Home › Free tools › Capital gains tax

Capital gains tax calculator

Sold shares, a property or crypto at a profit? The gain is not taxed at a flat rate: after the annual exclusion, 40% of it is added to your income and taxed at your rate - so the effective rate is at most 18%. See your actual number. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

Proceeds minus what the asset cost you (including improvement and transaction costs).
Salary and other income, before the gain.
Capital gain
Annual exclusion applied
Added to your taxable income (40%)
Capital gains tax
Effective rate on the gain

Primary residence? The first R3 million of that gain is excluded entirely - this result assumes the asset is not your primary home.

How CGT actually works

South Africa has no separate capital gains tax rate for individuals. Your gains for the year are added up, the first R50 000 is excluded, 40% of the rest is included in your taxable income, and that lands in your normal brackets. A top-rate taxpayer therefore pays at most 40% times 45% = 18% of the gain; most people pay well under that.

Crypto works exactly the same way when you hold it as an investment - SARS treats disposals of crypto assets under the same rules. Trade it actively like stock, though, and SARS can tax profits as ordinary income at your full rate.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay CGT when I sell my house?

The first R3 million of the gain on your primary residence is excluded. Most home sales attract no CGT at all - it bites on second properties, buy-to-lets and homes with very large gains.

Is crypto really taxed like shares?

Held as an investment, yes - disposals are capital gains under these rules. Frequent trading looks like a business to SARS, and business profits are ordinary income. The line is facts-based: frequency, intention, funding.

When do I pay the CGT?

Through your tax return for the year of the sale - and a big gain can make you a provisional taxpayer, which means estimating and paying during the year rather than at filing time.

What about losses?

Capital losses offset capital gains in the same year, and unused losses carry forward to future years. They never offset your salary.

A big gain can change your whole return

Check the rest of your tax position with the refund estimator before filing season.

 Estimate my refund

Keep exploring

Transfer duty calculator Provisional tax calculator SARS refund estimator Do I need to file?

Based on the SARS tables for the 2027 tax year (1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027), sars.gov.za. Free tools are estimates. Packs are templates and guidance, not legal or financial advice.