How is Estate Duty calculated in South Africa?

Estate Duty is charged on the 'dutiable amount' of an estate: the net value (property less allowable deductions and spouse bequests) minus a R3.5 million abatement. The first R30 million of the dutiable amount is taxed at 20%, and any excess above R30 million at 25%.

What is the abatement?

Every estate gets a R3.5 million abatement (a tax-free threshold) deducted before duty is calculated, so estates with a dutiable value at or below R3.5 million pay no Estate Duty. The abatement can be partly 'rolled over' to a surviving spouse, giving the second-dying spouse up to R7 million.

Are bequests to a spouse taxed?

No. Property left to a surviving spouse is fully deductible from the estate and therefore not subject to Estate Duty (the section 4(q) deduction). This often defers duty until the second spouse dies. Enter spouse bequests so the tool excludes them.

What deductions are allowed?

Allowable deductions include the deceased's debts, funeral and deathbed expenses, the costs of administering the estate, bequests to approved public benefit organisations, and the spouse's share. These reduce the net value before the abatement is applied.

Is there also Capital Gains Tax on death?

Often, yes. Death is treated as a deemed disposal of assets for CGT purposes (with a higher R300,000 annual exclusion in the year of death), so an estate may owe both CGT and Estate Duty. This tool estimates Estate Duty only; calculate CGT separately.

South Africa Inheritance Tax Calculator

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

South Africa’s inheritance tax is Estate Duty, charged on the dutiable value of a deceased estate after deductions and a generous abatement. This calculator applies the R3.5 million abatement and the tiered 20% / 25% rates so you can estimate the duty before the estate is wound up.

How it works

The duty is computed on the dutiable amount, with two marginal rate bands:

netValue       = grossEstate − deductions − spouseBequests
dutiableAmount = max(0, netValue − R3,500,000 abatement)
duty           = 20% × min(dutiableAmount, R30,000,000)
               + 25% × max(0, dutiableAmount − R30,000,000)

Because the abatement and spouse bequests come off first, modest estates frequently fall to a zero dutiable amount and owe no Estate Duty at all.

Example and tips

A R10 million net estate with no spouse bequest has the R3.5 million abatement deducted, leaving a R6.5 million dutiable amount. All of it is within the R30 million band, so the duty is 20% × R6,500,000 = R1,300,000. Leaving assets to a surviving spouse defers duty entirely and can preserve a rolled-over abatement of up to R7 million for the second estate — a key planning lever. Remember death can also trigger Capital Gains Tax, which this tool does not include.