The Minister of Finance presented the 2026/2027 South African budget speech on Wednesday, 25 February 2026. Included below are the changes tabled for income tax on individual taxpayers.
2026 Budget speech: personal income tax
Tax relief for individual income taxpayers
The Minister of Finance delivered the 2026 National budget speech on Wednesday, 25 February 2026. Whilst there have been no changes to tax rate bands since the 2024 tax year, the budget provides much welcomed relief for individual taxpayers through inflationary increases to tax thresholds, tax brackets, rebates and tax advantaged savings limits.
Below are the updated tax rate bands for the 2027 tax year:
| Taxable income (ZAR) | Rates of tax (ZAR) |
| 1 – 245 100 | 18% of taxable income |
| 245 101 – 383 100 | 44 118 + 26% of taxable income above 245 100 |
| 383 101 – 530 200 | 79 998 + 31% of taxable income above 383 100 |
| 530 201 – 695 800 | 125 599 + 36% of taxable income above 530 200 |
| 695 801 – 887 000 | 185 215 + 39% of taxable income above 695 800 |
| 887 001 – 1 878 600 | 259 783 + 41% of taxable income above 887 000 |
| 1 878 601 and above | 666 339 + 45% of taxable income above 1 878 600 |
| Tax rebates | ZAR |
| Primary | 17 820 |
| Secondary (individuals 65 and older) | 9 765 |
| Tertiary (individuals 75 and older) | 3 249 |
Medical aid tax credits
For the first time in two years, there will also be increases in medical aid tax credits for individuals contributing to qualifying medical aid schemes. Medical tax credits will increase from R364 to R376 for the first two members and from R246 to R254 for additional members.
Tax beneficial savings incentives
The Minister looks to promote savings by individuals in South Africa by:
Increases to annual CGT exclusions
The annual CGT exclusion (the amount of capital gain you can realise tax-free each year) has been increased from R40 000 to R50 000.
Higher primary residence exclusion
The primary residence exclusion for CGT has been raised from R2 million to R3 million.
South African Revenue Services (SARS) focus for the upcoming tax year
Whilst the tax relief outlined above is welcomed by taxpayers, it is clear from the budget speech that in the next tax year, SARS will continue to focus on tax compliance as its core revenue collection strategy.
Below are some of the mechanisms which SARS have put in place to drive this strategy:
It is clear from both the budget speech and recent SARS focuses, that it is imperative that taxpayers stay up-to-date with their tax compliance obligations.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Kesiree Mari
Director
Craig Willson
Manager
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