Compare PAYE paid against assessed tax for a refund or amount owing.
Refund or owing
—
Assessed tax
—
Taxable income
—
Why money comes back
A SARS refund is not a bonus or a windfall. It is your own money being returned because too much of it was withheld during the year. Each month your employer deducts PAYE based on a snapshot of your pay, and that snapshot often does not know about your retirement contributions, your medical scheme, or the fact that you only worked part of the year. When the full picture is assessed at year end, the real tax due is frequently lower than the sum of those monthly deductions, and the difference flows back to you. This calculator does exactly that comparison: it works out your assessed tax for the year and sets it against the PAYE you say you have already paid.
The flip side is just as real. If the monthly deductions fell short of your final liability, perhaps because of side income or a bonus that was under-taxed, the same comparison shows you owing SARS instead. The tool reports whichever way the balance falls.
PAYE versus the final sum
The assessment side of the calculation has three moving parts. First, deductible retirement contributions reduce your income before tax is computed, up to 27.5 percent of income capped at R350,000, the limits used here. Second, the remaining taxable income runs up the seven-band individual scale. Third, two reductions come off the gross tax: the age rebate, which this tool sets at a R17,235 primary rebate, and the medical scheme fees tax credit, a fixed monthly amount per member that this calculator applies at R364 for the main member, R364 for the first dependant, and R246 for each further dependant. Each of these figures is the calculator's assumption for 2025/26; confirm the current amounts with SARS.
An R11,496 refund, line by line
Consider someone under 65 earning R500,000, who paid R95,000 of PAYE, contributed R40,000 to a retirement fund, and had one person on their medical aid. The R40,000 contribution is fully deductible, cutting taxable income to R460,000. Tax on that scale comes to R104,907 gross. Subtracting the R17,235 rebate and the R4,368 medical credit for one member leaves assessed tax of R83,504. Against R95,000 of PAYE already paid, that is a refund of R11,496.
| Step | Amount |
|---|
Three things that swell a refund
Refunds tend to be largest when one of three things happened during the year. You made retirement annuity contributions your employer did not factor into monthly PAYE, so too much was deducted. You paid medical scheme contributions or had large out-of-pocket medical costs that generate credits. Or you changed jobs, took unpaid leave, or worked only part of the year, so the months you did work were taxed as if you earned at that rate all year. Each of these pulls your assessed tax below what was withheld. Entering your contributions and members accurately in the calculator is what surfaces the refund you are owed.
When the letter says you owe
Not every assessment ends in a refund. If you earned untaxed side income, received a travel allowance that was under-taxed in PAYE, or had two employers who each applied the rebate as if they were your only job, the monthly deductions can fall short and you will owe the gap. A frequent and avoidable mistake is holding two jobs and assuming the tax sorts itself out; each employer often under-deducts because neither sees your total income, and the shortfall lands at assessment. If this calculator shows an amount owing, treat it as a prompt to set that money aside before SARS asks for it. Remember too that this is an estimate built on the figures and rates the tool assumes; your actual assessment depends on your full SARS return.
How long does a SARS refund take to pay out?
Where your return is filed correctly and your banking details are verified, refunds are often paid within a few business days of assessment. Delays usually mean SARS has flagged the return for verification or audit, or that outstanding returns, a tax debt, or unverified bank details are holding it up. Keeping your details current is the simplest way to avoid a hold.
Do I get a refund just for being on medical aid?
The medical scheme fees tax credit reduces your assessed tax whether or not it produces a refund. A refund only arises if that credit, together with your other deductions, pushes your assessed tax below the PAYE already withheld. If your PAYE was set low to begin with, the credit reduces what you owe rather than generating cash back.