every schedule and the reports are free. Encrypted sync, off-device backup and the multi-client portfolio are the paid features. So self-preparing your return and keeping the exported report costs nothing. You pay only if you want your data backed up and synced across devices. Practitioners pay to run a multi-client portfolio, and the Firm tier shares encrypted client workspaces across seats. The current plans are listed on Pricing.

Individual is R 249,99 per year (annual only); Practitioner is R199 per month, or R 1 910,40 per year (save 20%); Firm is custom. Individual adds encrypted sync and off-device backup for one person. Practitioner adds the multi-client portfolio for a solo practitioner: many client computations, scenario comparison and reports. Firm shares encrypted client workspaces across multiple seats, and pricing is arranged directly. To subscribe, go to Pricing, which is the source of truth.

Yes. The engine, every schedule and the reports are free, with no time limit on the calculation features. You can calculate your tax and export a report to keep or attach when you file, for as long as you like. A paid plan only adds encrypted sync, off-device backup or the multi-client portfolio. The plans are on Pricing.

The paid features come with a plan, and Pricing lists the plans and how to start one. Pricing is the source of truth for which plans are available. On a paid plan, encrypted sync and off-device backup apply to your account, and Practitioner and Firm include the multi-client portfolio. Because your data is encrypted and we can't read it from our servers, if you lose both your password and your recovery key the data cannot be recovered, by design. If you have a question first, you can reach us at hello@taxrationale.com.

Every rate, rebate and threshold is checked against the published SARS tax tables for each supported year of assessment. An automated accuracy suite guards the math on every change, so a fix or an update cannot quietly move a figure.

Each supported year of assessment, from 2017 to 2027, uses the rates, rebates and thresholds SARS published for that year. When you choose a year of assessment, the engine applies that year's tables rather than the latest ones, so a 2017 computation uses the 2017 figures and a 2027 computation uses the 2027 figures.

Because each computation sets out its reasoning line by line, so you can check the result yourself. It shows which schedules applied, how each figure was reached, and the effective rate, which means you can follow the working rather than take the number on faith.

TaxRationale is built and run by Thomas Lobban, a SARS-registered tax practitioner. He holds an LLB, an LLM in Tax Law, and is a Master Tax Practitioner (SA) with the South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT). TaxRationale is a division of Ibex Consulting (Pty) Ltd (registration 2017/283495/07), a South African company, and questions are welcome at hello@taxrationale.com.

Yes, the report shows its full working, which is what a practitioner relies on to defend a figure. Every computation sets out which schedules applied, how each figure was reached, and the effective rate. You can export this as a plain-language report, with working-paper schedules and an IRP6 where relevant, to keep or attach when you file. You still submit at SARS eFiling yourself or through your practitioner; TaxRationale prepares and explains the numbers, it does not file them for you.

No. Your data is encrypted; we can't read it from our servers. The calculator runs on your device, and the keys that decrypt your figures are derived from your password on that device. If you turn on sync, only encrypted data leaves your device, so what reaches our servers is ciphertext, not readable income figures or client names. The full mechanism is on the Security page.

Your password, on your device, derives the keys that encrypt and decrypt your data; those keys never leave the device. The figures you enter are encrypted locally before anything is stored or synced, and signing in proves you know your password without sending the password itself (the server checks a derived verifier). There is one honest trade-off. If you lose both your password and your 24-word recovery key, the data cannot be recovered, because we never hold the keys that would make a reset possible. The Security page explains each step in plain language.

Your records live on your device, and if you turn on sync an encrypted copy is also backed up off-device. The calculator runs locally and works fully offline; sync (a paid feature) keeps that encrypted copy available on your other devices. The server holds ciphertext and wrapped keys, plus account basics: your name and email, an authentication verifier that lets us check your password without seeing it, and your subscription status. The encryption and decryption still happen on your devices, never on the server.

Anything you synced stays on the server as ciphertext we can't read, and you can delete it yourself from within the app. The free engine keeps running on your device, so you can still compute and export reports without an active subscription. What we hold and your rights over it are in the Privacy Policy. For what each plan includes, see pricing.

You do. TaxRationale prepares and explains the computation; it does not file or submit anything to SARS. You (or your tax practitioner) lodge the return at SARS eFiling, and you can keep or attach the exported report when you do. It is not an eFiling integration.

Yes. The engine exports a plain-language report, with working-paper schedules where relevant, that you can keep on file or attach when you submit at SARS eFiling. It shows which schedules applied and how each figure was reached, so the working is there for your records or a SARS verification.

Yes. A practitioner can run many client computations, compare scenarios, and produce a report for each one. The Firm tier shares encrypted client workspaces across multiple seats, so a team can work from the same records.

You can export a plain-language report to keep or attach when you file. Where relevant it also includes working-paper schedules and an IRP6. The report shows which schedules applied, how each figure was reached, and the effective rate. The reports are free; see pricing for what the paid plans add.

Your bonus is added to your other earnings for the year and taxed at your normal rates, which is why the bonus tax guide explains the high PAYE you may see in the month you are paid. That once-off deduction is reconciled against your actual liability for the year when you are assessed, leaving you a refund or a smaller balance.

Whether you must file depends on your income, your sources of income and the SARS submission thresholds; the submission guide sets out who has to submit and who does not. Even when you are not required to file, submitting can be worth it if you are due a refund.

Medical scheme contributions earn a monthly tax credit per member, and some out-of-pocket costs can earn a further credit; the medical credits guide and the medical calculator show how each is worked out. The credits reduce the tax you owe rather than your taxable income.

Part of a travel allowance is usually taxed, and how much depends on your business-versus-private split; see the travel allowance guide and the travel calculator. An accurate logbook supports the business portion you claim.

Selling property or shares can trigger capital gains tax on the profit, not the full sale price; the capital gains guide and the capital gains calculator show how the gain is taxed. Exclusions, including a separate one for a primary residence, can reduce it.

If you are a South African tax resident, your foreign employment income can be taxable here, though a portion may be exempt when you meet the day-count conditions; the expat income guide and the cross-border calculator set out how the exemption applies. Whether you are a tax resident is the first thing to establish, since residency is what brings foreign income into the SA net in the first place.