Transfer Duty in South Africa: 2026 Rates and Process

Key takeaways

• Use the rate table for the date the property was acquired, not the date of registration or an undated calculator.
• The 2027 transfer-duty table, effective from 1 April 2026, is unchanged from the previous table.
• Rates are progressive: only the value inside a higher band is charged at that band’s percentage.
• The dutiable value can be greater than the stated price where fair-value or declared-value rules apply.

1. Confirm that the acquisition falls within transfer duty

The Transfer Duty Act reaches more than an ordinary house sale. SARS describes “property” as land and fixtures and includes specified real rights in land, mineral rights, interests in a residential property company and interests in a share-block company. Donations, exchanges, renunciations and indirect residential-property interests can require analysis even where no conventional deed of sale exists.

Create a transaction identity sheet containing:

• the acquirer and transferor, including representative capacity;
• the property description and rights being acquired;
• the agreement, addenda and last signature date;
• the consideration and anything else given for the acquisition;
• the parties’ relationship and any connected entities;
• the seller’s VAT status and use of the property;
• any claimed statutory exemption; and
• the expected conveyancer and registration route.

The transfer-duty glossary owns the short definition. This article owns the current tax decision and SARS process. The property-transfer process guide owns the broader sequence from agreement through registration.

2. Establish the acquisition date first

SARS warns that the correct rate depends on when the property was acquired. For a sale, the acquisition date is generally linked to when the transaction was entered into. SARS specifically states that, for a conditional sale, the six-month payment period starts from the transaction date—described as the last date of party signature—not from later fulfilment of a condition.

That does not mean a failed condition can be ignored. If the transaction is extinguished, cancelled, varied or replaced, the conveyancer must determine the declaration, correction, cancellation or refund consequences from the documents and actual sequence.

Record three separate dates:

1. the legally relevant acquisition date;
2. the SARS payment deadline; and
3. the operational date by which the conveyancer requires funds and a receipt for transfer.

Do not use occupation, bond approval, lodgement or registration as the acquisition date without a transaction-specific basis.

3. Use the current progressive rate table

SARS labels the following as the 2027 table, effective from 1 April 2026, with no change from the previous year:

• At a value not exceeding R1,210,000, the rate is 0%.
• Above R1,210,000 and up to R1,663,800, duty is 3% of the excess over R1,210,000.
• Above R1,663,800 and up to R2,329,300, start with R13,614 and add 6% of the excess over R1,663,800.
• Above R2,329,300 and up to R2,994,800, start with R53,544 and add 8% of the excess over R2,329,300.
• Above R2,994,800 and up to R13,310,000, start with R106,784 and add 11% of the excess over R2,994,800.
• Above R13,310,000, start with R1,241,456 and add 13% of the excess over R13,310,000.

The percentage in the last row is not applied to the entire property value. Each formula includes the tax accumulated through the lower bands and applies the stated percentage only above that row’s threshold.

The 0% row is a rate band, not proof that the transaction is outside transfer duty. It is also not a special first-time-buyer concession. Save the rate-page date and the acquisition date with any estimate, then reconcile the TDC01 assessment rather than treating the estimate as a SARS receipt.

4. Check the value on which duty is calculated

In a normal arm’s-length sale between unrelated parties, the consideration often reflects fair market value. SARS’s comprehensive Transfer Duty Guide explains that, where the consideration or declared value is below fair value, the Commissioner can determine fair value and duty can be based on the greater relevant amount.

Value review becomes important where:

• parties are related or connected;
• property is donated, exchanged or acquired without ordinary cash consideration;
• several properties or rights are combined in one arrangement;
• shares, member’s interests or contingent rights relate to residential property;
• a loan obligation or lease may affect how an indirect interest appears; or
• the agreement allocates amounts to land, movables, improvements or another component.

Do not lower the tax estimate by splitting one indivisible transaction, assigning an unsupported amount to movables or using only a municipal value. Preserve valuation evidence and ask which statutory value the conveyancer declared.

5. Decide whether VAT or transfer duty applies

SARS states that a property transaction is not simply charged both VAT and transfer duty. A taxable supply requires a supplier who is a VAT vendor and a supply made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise. A sale of an enterprise as a going concern may have its own conditions, including possible zero-rating.

Ask:

• Is the seller registered as a VAT vendor?
• Is this property supplied in the course or furtherance of the seller’s enterprise?
• Does the agreement say whether the price includes or excludes VAT?
• Is the supply standard-rated, zero-rated, exempt or outside the enterprise?
• What evidence supports that treatment?
• Does the TDC01 identify the matching transfer-duty exemption or VAT basis?

