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VAT Calculator South Africa: Add or Remove 15% VAT

Add or remove VAT from any ZAR amount. The rate is editable, and the formulas below show the arithmetic so you can check any invoice by hand.

  • R ZAR
  • VAT 15%
  • Tax reference number
  • A4
  • English
%

Standard rate in South Africa is 15%.

Total with VAT

R 1 150,00

  • Net amountR 1 000,0087%
  • VATR 150,0013%
Net amount
R 1 000,00
VAT at 15%
R 150,00
Gross amount
R 1 150,00

VAT in South Africa: rate, threshold and zero-rated items

  • The rate is 15%. Registered vendors add it to the goods and services they supply, and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) collects it; a short list of supplies is taxed at 0% instead.
  • Registration becomes compulsory once taxable supplies pass R2.3 million in any 12 consecutive months, and is open voluntarily from R120 000. Both limits apply from 1 April 2026, up from R1 million and R50 000. SARS says the voluntary-registration regulation is not yet updated but it already processes applications on the higher figure.
  • Zero-rated examples in SARS's VAT 404 guide: brown bread, maize meal (super fine maize meal since 1 April 2022), samp, rice, dried beans, lentils, fresh fruit and vegetables, hens' eggs, milk and milk powder, tinned pilchards, vegetable oil other than olive oil, exported goods, petrol and diesel that carry the fuel levy, and marked illuminating paraffin.
  • To find the VAT inside a VAT-inclusive price, multiply it by 15/115, the tax fraction SARS uses in its examples: R1 150 contains R150 of VAT and R1 000 of price. To add VAT to a net price, multiply by 1.15.

Sources

Reduced rates, zero rates and exemptions

A zero-rated sale is still a taxable supply: the vendor charges 0%, keeps documentary proof SARS will accept, and deducts its own input VAT in full. The food zero rate falls away when the item is prepared for immediate eating, such as a glass of milk in a restaurant or a pre-packed salad with dressing, or when it is packed with a standard-rated item, such as rice with a flavouring sachet. Aviation kerosene, motor oil, lubricants and unmarked or blended paraffin pay 15%. A business sold as a going concern is zero-rated only when both parties are registered vendors and agree in writing that the enterprise is sold as a going concern; selling the building alone does not qualify.

Exempt supplies (section 12) carry no VAT and no input-tax claim: financial services, renting a home (not holiday accommodation), local passenger transport by taxi, bus or train, education by recognised institutions, crèches and after-school care, and levy-funded services of body corporates. A business making only exempt supplies cannot register.

Section 65 of the VAT Act requires every advertised, quoted or ticketed price to include VAT, unless the price before VAT, the VAT and the total are all shown.

How to calculate VAT in South Africa

Add: tax = net × 0.15; gross = net × 1.15.

Remove: net = gross ÷ 1.15; tax = gross − net.

Standard rate in South Africa is 15%.

Questions people ask

What is the VAT rate in South Africa?
15% on goods and services supplied by registered vendors. Zero-rated supplies, such as brown bread, maize meal, fresh fruit and vegetables and exported goods, are charged at 0%.
How do I remove VAT from a price in South Africa?
Divide the VAT-inclusive price by 1.15 to get the price before VAT, or multiply it by 15/115 to get the VAT alone. On R2 300 that is R2 000 before VAT and R300 of VAT. The calculator above does both at once.
When does a South African business have to register for VAT?
When its taxable supplies exceed R2.3 million in any 12 consecutive months, the limit SARS applies from 1 April 2026. Below that, a business may choose to register once it passes R120 000.