· Built around the Travellers' duty-free allowance calculator
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The December holidays are when most South Africans cross a border - a trip overseas, a parcel from an online shop abroad, a transfer to a child studying in London, a contract in Dubai. Every one of those has a rand cost set by SARS or the Reserve Bank, and every one can be worked out before you go. This post covers seven calculators: the travellers' duty-free allowance, import duty and VAT, ad valorem duty on new cars, the currency converter, the offshore allowance, non-resident property withholding tax and expat tax.
Run your own numbers
The duty-free calculator starts on SARS's own example: R15 197 of goods, the most expensive item R8 057, first trip in 30 days.
Checked against a published example
Where SARS or the Reserve Bank publish a worked example, CalcSA ran the same inputs through our calculator. Where they publish only the rule, we applied it step by step:
- Duty-free allowance: SARS's example of R15 197 of goods gives R2 039 at the 20% flat rate - SARS external guide SC-PA-01-03, revision 8. Our calculator gives R2 039.40 (SARS rounds to the rand).
- Ad valorem duty: SARS's example of a R100 000 car before VAT gives a 1.650% rate and R1 174.06 duty - Customs and Excise Act Schedule 1 Part 2B Note 2 and SARS annex SE-ADV-02-A01. Our calculator at R115 000 with VAT gives 1.650%, R71 155 excise value and R1 174.06.
- Import VAT: SARS's formula is (customs value + 10% + duty) x 15% - SARS FAQ "How is VAT calculated on imported goods". Our calculator follows it to the cent.
- Offshore allowance: R2 million single discretionary allowance plus R10 million foreign capital allowance a calendar year - Reserve Bank Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers, 2026, sections A.1 and B.2(B). Our calculator splits R5 million into R2 million and R3 million.
- Non-resident sellers: 7.5% of the full price above R2 million for an individual - SARS guide IT-PP-02-G01, revision 5. Our calculator gives R187 500 on R2 500 000.
- Expat tax: the first R1.25 million of foreign employment income is exempt - Income Tax Act s10(1)(o)(ii). Our calculator applies the SARS 2026/27 tables to the rest.
Every figure matched. No calculator needed a fix for this post.
Worked example 1: what you pay at customs coming home
- You come back from a holiday with R15 197 of goods, no single item over R25 000 (duty-free allowance calculator).
- The first R5 000 comes in free of duty and VAT - once in a 30-day cycle, after at least 48 hours away.
- The next R10 197 pays the 20% flat rate, with no VAT on top: R2 039.40. That flat rate covers up to R20 000 of goods in the 30 days.
- Spend R37 748 and the flat rate runs out: R4 000 on R20 000, then normal 20% duty of R2 549.60 and VAT of R2 485.86 on the last R12 748 - R9 035.46 in all.
- One item over R25 000 loses both allowances. A R25 704 laptop at 0% duty still pays 15% VAT on R28 274.40 (value plus 10%) - R4 241.16.
- Crew get less: R700 duty-free and a R2 000 flat-rate band. R2 000 of goods costs crew R260.
Photo: Thieu Quan Vo Vu on Pexels (free licence)
Worked example 2: a parcel from an overseas shop
- You order goods with a customs value of R5 000, in a tariff line with 20% duty (import duty and VAT calculator).
- Duty is R1 000 - 20% of the customs value.
- VAT is worked on R6 500: the R5 000, plus a 10% uplift of R500, plus the R1 000 duty. 15% of that is R975.
- SARS gets R1 975 and the goods cost you R6 975 landed, before the courier's clearing fee.
- Made in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia or Eswatini? The 10% uplift falls away - VAT drops to R900. Many goods are 0% duty, so look up your item in the SARS tariff book first.
- Paying in dollars? Convert first with the currency converter - customs works on the rand value on your clearing documents.
Worked example 3: the duty hidden in a new car's price
- A new car lists at R460 000 with VAT, so R400 000 without it (ad valorem duty calculator).
- SARS takes off 20% to get value A: R320 000. The rate is (0.00003 x 320 000) - 0.75 = 8.850%.
- The duty is already in the price, so it is taken out first: excise value R270 748, duty R23 961.20 - about 5.2% of what you pay.
- The rate stops at 30% - every car above about R1.47 million with VAT pays the maximum.
