data tool
VAT calculator for South Africa
South African VAT is 15%: multiply an exclusive price by 1.15 to add it, or multiply an inclusive price by 15/115 to find the VAT inside it. This calculator does both line by line, keeps zero rated and exempt lines at nothing, and shows the registration thresholds SARS applies from 1 April 2026.
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- Runs on your device, nothing is uploaded
- Free, no sign in
- No watermark, no file limit
How it works
- 1
Pick the direction
Choose whether the amounts exclude VAT, so 15% is added, or include it, so the VAT is taken out with 15/115.
- 2
Enter the lines
Type each amount and set it to 15% or to zero rated or exempt, up to 20 lines.
- 3
Read the totals
The panel shows the total excluding VAT, the VAT and the total including VAT, to the cent.
- 4
Check the note
The note gives the registration thresholds, so you know whether VAT belongs on the invoice at all.
Why the fraction is 15/115
VAT at 15% is charged on the price before tax. Once it has been added, the price is 115% of that amount, so the VAT is 15 parts in 115, which reduces to 3/23. On an R1,150 inclusive price the VAT is R150 and the exclusive price is R1,000. Taking 15% of R1,150 would give R172.50, which is wrong. Dividing an inclusive price by 1.15 gives the exclusive price directly, and multiplying an exclusive price by 1.15 adds the tax.
The rate that stayed at 15%
The 2025 Budget proposed raising VAT to 15.5% from 1 May 2025 and to 16% from 1 April 2026. Those increases were reversed by the Rates Bill introduced on 24 April 2025, and SARS states that the rate stays at 15%. Invoices, price lists and quotes prepared in early 2025 with the higher rates should have been corrected; anything still showing 15.5% or 16% is wrong. The calculator uses 15% and shows the date it was checked.
Zero rated basic foods and exempt supplies
A list of basic foods is zero rated, including brown bread, maize meal, samp, rice, dried beans and lentils, fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, eggs and vegetable oil, as are exports and some fuel. Zero rated means VAT at 0%: nothing is charged, but the vendor can claim the VAT on its own costs. Exempt supplies, such as residential rent, most financial services and public transport by road and rail, carry no VAT and no input claim. On an invoice both show no VAT, so the calculator has one setting for them; keep a note of which applies for the VAT201.
Registration thresholds from 1 April 2026
SARS announced in the 2026 Budget that compulsory VAT registration rises from R1 million to R2.3 million of taxable supplies in a 12 month period, and voluntary registration from R50,000 to R120,000, both with effect from 1 April 2026. Only a registered vendor charges VAT and issues tax invoices. A business below the compulsory threshold that has not registered voluntarily sells at its price with no VAT line, and must not show VAT on its invoices.
Putting VAT on a quote
A quote to a vendor customer usually shows prices excluding VAT, the VAT and the total, so the customer can see the input tax it will claim; a quote to a consumer should state the VAT inclusive price. The proposals module sets a tax rate on each line of its pricing table and labels the line Tax for rand, so set 15% on each standard rated line and 0% on zero rated ones, and the totals match this calculator.
Limits
- Rate and thresholds checked on 21 October 2026 against SARS. This is arithmetic, not tax advice.
- Lines at 15% are added first and the VAT rounded once to the cent, half a cent up.
- No VAT201 return, no notional input tax on second hand goods, and no imported services.
- Whether a supply is zero rated or exempt is your call; the tool applies the choice made on each line.
What it does not do
- It does not file or prepare a VAT201.
- It does not check the invoice layout SARS requires.
- It does not store the amounts.
Questions people ask
How do I calculate VAT exclusive in South Africa?
Divide the VAT inclusive price by 1.15. An inclusive price of R2,300 is R2,000 excluding VAT, and the VAT is R300. To find only the VAT, multiply the inclusive price by 15 and divide by 115. Taking 15% of the inclusive price overstates the VAT.
Is the VAT rate going up to 15.5 per cent?
No. The increases to 15.5% and 16% announced in March 2025 were reversed before they took effect, and SARS states the rate remains 15%. Check the SARS VAT page for any later Budget change before relying on a rate for a long contract.
Which foods are zero rated?
The zero rated basket includes brown bread, maize meal, samp, mealie rice, rice, dried beans, lentils, pilchards in tins, milk, cultured milk, eggs, edible legumes, fresh fruit and vegetables, vegetable oil and a few others listed in the VAT Act. Prepared meals and most other food are standard rated.
When must a business register for VAT?
From 1 April 2026, when taxable supplies exceed R2.3 million in any 12 month period, or are expected to, according to SARS. A business with more than R120,000 of supplies may register voluntarily. Before those dates the thresholds were R1 million and R50,000.
What must a tax invoice show in South Africa?
A full tax invoice carries the words tax invoice, the supplier's name, address and VAT number, the recipient's details, a serial number and date, a description and quantity of the goods or services, and the value, VAT and total. Smaller sales can use an abridged invoice. Check SARS's current rules for the value limits.
Why is the per line VAT different from the total?
Each line's VAT is rounded to the cent for display, while the total VAT is worked out once on the sum of all 15% lines. On long invoices those two methods can differ by a cent or two. The total shown matches a single rounding of the standard rated lines.
Put the VAT split on a quote
Take what you made here into proposals.
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Background reading: the question page on this.
Sources
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .