South Africa · 2026 / 2027 tax year
What it actually costs,
in rand.
Every South African money calculator worth using gives you a number and then a paragraph of hedging. These give you the number, the working, and the one line that matters — what leaves your account each month.
Bond repayment
Monthly instalment, total interest, and what an extra R500 a month does to both.
Calculate →Income tax & take-home
PAYE on the 2026/27 brackets, your rebate, UIF, and what actually lands in your account.
Calculate →Cost of buying
Transfer duty, conveyancing and bond registration — the cash you need that is not the price.
Calculate →How much house can I afford
Salary in, realistic purchase price out, then stress-tested at two percent higher.
Calculate →Compare bond quotes
One form, up to three originators. They compete on the rate, you pay nothing for it.
Request quotes →Where the numbers come from
SARS tables, the SARB policy rate, and exactly which figures on this site are estimates.
Read the method →The three numbers that decide whether you can buy
Most people walk into a bank with one number — the price — and walk out with three surprises. Understand them before you sign anything.
1. The instalment is not the cost
At prime (10,75% since 25 September 2026), a R1 million bond over 20 years costs about R10 152 a month. Over the full term you repay roughly R2,4 million — of which R1,4 million is interest. The instalment is the smallest of the three numbers and the one everyone focuses on.
2. The cash you need on the day is not the deposit
Transfer duty, the conveyancer, bond registration and Deeds Office fees are all payable up front, in cash, and none of them are financed. On a R1,5 million house that is tens of thousands of rand on top of whatever deposit you put down. Work out your own figure before you fall in love with a listing.
3. Your salary is not your affordability
Banks work on net disposable income, not gross. Two people on the same salary with different car payments get different bonds. Start from your expenses, not from a calculator's advertised maximum.
Buying in the next six months?
A bond originator submits your profile to multiple banks at once and negotiates the rate. It costs you nothing — they are paid by the bank that wins. The difference between 10,75% and 10,25% on a R1 million bond is about R340 a month.
Why this site exists
South Africans search for these numbers in the hundreds of thousands every month, and most results are either bloated lead-generation funnels that hide the answer behind an email form, or overseas calculators using dollar conventions and the wrong tax tables. This is the version I wanted when I was doing the arithmetic on the back of an envelope.
RandMath is free and needs no account. It is supported by advertising and by referral fees from bond originators when someone submits a quote request — never by selling your details to a list. See how we make money.