· Built around the Inheritance without a will calculator
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Most South Africans die without a valid will, and most families find out what that means at the worst possible moment. The sums are not hard - the law sets most of them - but they are rarely done in advance. This post works through each one with real numbers: who inherits without a will, what the executor charges, donations tax when you give money away while alive, the section 7C charge on a loan to a trust, and how much life cover the people you leave behind would need.
Run your own numbers
The calculator starts on the example family: an R800 000 estate, one surviving spouse and three children, no will. Change the estate, the number of spouses or children.
Checked against published examples
Before publishing, CalcSA ran the same inputs through its calculators:
- Section 7C: R500 000 lent to a trust at 9.25% for 60 days = R7 602.74 deemed donation, R1 520.55 tax - the worked example in SARS's draft Interpretation Note on section 7C (26 November 2025), with the annual exemption already used. Our trust loan calculator gives R7 602.74 and R1 520.55.
- Executor's fee: 3.5% of gross assets, 6% of income after death, minimum R350 - regulation 8(1) of the Administration of Estates Regulations (GN R473 of 1972, as substituted in 1991). On R2 000 000 of assets and R50 000 of income our executor fee calculator gives R73 000 + R10 950 VAT = R83 950.
- Intestate: a spouse takes a child's share or R250 000, whichever is more - Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 section 1(1)(c), with the R250 000 set by the Minister in Government Gazette 38238 (24 November 2014). Our intestate calculator applies both.
- Donations tax: 20% above the R150 000 annual exemption, 25% on donations above R30 million - SARS donations tax page and section 56(2)(b) as raised in Budget 2026. Our donations tax calculator gives R70 000 on R500 000.
Not verified from a primary source: the Gazette that set R250 000 was found through gov.za and justice.gov.za but the PDF itself was not opened, and later changes were not checked. The life cover sum is a needs-based rule of thumb used by advisers, not a formula in any law.
Worked example 1: no will
- R800 000 estate, one spouse, three children. A child's share is R800 000 / 4 = R200 000. That is less than R250 000, so the spouse takes R250 000.
- The children split the R550 000 left: R183 333.33 each (intestate calculator).
- At R1 200 000 the child's share is R300 000 - above R250 000 - so the spouse and each child get R300 000.
- No spouse? The children share it all. No spouse and no children, and it goes to parents, then brothers and sisters.
- A partner you never married inherits nothing under the Act - only a will fixes that.
Photo: Karolina Grabowska on Pexels (free licence)
Worked example 2: what the executor charges
- R2 000 000 of assets x 3.5% = R70 000, plus 6% of the R50 000 of rent and interest collected after death = R3 000.
- R73 000 plus 15% VAT if the executor is VAT-registered: R83 950 - 4.20% of the assets (executor fee calculator).
- The fee is on gross assets - before the bond and other debts are paid - so a house with a big bond still carries its full value.
- 3.5% is a maximum, not a price. You can agree a lower fee in your will or negotiate with the executor; banks and attorneys often accept less.
Worked example 3: giving it away while alive
- R500 000 given to a child, nothing else given this tax year: R70 000 donations tax. R150 000 is exempt; 20% of the other R350 000 is R70 000 (donations tax calculator).
- Spread it out and it can be tax-free: R150 000 a year over four tax years (the last one R50 000) moves the same R500 000 with no tax.
- Gifts between spouses are exempt, whatever the amount. So are donations to an approved public benefit organisation, within limits.
- The donor pays, by the end of the month after the gift. If the donor does not, the recipient is jointly liable.
Worked example 4: the interest-free loan to a family trust
- R2 000 000 lent interest-free for a full year at the official rate of 8.25%: R165 000 of interest not charged, treated by SARS as a donation under section 7C (trust loan calculator).
- The R150 000 annual exemption covers most of it; tax on the R15 000 left is R3 000, due by 31 March after the trust's year end.
- The exemption covers an interest-free loan of up to about R1 818 182 at 8.25% - if you have not used it on other gifts.
- Charge interest at the official rate and there is no deemed donation. The rate moves with repo; it went to 8.25% on 1 October 2026.
Worked example 5: how much life cover the family needs
- R30 000 a month gross, family needs 75% of it for 10 years: R2 700 000. R270 000 a year for ten years (life cover calculator).
- Add R1 300 000 of debts, R500 000 for education and R60 000 for the funeral and estate costs: R4 560 000 needed.
- Less R1 000 000 of cover already in place and R200 000 of savings: R3 360 000 more cover. The quick "ten times salary" rule says R3 600 000 - close, but it ignores what you already have.
- Name a beneficiary on the policy and the payout skips the estate - and the executor's 3.5% on it.
What to do this week
- Write a will, sign it before two witnesses who are not inheriting, and tell someone where it is.
- Name an executor you trust and, if you can, agree the fee in writing.
- Check the beneficiaries on every policy and retirement fund - they are paid outside the will.
Sources
- Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, section 1; R250 000 spouse's minimum from Government Notice 921, Government Gazette 38238 (24 November 2014): gov.za, as cited by the CalcSA intestate calculator. Gazette PDF not opened.
- Administration of Estates Regulations, GN R473 of 1972, regulation 8(1) as substituted by GN R1602 of 1 July 1991: justice.gov.za, read by CalcSA 15 October 2026.
- SARS, donations tax (sections 54-64 of the Income Tax Act): sars.gov.za, read by CalcSA 16 October 2026.
- SARS, draft Interpretation Note on section 7C (26 November 2025), worked example R500 000 x 9.25% x 60/365: sars.gov.za, read 16 October 2026.
- Official rate of interest 8.25% from 1 October 2026 (repo 7.25% + 1%): SARS Table 3 rule and the South African Reserve Bank repo decision, as used across CalcSA.
Calculators used in this post
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