Tax refund estimate
Weigh the PAYE and provisional tax you have already paid against the tax you actually owe, to estimate your SARS refund or the amount still payable.
Your figures
Defaults to the latest completed year of assessment.
Sets your rebates.
Your income after allowable deductions, but before the retirement contributions below.
Employees' tax your employer paid to SARS (code 4102).
Optional. Provisional payments made for the year.
Optional. Deducted here under s11F.
Optional. You plus your dependants.
Optional. Total paid to the scheme for the year.
Your assessment
Amount payable- Taxable income
- R 0,00
- Normal tax
- R 0,00
- Rebates
- R 17 235,00
- Medical credits
- R 0,00
- Tax after credits
- R 0,00
- PAYE and provisional paid
- R 0,00
- Amount payable
- R 0,00
This estimates your assessment. Your actual refund can differ once SARS applies any admin penalties, interest, or a balance carried on your account from a prior year.
Need the whole picture, with deductions, multiple incomes and a shareable report?Open the full workspace
The fast answer: your refund is not a bonus from SARS – it is your own money back, the gap between the tax withheld from you during the year and the tax you actually owe on assessment. Enter your taxable income, the PAYE your employer withheld, and any provisional tax, retirement or medical contributions, and the calculator below runs the full SARS assessment for the 2026 year of assessment: normal tax on the rate tables, your age rebates, your medical tax credits, then your PAYE and provisional payments set off against the total. If you paid in more than you owed, the difference is your estimated refund. If you paid in less, it is the amount still payable.
Open the tax refund calculator →
What the calculator works out
A refund is the last line of an assessment, not a separate benefit. SARS taxes your income for the year, subtracts your rebates and credits, and then credits everything already paid on your behalf. The calculator shows each of those steps so you can see where the number comes from:
- Taxable income – what you earned after allowable deductions. Retirement (RA) contributions you enter are deducted here under section 11F before tax is worked out.
- Normal tax – the tax on that income, from the SARS rate tables for the relevant year of assessment.
- Rebates – the primary rebate everyone gets, plus the secondary and tertiary rebates at 65 and 75. These come straight off your tax.
- Medical credits – the section 6A and 6B medical tax credits, from the members and contributions you enter.
- Tax after credits – the tax you actually owe for the year.
- PAYE and provisional paid – everything already sent to SARS on your behalf.
When the amount paid is more than the tax owed, the balance is negative, and that is your refund. When it is less, the balance is positive, and that is what you still owe.
Worked example (show the workings)
Thabo is under 65. For the 2026 year of assessment his taxable income is R500,000 and his employer withheld R120,000 in PAYE. He made no retirement or medical contributions and paid no provisional tax.
Normal tax. On the SARS rate tables for the 2026 year of assessment, the tax on R500,000 comes to R117,507 before any rebate.
Rebates. Thabo gets the primary rebate of R17,235, which comes straight off his tax: R117,507 less R17,235 = R100,272. That is the tax he actually owes for the year.
PAYE already paid. His employer sent R120,000 to SARS through the year.
The result. He owes R100,272 but has paid R120,000, so SARS owes him the difference: R120,000 less R100,272 = R19,728. That is his estimated refund – the kind of figure far better to see traced than to wait and hope for.
Frequently asked questions
Is a refund guaranteed if the calculator shows one?
No. This is an estimate of your assessment on the figures you enter. Your real refund can differ once SARS applies admin penalties, interest, or a balance carried on your account from a prior year, and it is only paid once your return is assessed and your banking details are verified.
Why is my SARS refund different from this estimate?
Usually because the figures on assessment differ from the ones entered here, or because SARS offset the refund against something else you owe. The most common causes are a PAYE amount that differs from your IRP5, a deduction SARS disallowed, or an older balance on your account.
Does provisional tax count toward my refund?
Yes. Provisional payments are credited against your final tax exactly like PAYE. Enter them in the provisional field and they are added to the amount already paid, so an overpayment increases your refund.
Do retirement and medical contributions increase my refund?
They can. Retirement (RA) contributions are deducted from your income under section 11F, which lowers the tax you owe. Medical scheme membership and contributions generate section 6A and 6B credits that come off your tax. Both reduce the tax owed, so with the same PAYE they leave a larger refund.
Which tax year should I choose?
Pick the year you are being assessed on. The calculator defaults to the latest completed year of assessment, because that is the one most people are claiming a refund for, but you can select any supported year.
Calculate your refund
Stop guessing whether SARS owes you. The tax refund calculator runs the same SARS assessment a return does – normal tax, your rebates, your medical credits, then your PAYE and provisional payments – and shows every line, so the refund or the shortfall is traced to the rand rather than a surprise on assessment. That is the TaxRationale difference: the reasoning, not just the number. To fold it into your whole return alongside investments, rental and other income, use the Comprehensive calculator in your workspace. Open the tax refund calculator →
SARS sources: