• Open the + New calc tab. It is split into sections (Profile, Employment, Income, and so on) shown as the row of sub-tabs.
• Work through each section, typing in the amounts from your documents. You don't need to fill in sections that don't apply to you — leave them blank or at zero.
• The coloured summary at the top updates live as you type, showing the running tax-to-pay or refund.
• When done, click Save client. Your calculation is filed under that taxpayer's folder in the Clients tab.
• Use Full results for a detailed breakdown you can print, and Compare to put calculations side by side.

Tax year

SARS's year runs 1 March to the end of February. "2026/27" means 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027. Pick the year your income falls in.

Gross income

Everything you earned before anything is taken off — salary, interest, rent, and so on.

Deduction

An amount the law lets you subtract from your income before tax is calculated. Deductions lower the income you're taxed on.

Taxable income

What's left after deductions. This is the figure the tax tables are applied to.

Rebate

A flat amount taken off the tax itself (not the income). Everyone gets the primary rebate; people 65+ and 75+ get extra. The app applies these automatically from your date of birth.

PAYE

"Pay As You Earn" — the tax your employer already deducted from your salary each month and paid to SARS on your behalf. It appears on your IRP5.

Provisional tax

If you earn income that isn't taxed at source (rent, business, large investment income), you pay tax in advance during the year in one or two instalments. These are your provisional payments.

Marginal vs effective rate

Marginal is the rate charged on your next rand of income (your top bracket). Effective is your overall average rate across all your income — always lower than marginal.

Source codes

The four-digit numbers on your IRP5 (e.g. 3601 = normal salary, 3701 = travel allowance). Match each amount to its code. The Employment section lists the common codes; for anything else, use Add a code to enter the code, amount, and whether it's taxable — for example 3722 (reimbursive travel above the prescribed rate).

Married in community of property (COP)

A marriage type where certain income (interest, rent, investments) is shared, so SARS taxes half of it in each spouse's hands. Tick this and the app splits the relevant income 50/50.

Lump sum

A once-off payout from a retirement fund or a severance package. It's taxed on its own special table, separate from your normal income.

Capital reconciliation

A check that the year makes sense: money in, less tax paid, less the growth in what you own, leaves what you had to live on. If the answer is impossible — a negative figure, or a family living on R900 a month — something is missing from the picture.

At cost

What you actually paid for something, not what it's worth now. SARS asks for assets at cost on the ITR12.

Carried forward

An amount this year's return can't use, which is kept and used in a later year. Two kinds arise here: retirement contributions above the annual cap, and an assessed capital loss — a year where your capital losses exceeded your capital gains. The loss doesn't reduce your salary or other income; it waits and is set off against a future capital gain.

Profile

Your name and tax reference number (top of any SARS letter or IRP5), the tax year, and the calculation type. Date of birth matters because it sets your age rebates and the higher interest exemption for over-65s. Choose Final for a normal year-end return; P1/P2 if you're estimating a provisional payment.

Employment

Enter the amounts next to each source code from your IRP5 / IT3(a) certificate (your employer issues this). Add a separate employer block for each job. PAYE withheld is code 4102 on the IRP5. Retirement and medical deductions made through your salary go in the deductions codes (4001–4007).

Income

Income that isn't from employment: local interest (from your bank's IT3(b) — a portion is tax-free automatically), rental (rent received less expenses like rates, bond interest, levies), foreign dividends and interest, REIT distributions, and capital gains (profit when you sell an asset — a sale at a loss counts too, and offsets your gains). Enter foreign amounts in their currency with the exchange rate — the app converts to rands.

Deductions

Things that reduce your taxable income: retirement contributions (capped at 27.5% / R350k–R430k), home office (entered as expense categories — cost per month × number of months), and s18A donations to registered charities (you need a valid s18A receipt; capped at 10% of taxable income). Retirement contributions above the cap aren't lost — they carry forward to next year.

Travel

Its own section, for claiming a travel deduction against a travel allowance (code 3701). Add each vehicle, its cost price, and your kilometres — see "Travel deduction & the logbook" below for the entry methods.

Medical

Your medical scheme contributions and the number of members. The app calculates the s6A medical scheme fees credit (a fixed monthly amount per member) and the s6B credit for large out-of-pocket expenses. Figures come from your medical aid tax certificate.

Taxes paid

PAYE is pulled in automatically from the Employment section. Add any provisional tax payments you've already made during the year here, so they're offset against the tax due.

Penalty & interest

Only relevant for provisional taxpayers who underpaid. If that's not you, leave it blank.

To claim a travel deduction against a travel allowance (code 3701), SARS requires a logbook recording your business trips. Under Travel expenses you can download a ready-made Excel logbook — fill in each trip, then bring the totals back into the app.

Each vehicle has an Entry method: Use logbook to enter opening and closing odometer readings (total km is worked out for you), Enter total km manually to type the total directly, or Detailed trip log to capture each individual trip inside the app — the total and business kilometres are calculated automatically and saved with the calculation. The downloadable Excel template is still there if you'd rather log trips in a spreadsheet.

• The 📎 Documents tab is a repository for each client's paperwork — IRP5s, medical certificates, logbooks, s18A receipts. Choose who to file under, click Upload documents, and they're grouped into the same per-taxpayer folders as your calculations (max 10 MB per file).
• Documents are stored privately in this browser on this device — nothing is uploaded to the internet. They're not included in Export JSON, so keep your original copies too.
• On any PDF, click 🔍 Read data to have the app read it automatically. For an IRP5/IT3(a) it extracts the source codes and amounts (3601, 3701, 4102…) plus the taxpayer's name, reference, date of birth, tax year and the employer's Trading or Other Name. The employer name and the IRP5 certificate number can be typed or corrected in the review if they weren't detected. The certificate number is shown on the employer and used to prevent duplicates: reading the same certificate again updates that employer rather than adding a second one, and two IRP5s with different certificate numbers are always kept as separate employers. For a medical scheme tax certificate it reads the contributions, out-of-pocket claims, tax year, main member, medical aid company, and each dependant's months on the scheme — filling the Medical section with the correct s6A/s6B credits. The medical aid company can be typed or corrected in the review if it wasn't detected. Reading the same certificate again updates the Medical section rather than adding it twice, and only the first adult dependant is treated as a spouse — the rest default to child.
• If the PDF is password-protected, you'll be asked for the password (payroll systems often use your ID number). The password is used only to open the file and isn't stored.
• Nothing is written automatically — a review panel shows everything found, and only the items you leave ticked are applied when you click Apply to calculation. Always double-check against the certificate.
• This works with text-based PDFs (from eFiling or payroll software). A scanned or photographed IRP5 can't be read — capture those figures manually.

Switch on Assets & liabilities in Sections. SARS asks for this statement on the ITR12 where the taxpayer earns business, trade or farming income, is a company director or a member of a close corporation, or holds foreign assets. The categories and their order follow the return itself.

Two rules matter. Enter amounts at cost, not market value — that's what SARS asks for, and it's also what makes the reconciliation work, since an asset that merely rose in value didn't cost the taxpayer anything to hold. And enter everything in rands, including foreign items. Capture only the taxpayer's own share of anything jointly held.

The app works out net local and net foreign (assets less liabilities), adds them to a total, and compares that against last year's closing figures to get the current year net movement — how much the taxpayer's net worth grew or shrank. If last year is saved in the app, its closing figures are offered to you.

The capital reconciliation then asks whether the year hangs together. It adds up money actually received, takes off the tax actually paid, and takes off whatever went into building up assets. What's left is available for living expenses, shown as a monthly figure too.

Because it follows the money rather than the tax, two figures differ from the rest of the app. Income is taken before exemptions — the exempt slice of interest was still cash in the taxpayer's hand. And capital gains enter at proceeds, the whole amount received on the sale, not the taxable 40% inclusion.

A negative result means assets grew by more than the after-tax income can explain. That usually points to something not captured — an inheritance, a donation received, a loan raised, a spouse's contribution, or an asset entered at market value instead of cost. Sometimes it means income is missing. Either way it's worth resolving before filing: this is precisely the gap SARS looks for.

The reconciliation is an internal check, not an ITR12 field. SARS asks for the statement of assets and liabilities; the recon is what a preparer does with it.

Three figures can carry from one tax year into the next: retirement contributions above the annual cap, an assessed capital loss, and the basic amount used for the provisional underestimation penalty.

If you've saved last year's calculation for the same taxpayer, the app finds it and offers those figures to you. A note appears on the Profile step telling you a prior year exists, and a Use this button appears beside each relevant field. Nothing is filled in automatically — you tap to accept, and if you've already typed a figure you'll be asked before it's replaced. That's deliberate: last year may not be final, and a figure you entered on purpose shouldn't be silently overwritten.

The match is on tax reference number (or name, if there's no reference), so the taxpayer has to be identified on the Profile step before anything is offered. A Final calculation is preferred over a provisional one. Note that the basic amount offered is last year's taxable income as this app worked it out — where SARS assessed a different figure, the assessed one is the correct one to use.

