South Africa take-home pay calculator
Work out your South African monthly take-home honestly: gross pay less PAYE (income tax after your age rebate and medical tax credit) and less employee UIF. The employer’s UIF and SDL are shown as separate on-costs, never deducted from your pay. The result is an estimate based on the rates in force for 2026.
- Honest take-home — PAYE, rebate and UIF itemized
- Employer UIF and SDL shown on top, never deducted
- No sign-up, no hidden costs
Quick estimate
Enter your gross pay, pick your age band, and add any medical-scheme members — the calculator immediately shows your take-home, PAYE and UIF. The employer’s UIF and SDL are shown separately, on top of your pay. The result is an estimate, for a sense of scale, not an official determination.
Your regular pay before PAYE and UIF
Monthly pension / provident / RA contribution — reduces taxable income
Take-home pay
Take-home pay: R25 141,88- Take-home payR25 141,8884%
- PAYE (income tax)R4 681,0016%
- Employee UIFR177,121%
- Gross pay
- R30 000,00
- PAYE (income tax)
- R4 681,00
- Employee UIF
- R177,12
- Age rebate
- − R1 485,00
- Employer UIF (on top)
- R177,12
- Employer SDL (on top)
- R300,00
- Total cost to employer
- R30 477,12
No medical scheme members entered, so no Medical Scheme Fees Tax Credit is applied.
Remuneration above the R17 712 monthly UIF ceiling is not subject to UIF — the employee UIF shown is capped at the ceiling.
Notes on this calculation (4)
Your employer also pays about R2 125,44 a year in matching UIF — that is an employer cost, on top of your pay, never deducted from take-home.
Your employer also pays about R3 600 a year in Skills Development Levy (SDL) — an employer-only levy, never deducted from your pay.
SDL is employer-only, and employers whose total annual payroll is at or below R500 000 are exempt from it.
COIDA (workmen’s compensation) is a separate, risk-based, employer-only cost — never a deduction from the employee’s pay.
In South Africa your employer withholds PAYE (your income tax) each month on the SARS annualising method, and takes UIF of 1% up to a monthly ceiling. Your take-home is your gross pay minus those two — nothing else.
The two on-costs most tools get wrong belong to the employer: a matching 1% UIF and a 1% Skills Development Levy. Neither is deducted from your pay — this calculator keeps them clearly on top, never in your take-home.
- R99 000
- Tax-free income, under 65
- 45%
- Top marginal PAYE rate
- R17 712
- Monthly UIF ceiling
How it works
Three steps to an honest take-home number — no sign-up.
- 1
Enter your pay and age band
Gross pay, your pay cycle, your age band, and any medical-scheme members.
- 2
See PAYE, rebate and UIF
Take-home = gross minus PAYE (after your age rebate and medical tax credit) minus UIF.
- 3
Get take-home and employer cost
Your take-home, your deductions, and the total cost to the employer with UIF and SDL on top.
What actually leaves your pay
Two deductions reduce your take-home, and two employer on-costs do not:
- PAYE — your income tax, worked out on the annual scale less your age rebate and medical tax credit, then spread across the year. This is the largest deduction for most people.
- Employee UIF — 1% of your pay, capped once you pass R17 712 a month. The only other deduction.
- Employer UIF — a matching 1%, paid by your employer on top of your wage. Not deducted from take-home.
- SDL — a 1% Skills Development Levy, employer-only, on top. Never part of your pay.
The age rebate and the medical tax credit both work in your favour — they shrink the PAYE before it comes off, which is why the take-home moves when you change your age band or add medical-scheme members.
Explore the tools
A guide to each part of the calculation — one topic per page.
PAYE — income tax
The marginal tax scale, the age rebate, and the SARS annualising method.
Medical tax credit
The fixed monthly credit per beneficiary that reduces your PAYE directly.
UIF & SDL
Employee UIF, matching employer UIF, and the employer-only SDL levy.
National Minimum Wage
The statutory wage floor per ordinary hour, with farm/domestic parity.
Frequently asked questions
Answers about take-home, PAYE, the rebate, the medical credit and UIF/SDL.
Why your age band changes the answer
Two people on the same gross can pay very different PAYE:
- Under 65 gets the primary rebate (R17 820 a year), so income tax only starts above about R99 000.
- 65 to 74 adds the secondary rebate on top, lifting the income at which tax begins.
- 75 and older adds the tertiary rebate as well — the rebates are cumulative, so the oldest band pays the least tax on the same income.
Reading it against a South African salary
A gross figure means little until you see the take-home. For orientation, the Stats SA average monthly earnings in the formal non-agricultural sector is about R29 997 a month — a context figure only, never used in the calculator.
The honest comparison puts take-home against take-home, after PAYE and UIF. This calculator gives you that first honest number.
Frequently asked questions
The full content of this page is still being written.
Ready?
Work out your take-home in seconds
Enter your gross and see take-home, PAYE and UIF — plus the total employer cost, no sign-up.