Capital gains tax on a property sale

Sell a property at a profit and SARS takes a share of the gain. How big a share turns mostly on one question: was it the home you actually lived in, or an investment? On 1 March 2026 that line moved in sellers' favour, when the primary-residence exclusion rose to R3 million.

This works out the tax on a sale and shows the arithmetic under the headline. Gross gain, the primary-residence exclusion where it applies, the R50,000 annual exclusion, the portion that ends up taxable, and the tax itself at your own rate. Tax landing at zero on a family home usually means the R3 million exclusion doing its job, not a broken calculator.

Get the base cost right, because it decides the gain. Have these ready:

• the sale price and your selling costs, with agent commission the big one
• the original purchase price, plus the transfer duty and conveyancing fees you paid buying it
• capital improvements over the years. A new roof or an added room counts. Repainting and repairs don't
• your taxable income for the year of the sale
• whether you owned it alone or jointly, and whether it was your home or an investment

The primary residence toggle at the top changes the answer more than everything else combined, so set it first. Joint ownership matters too: co-owners split the gain and each gets their own exclusions and their own marginal rate, which usually pulls the total down.

Leaving costs at zero is the most common mistake. Blank buying and selling costs overstate the gain, which overstates the tax, and the number you walk away with is wrong in the wrong direction.

The model assumes an individual under 65 on the 2026/27 SARS rules. Trusts and companies run on different rules and aren't covered, and it can't see the rest of your tax year, so a large gain is an estimate rather than a filing figure.

Money Cat is an information tool, not tax or legal advice. Figures use the 2026/27 SARS rules for an individual under 65. Confirm your result with a registered tax practitioner or SARS.