• Clients groups every calculation into a folder per taxpayer (matched by tax reference, or by name). Tap a folder to open it. The number on the tab counts taxpayers, not calculations.
• Use the search box at the top of the Clients page to find someone quickly. It looks at names, tax reference numbers, and the year and type of each calculation — so "2027" finds everyone with a 2027 calculation, and "smith 2026" narrows to Smiths with a 2026 one. Matching folders open automatically and the matched text is highlighted. Press Escape or tap × to clear.
• Pressing Save updates the calculation you're working on — it won't create duplicates. To start a fresh one for the same person (e.g. a new year), use + Add calculation inside their folder.
• Compare puts calculations side by side — either across different clients, or one taxpayer's own years against each other.
• Data review lists every figure you entered for a calculation, so you can double-check before finalising.
• Tax tables shows the official SARS brackets, rebates, thresholds and rates for each year.

Use ⚙ Customise (top right) to make the app your own. Under Your branding you can add your company name, upload a logo, and enter your contact details (email, phone, website, address) — these appear in the header, on the results letterhead and printouts, and on the About page. Below that you can change theme, colours, font and text size. All of it is remembered on this device.

⬇ Back up all (on the Clients tab) saves a backup file of every client, plus your branding and settings; ⬆ Restore loads one back. Because your data lives in this browser, backing up regularly is the safest way to avoid losing it when you switch device or clear your browser. Documents are stored separately and aren't included in the backup, so keep your original files too.

This whole app is a single, self-contained HTML file — there's nothing to install and it works offline. To share it with someone, just give them a copy of the file (by email, USB stick, or a cloud link like Google Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive). They save it and open it in any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox). If you share it via the cloud, tell them to download the file first and open the downloaded copy — opening it inside the cloud preview won't run it properly.

Install it like a normal app (recommended)

On desktop Chrome or Edge, open the file/link and click the small install icon (a screen with a down-arrow) at the right of the address bar, or use the browser menu → Install. On iPhone/iPad Safari, tap the Share button then Add to Home Screen. On Android Chrome, tap the menu (⋮) then Add to Home screen / Install app. It then opens from an icon like any other app — no browser bar, and it works without internet.

Each copy starts blank

Client data, calculations and documents live in each person's own browser on their own device — they are not inside the file. So a copy you share carries no client information: the recipient sets their own branding and builds their own client list, kept private on their device. Nothing is ever sent to you or anyone else.

Hosting it at a web link

If you'll share it often, consider putting the file online (a free static host such as Netlify, Cloudflare Pages or GitHub Pages, or your own website / intranet) and sending a link instead of a file. Saved data and the Documents feature behave most reliably from a real web address, and you can update the app in one place instead of re-sending it.

Warn recipients about two things

First, clearing browser data — or switching browser or device — wipes what's stored, so they should use ⬇ Back up all regularly (the backup file also moves their data to a new device). Second, because everything stays on their own device and nothing goes to a server, it suits POPIA-sensitive client information — provided they keep their device secure and hold their own backups.

• Individual and business income tax — returns, calculations and planning
• Provisional tax estimates and submissions
• Bookkeeping, financial statements and management accounts
• Payroll, VAT and SARS compliance
• General accounting and advisory support

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Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:00

We're happy to meet in person or assist remotely. Reach out using any of the details above and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

This calculator is provided by the provider of this calculator as a general planning aid for estimating South African individual income tax.

Not professional advice. The results are estimates only and do not constitute tax, accounting, financial or legal advice, nor a formal tax opinion. They must not be relied upon in isolation. For advice about your specific circumstances, consult a registered tax practitioner.

Not a SARS submission. This tool does not file, calculate or submit anything to SARS. It is not connected to SARS eFiling. Always verify every figure against your official SARS assessment, and complete your return on SARS eFiling before any deadline.

No liability. While care has been taken, no warranty is given that the calculations, tax tables or results are accurate, complete or current. Tax law changes, and errors can occur. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither the provider nor its members, employees or associates accept any liability for any loss, penalty, interest or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this calculator or its output. Use of the tool is entirely at your own risk.

Privacy (POPIA). This calculator runs entirely in your own web browser. Any client information, calculations and documents you enter are stored only on your own device and are never transmitted to the provider, to SARS, or to any third party. You are responsible for keeping your device secure and for maintaining your own backups. Deleting your browser data will erase everything stored here.