· Built around the Two jobs tax calculator
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More South Africans than ever earn from more than one place: a second job, a pension on top of a part-time salary, a desk at home, a crypto account on the side. Each one changes what you owe SARS, and the bill usually arrives months later on assessment. This post works through each with real numbers: the two jobs tax gap, the home office deduction and crypto tax - and what to put aside so the ITR12 is not a shock.
Run your own numbers
The calculator starts on the example: a main job at R20 000 a month and a second job at R15 000, under 65. Type your own salaries - or a salary and a pension.
Checked against published examples
Before publishing, CalcSA ran the same inputs through its calculators:
- Home office: 16 m² of 253 m² on R135 000 of costs = R8 537 - SARS's own worked example in Interpretation Note 28 (issue 3, 4 March 2022). Our home office calculator gives R8 537.55 - the same, before SARS rounds to the rand.
- Two jobs: tax on R420 000 = R79 998 + 31% of the R36 900 above R383 100, less the R17 820 primary rebate = R73 617 - SARS 2026/27 rates of tax for individuals. Each employer's PAYE is the same table on its own salary: 18% of R240 000 less R17 820 = R25 380, and 18% of R180 000 less R17 820 = R14 580. Our two jobs calculator gives R73 617, R25 380, R14 580 and R33 657.
- Crypto: the first R50 000 of capital gains a year is excluded and 40% of the rest is taxed - SARS capital gains tax page (updated 26 February 2026). On a R100 000 gain that adds R20 000 to taxable income; our crypto tax calculator and CGT calculator both give R20 000 and R6 200 tax.
- SARS taxes crypto under the normal rules - revenue or capital by your intention, swaps count as disposals - SARS crypto assets guidance. Our calculator shows both treatments side by side.
Not verified from a primary source: the SARS crypto assets web page was not re-read for this post; the treatment above follows CalcSA's earlier reading of it and SARS's general CGT rules. The two-jobs sum leaves out medical aid credits and retirement deductions, which lower the bill.
Worked example 1: two salaries, one surprise
- Main job R20 000 a month: PAYE R2 115 - the payroll works it as if R240 000 a year were all you earn (two jobs calculator).
- Second job R15 000 a month: PAYE R1 215 - this payroll also gives you the full R17 820 rebate and starts you at 18% again.
- Together: R39 960 of PAYE a year. SARS wants R73 617 on R420 000 - your top rand is taxed at 31%, not 18%.
- Short R33 657 on assessment - R2 804.75 a month. Ask one payroll to deduct that much extra, or save it every month.
- The same happens with a pension plus a part-time job, or two annuities. Retirees are caught by it every year (take-home pay on the total).
Photo: Hanna Pad on Pexels (free licence)
Worked example 2: the home office deduction
- 16 m² office / 253 m² of all buildings = 6.32% of the home (home office calculator). Measure it - SARS wants a plan, not a guess.
- 6.32% of R135 000 a year of rent, rates, electricity, cleaning and repairs = R8 537.55 deductible.
- On R600 000 of taxable income that saves about R3 074 - the deduction comes off your top rand, taxed at 36%.
- Salaried? More than half your work must be done in that room, which must be used regularly and only for work, and be equipped for it. Working from home "some days" does not qualify - the deduction is R0.
- Mostly paid in commission? More than half the work must be away from the employer's office instead.
- Bond interest no longer counts, and the office share loses the primary residence exclusion when you sell (capital gains tax).
Worked example 3: crypto profit, capital or income
- Sold for R300 000, cost R200 000: a R100 000 profit, on top of R400 000 of other income (crypto tax calculator).
- Held as an investment: R100 000 less the R50 000 exclusion, x 40% = R20 000 added to income. Tax: R6 200 - 6.2% of the profit.
- Traded for profit: all R100 000 is income. Tax: R31 000 - every rand at your 31% rate.
- SARS decides by what you did, not how long you held it. Frequent buying and selling, or mining and staking as a business, points to income.
- Swapping one coin for another is a sale at the rand value on the day. Many people owe tax without ever cashing out.
- The R50 000 exclusion is shared with every other capital gain you make that year - shares sold included.
What to do this week
- Two incomes? Work out the gap and ask a payroll to deduct it - the form to ask is your employer's, not SARS's.
- Earning outside a payroll - crypto, freelance, rent? Register for provisional tax and pay it in August and February (provisional tax).
- Keep the measured floor plan, slips and an export of every crypto trade for five years - SARS can ask.
Sources
- SARS, Interpretation Note 28 (issue 3, 4 March 2022), Deductions of home office expenses incurred by persons in employment, worked example; Home office expenses page: sars.gov.za, read by CalcSA 15 October 2026.
- SARS, Rates of tax for individuals, 2026/27 tax year (1 March 2026 - 28 February 2027), primary rebate R17 820: sars.gov.za.
- SARS, Capital gains tax - annual exclusion R50 000, 40% inclusion for individuals (updated 26 February 2026): sars.gov.za.
- SARS, Crypto assets and tax: sars.gov.za. Not re-read for this post.
Calculators used in this post
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