On Wednesday, 25 February 2015, South Africans were told to prepare for higher taxes. The government’s annual budget indicated a 1% increase in personal income tax.
Tax Rates for 2015 is as follows:
Personal Tax
Taxable Income |
Tax Payable |
| R0 – R181 900 | 18% of each R1 taxable income |
| R181 901 – R284 100 | R32 742 + 26% of taxable income above R181 900 |
| R284 101 – R393 200 | R59 314 + 31% of taxable income above R284 100 |
| R393 201 – R550 100 | R93 135 + 36% of taxable income above R393 200 |
| R550 101 – R701 300 | R149 619 + 39& of taxable income above R550 100 |
| R701 301 and Above | R208 587 + 41% of taxable income above R701 300 |
Income Tax
The amount an individual can earn before they are required to pay tax has been increased for the tax year that runs from 1 March 2015 to 29 February 2016.
Below age 65 |
Age 65 and over |
Age 75 and over |
| R73 650 | R114 800 | R128 500 |
Tax rebate increases
Primary |
Secondary |
Tertiary |
| For all taxpayers | Aged 65 and over | Aged 75 and over |
| R13 257 | R7 407 | R2 466 |
Sin Tax
Excise duties on alcoholic beverages will increase between 4.8% and 8.5%. There are some reforms under consideration that will provide excise duty relief to wine-based spirits.
The increases in excise duties are as follows:
Alcohol:
| Malt beer up by: | Fortified wine up by: | Ciders and alcoholic fruit beverages: |
| 7c Per 340ml can | 19c Per 750ml bottle | 7c Per 330ml bottle |
| Unfortified wine up by: | Sparkling wine up by: | Spirits up by: |
| 15c Per 750ml bottle | 48c Per 750ml bottle | R3.77 per 750ml bottle |
Tobacco
| Cigarettes up by: | Cigarette tobacco up by: | Pipe tobacco up by: | Cigars up by: |
| 82c Per packet of 20 | 91c Per 40g | 26c Per 25g | R3.09 per 23g |
Fuel levy
| General fuel levy will increase by: | Road Accident Fund levy will increase by: |
| 30.5 cents | 50 cents |
This will increase fuel prices by 80.5c.
Medical Schemes
The monthly medical scheme contributions tax credits will increase from 1 March 2015. The first two beneficiaries will be increased from R257 to R270 per month and each additional beneficiary will be increased from R172 to R181 per month. Medical tax credits which are related to medical scheme contributions, will be taken into account for both PAYE and provisional tax purposes.