Neither “VAT vendor” nor “going concern” in correspondence settles the result. A private residential disposal by a vendor may still need facts about use and enterprise. A zero-rated VAT supply is still a taxable supply, not a 0% transfer-duty calculation.

6. Treat exemptions as evidence-based decisions

Section 9 of the Transfer Duty Act contains the exemptions. They cover particular persons or transaction types and attach conditions. Possible categories include specified government or public-benefit acquisitions, inheritance and surviving-spouse events, qualifying divorce-related transfers, corrections, partitions and certain corporate reorganisations.

The category name is only a starting point. Confirm:

1. the exact section relied on;
2. every person, relationship, use and transaction condition;
3. the agreement, order, will, liquidation and distribution account, affidavit or other proof required;
4. any time limit or sequence requirement; and
5. how the exemption is recorded in the declaration.

SARS’s supporting-material checklist identifies different evidence for different transaction types. A transaction with no duty payable can still require an approved declaration and receipt. Do not equate a current 0% rate, an exemption and VAT treatment; they are different legal bases.

7. Prepare the TDC01 declaration pack

The current SARS eFiling guide, effective 20 February 2026, uses one dynamic TDC01 declaration. It says declarations may be submitted through eFiling or an integrated third-party conveyancing system. Supporting documents are supplied when SARS requests them rather than automatically in every submission.

Prepare:

• the signed agreement and all addenda;
• complete buyer, seller and representative details;
• identity, tax-reference and entity-authority information requested;
• the property description, consideration and acquisition date;
• valuation evidence where price may not reflect fair value;
• VAT-vendor, enterprise and supply evidence;
• the exact exemption basis and supporting documents, if relied on; and
• banking and refund material through the authorised secure route where applicable.

SARS introduced TDC01 validation changes in December 2025, including additional tax-reference and registration fields. Use the live form and current conveyancer request rather than an old PDF checklist.

The eFiling guide says declarations and relevant material must be retained for five years from submission. Keep the submitted version, SARS correspondence, assessment, payment confirmation and final receipt together.

8. Track approval, payment and receipt separately

The current sequence is:

1. create and complete the declaration;
2. submit it through the authorised system;
3. answer any SARS request for correction or supporting material;
4. receive approval or acceptance and the amount due;
5. make electronic payment where required; and
6. obtain the receipt after SARS confirms full payment, or after approval where no payment is due.

SARS states that duty is generally payable within six months of acquisition and late payment attracts interest. That outer tax period should not be used as a transfer plan: the conveyancer may need funds and the receipt well before lodgement.

Do not confuse a draft calculation, notice of assessment, payment instruction, proof sent by the bank and the final transfer-duty receipt. Record each status and reference number without exposing tax or banking details to an unverified recipient.

9. Handle corrections, cancellations and refunds formally

The eFiling guide permits corrections before payment. A cancellation request after payment is treated as a refund request and requires supporting documents. SARS’s checklist identifies evidence such as the cancellation agreement, original sale agreement, conveyancer’s explanation and Deeds Office record for a cancelled sale.

If the agreement changes, do not edit the working calculation and assume SARS has changed. Tell the conveyancer promptly, preserve every signed version and ask whether the declaration must be corrected, cancelled or replaced. Confirm what happened to any money already paid and retain the SARS outcome.

10. Keep transfer duty separate from other costs

Transfer duty is not the transferring attorney’s professional fee, VAT on professional services, a bond-registration fee, Deeds Office charge, rates or levy amount, occupational rent or a disbursement. Ask for a dated estimate with each item separated by payee and basis.

The transfer-duty resource is the reusable declaration and document control. The property-transfer checklist covers the complete transfer file, while the FICA document checklist covers identity, authority and source-of-funds preparation. The conveyancing glossary, Deeds Office glossary and title-deed glossary explain the registration roles and records.

For transaction-specific help, use the conveyancing route or property-transfer service page. Compare current practitioners through the lawyer directory or law-firm directory, then verify scope, tax expertise, fees and payment instructions.

Final control checklist

• The legal acquisition date and applicable rate table are recorded.
• The property, parties, rights and consideration are identified completely.
• Fair or declared value questions have been reviewed.
• VAT treatment is supported by vendor, enterprise and supply facts.
• Any exemption cites the exact section and evidence.
• The live TDC01 and current SARS requirements are being used.
• Declaration, assessment, payment and receipt are tracked separately.
• The six-month rule is not being used to delay the transfer timetable.
• Corrections, cancellation or refund steps are formally recorded.
• Transfer duty is separated from every other property-transfer cost.

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