- Financing it? The duty is in the amount you borrow - see the monthly cost on the car finance calculator.
Worked example 4: moving money offshore
- You want to send R5 million abroad this calendar year and have sent nothing yet (offshore allowance calculator).
- The first R2 million goes under the single discretionary allowance - your ID at the bank, no SARS PIN. Travel, gifts and investments all come out of it.
- The other R3 million uses the R10 million foreign capital allowance and needs an Approval for International Transfer (AIT) PIN from SARS eFiling first.
- R7 million of the foreign capital allowance is left for the year. Both allowances reset on 1 January.
- Over R12 million in a year needs the Reserve Bank's Financial Surveillance Department as well as SARS. A child under 18 gets a R400 000 travel allowance instead.
- Check what the bank's rate costs you. At the ECB reference rate we used (R16.47 to the dollar), R10 000 buys $607.16 - and a 3% bank margin cuts that to $588.95 on the currency converter.
Worked example 5: a non-resident sells a house here
- An owner who has emigrated sells a South African property for R2 500 000 (non-resident property calculator).
- The buyer must hold back 7.5% of the whole price - R187 500 - and pay it to SARS, not just 7.5% of the part over R2 million.
- A company seller has R250 000 withheld (10%), a trust R375 000 (15%). At R2 000 000 or less nothing is withheld.
- A resident buyer pays SARS within 14 days, a non-resident buyer within 28. Late payment costs the buyer a 10% penalty plus interest.
- The withholding is an advance on the seller's tax, not extra tax. The real bill is the capital gains tax on the sale; a SARS directive can lower the amount held back.
Worked example 6: tax on pay for work abroad
- You stay tax resident, work abroad for more than 183 days in 12 months (over 60 in a row) and earn R1 800 000 (expat tax calculator).
- The first R1 250 000 is exempt, so R550 000 is taxed in South Africa at the normal 2026/27 rates: R114 907 after the rebate.
- You paid R300 000 tax abroad on all R1 800 000. The share on the taxed R550 000 is R91 666.67, credited against the SA tax.
- Left to pay SARS: R23 240.33 for the year. Fewer than 183 days abroad and the whole R1 800 000 is taxed here, less the credit.
- Paid in pounds or dirham? Convert each payslip at the rate on the day with the currency converter, and see the monthly PAYE picture on the PAYE calculator.
Not verified from a primary source: the exchange rate quoted is the European Central Bank reference rate on the day we checked and moves every day - the calculator loads the latest one. SARS's travellers' guide states a R100 000 VAT exemption for arrivals from SACU countries but its own worked examples still use R25 000; check with customs if that applies to you. The expat example assumes foreign tax falls evenly over all foreign pay - SARS Interpretation Note 18 sets the exact rule. Tax treaties can change who taxes what. This is education, not tax advice.
Before you travel, order or transfer
- Keep the till slips for everything you buy abroad - customs values goods at what you paid.
- Look up the tariff line before you order - 0% duty and 20% duty make a R1 000 difference on a R5 000 parcel.
- Apply for the AIT PIN weeks before a transfer over R2 million - the bank will not send it without one.
- Working abroad? Count your days - the 183/60-day test decides whether R1.25 million is tax-free.
Sources
- SARS, Duty Free Allowances for Travellers - External Guide SC-PA-01-03, revision 8 (effective 1 July 2026): sars.gov.za, read by CalcSA 16 October 2026.
- SARS, Duties and Taxes for Importers and FAQ "How is VAT calculated on imported goods": sars.gov.za, read 16 October 2026.
- Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, Schedule 1 Part 2 Section B, Note 2, and SARS annex SE-ADV-02-A01, Ad Valorem Value Determination: sars.gov.za, read 16 October 2026.
- South African Reserve Bank, Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers, 2026, sections A.1 and B.2(B): resbank.co.za, read 16 October 2026.
- SARS external guide IT-PP-02-G01, Amounts to be withheld when a non-resident sells immovable property in South Africa, revision 5 (effective 3 September 2025): sars.gov.za, read 16 October 2026.
- SARS, Foreign Employment Income Exemption, Income Tax Act s10(1)(o)(ii) and s6quat; 2026/27 tax tables: sars.gov.za, read 15 October 2026.
- European Central Bank, euro foreign exchange reference rates: ecb.europa.eu.
Calculators used in this post
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