· Built around the SARS late return penalty calculator
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Three SARS sums catch people out because they arrive without warning: the fixed penalty that SARS charges every month a tax return stays outstanding, the deduction you earn by giving to a section 18A-approved charity, and the securities transfer tax (STT) taken whenever shares change hands. This post works each one in rand with the SARS late return penalty, section 18A donation deduction and securities transfer tax calculators.
Run your own numbers
The penalty calculator starts on the first example: R300 000 of taxable income last year, one return outstanding, three months late. Type your own figures - the band is set by your taxable income for the year before.
Checked against a published example
Every calculator in this post was run on the inputs of a published rule table or rate and gave the same answer:
- Penalty: R250 a month up to R250 000 of taxable income, R500 to R500 000, rising to R16 000 above R50 million, for up to 35 months - the section 211 table of the Tax Administration Act, as SARS applies it. Our penalty calculator gives R500 a month for R300 000 and R250 for an assessed loss.
- Section 18A: the deduction is capped at 10% of taxable income before the deduction, and the excess carries forward - Income Tax Act s18A, as SARS summarises it. On R145 725 of income and R20 000 donated, our donation calculator allows R14 573 and carries R5 427 forward.
- STT: levied at 0.25% - R250 on a R100 000 purchase - SARS Securities Transfer Tax page. Our STT calculator gives R250.00.
No calculator needed a fix for this post.
Worked example 1: the late-return penalty
- SARS charges a fixed penalty for every month a return is outstanding, on top of any tax and interest you owe (penalty calculator).
- The monthly amount follows your taxable income for the year before: R250 up to R250 000 (or an assessed loss), R500 to R500 000, R1 000 to R1 million, R2 000 to R5 million, R4 000 to R10 million, R8 000 to R50 million, R16 000 above.
- R300 000 of income, one return, three months late: R500 x 1 x 3 = R1 500. Left for the full 35 months it is R17 500.
- Each missing return is penalised separately: two returns on R180 000 of income, six months late, is R250 x 2 x 6 = R3 000.
- A higher earner pays far more: R750 000 of income, one return left for 35 months, is R1 000 x 35 = R35 000.
- Individuals have been penalised this way since 1 December 2022, for any outstanding return from the 2007 tax year on. Trusts get penalty notices (AP34) from 4 May 2026.
- Submitting the return stops the clock - and only once it is in can you ask SARS to remit the penalty (a request for remission).
If the late return means you owe tax, the interest on it runs separately - see the interest on arrears calculator. If SARS owes you, the tax refund calculator shows what you have been leaving with them.
Worked example 2: the section 18A donation deduction
- A donation of money or property to a section 18A-approved organisation is deductible, with a valid section 18A receipt (donation calculator).
- The cap is 10% of taxable income, worked out before the deduction - on R600 000 that is R60 000.
- Give R80 000 on R600 000 of income: R60 000 is deducted, R20 000 carries forward and is treated as donated next year, again within that year's 10%.
- Tax falls from R132 907 to R111 307 - R21 600 saved, because the whole R60 000 comes off at 36%. The gift really costs R58 400.
- Within the limit, all of it counts: R30 000 on R400 000 of income saves R8 645 - part at 31% and part at 26%, as the deduction drops you a band.
- Smaller incomes save less per rand: R20 000 on R145 725 allows R14 573 and saves R2 623.14 at 18%, with R5 427 carried forward.
- No receipt, no deduction - and donating your time or services does not count.
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A section 18A donation to a public benefit organisation is also exempt from donations tax. Giving to family or an unapproved cause above R100 000 a year is not - see the donations tax calculator.
Worked example 3: securities transfer tax
- STT is 0.25% - R2.50 for every R1 000 - on every transfer of shares in a South African company or a member's interest in a close corporation (STT calculator).
- Buy R100 000 of JSE shares through a broker: STT is R250, paid by the broker and shown on your contract note.
- Buy shares in a private company for R100 000 when they are worth R150 000: STT is R375, because the tax is on the market value when the price is lower.
- For unlisted shares the company pays SARS within two months after the month of transfer, and may recover it from the buyer. Listed STT is due by the 14th of the next month.
- The seller's side is a different tax - a gain on the shares may attract capital gains tax, and the dividends they pay attract dividends tax.
Not verified from a primary source: the section 211 penalty table was read in a Sage summary, not in the Act itself - SARS's own page confirms only the R250 to R16 000 range and the 35 months. Sage notes the penalty can run for 47 months where SARS has no current address; the calculator stops at 35. The R145 725 section 18A example is a SARS example recorded by CalcSA earlier and was not re-opened for this post, and the rounding of the deduction to the rand follows it. STT exemptions (section 8) and the lowest-price test for off-market listed transfers were not checked.
What to do this month
- Check eFiling for any return still outstanding - every month adds the full penalty again, per return.
- Ask every charity you gave to this year for its section 18A receipt, and diarise any amount above 10% to claim next year.
- Selling or buying private company shares? Budget 0.25% STT on the higher of price and market value, and check the provisional payment on the provisional tax calculator.
Sources
- SARS, What is an Administrative Penalty? (updated 2 April 2026): sars.gov.za, read by CalcSA 16 October 2026.
- Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 s210-211, fixed amount penalty table, as summarised by Sage, SARS administrative penalties: what you need to know: sage.com, read 16 October 2026. Not verified from a primary source.
- Income Tax Act s18A; SARS IT17 Basic Guide to Section 18A Approval: sars.gov.za, read 16 October 2026.
- Income tax tables 2026/27 and the R17 820 primary rebate: sars.gov.za.
- Securities Transfer Tax Act 25 of 2007; SARS, Securities Transfer Tax (updated 19 August 2026): sars.gov.za, read 16 October 2026.
Calculators used in this post
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