Free calculator
VAT calculator South Africa - add or remove 15% VAT
Add 15% South African VAT to a price or work backwards from a VAT-inclusive amount to find the VAT portion and the net value.
Last reviewed 13 October 2026 · next scheduled review 25 February 2027 · runs entirely in your browser
How to use it
- Choose the direction - Add VAT to a net amount, or remove VAT from a gross amount.
- Enter the amount - Decimals are accepted.
- Read all three values - Net, VAT and gross are always shown together so you can check your calculation both ways.
Result
| Amount excluding VAT | R0 |
|---|---|
| VAT at 15% | R0 |
| Amount including VAT | R0 |
Standard rate only. Zero-rated and exempt supplies are treated differently.
Enter an amount and choose whether to add VAT to a price excluding VAT, or to extract the VAT portion from a price that already includes it.
VAT in one paragraph
Value-Added Tax is a tax on the supply of most goods and services in South Africa, charged at the standard rate of 15%. Vendors registered for VAT add it to their invoices and pay it over to SARS, less the VAT they themselves paid on business inputs.
VAT is not always charged. Some supplies are zero-rated, which means VAT applies at 0% - exports, brown bread, maize meal, milk and other basic foodstuffs are the familiar examples. Other supplies are exempt, which means VAT does not apply at all; financial services and residential rentals are typical. A price tag on a zero-rated or exempt item therefore contains no VAT to strip out.
Adding VAT and removing VAT are not mirror images
If a supplier quotes you a price excluding VAT, you add 15%. If a price already includes VAT - which every displayed price to a consumer must - you divide by 1.15 rather than subtracting 15%. The difference sounds trivial and is not: at R1 000 including VAT, subtracting 15% understates the VAT by about R19.50, and on a large invoice that error compounds.
This tool handles both directions. Check the second figure against the VAT invoice you received before you capture it into your accounting system.
Who has to register as a VAT vendor
A business whose taxable turnover exceeds the compulsory registration threshold in any consecutive twelve months must register for VAT. A voluntary registration is possible at a lower threshold if the business can prove it is carrying on an enterprise and will make taxable supplies.
Registration brings obligations, not just a number: VAT returns are filed on a fixed cycle, records must be kept, and tax invoices must meet the layout SARS requires. Before registering voluntarily, work out whether you can carry the administration - and confirm the current thresholds on the SARS website, because they change.
How this fits into the rest of the site
A calculator answers "what number", but the decision behind it is usually about a date and an official process. If you are checking whether a deadline has passed, the Important Dates Centre carries the published dates with their sources. If you are checking a government status, no calculator can help you and no website outside government can either - the relevant official link is listed at the bottom of this page.
We do not claim to be a government service and this tool has no official standing. It is an independent estimate published for planning, with its sources named so you can check every figure against the body that actually decides it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard VAT rate in South Africa?Toggle answer
The standard rate is 15%. Some supplies are zero-rated at 0% and some are exempt, which means no VAT is charged and no input VAT may be claimed. This calculator applies the standard rate only.
How do I remove VAT from an inclusive amount?Toggle answer
Dividing by 1.15 gives the amount excluding VAT, and the difference between the two is the VAT portion. A common shortcut - taking 15% off the inclusive amount - gives the wrong answer, because it calculates 15% of the gross figure rather than of the net figure.
Do I need to register for VAT?Toggle answer
Registration is compulsory once your taxable supplies exceed the published threshold in any twelve-month period, and voluntary registration is possible above a lower threshold subject to conditions. Turnover-based thresholds are published by SARS and change with the Budget.
Where the numbers come from
- Value-Added Tax - SARS
- VAT registration thresholds and returns - SARS
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