What would your estate owe when you die?
Estimate estate duty, and the capital gains tax that death also triggers, with the R3.5m abatement and spousal rollover built in.
Death in South Africa can bring two separate taxes on the same estate. Estate duty is charged on what you leave. Capital gains tax can arise because death is a deemed disposal under section 9HA. This tool estimates both, applies the section 4A abatement, and shows how the capital gains tax reduces the estate-duty base. Everything is computed in your browser. Your numbers never leave this page. This is a duty calculation, not estate planning.
How this is computed
Two taxes, one event
Death can trigger two separate charges. Estate duty is a tax on the value of what you leave, under the Estate Duty Act. Capital gains tax can arise because death is treated as a deemed disposal under section 9HA of the Income Tax Act, as if you sold your assets at market value the day you died. They are charged under different laws and calculated separately.
The two meet in one place. The capital gains tax is a debt of the estate, so it comes off the value before estate duty is worked out. This tool computes the capital gains tax first, deducts it, then charges estate duty on what remains.
The estate-duty chain
gross estate − section 4 deductions = net value
net value − section 4A abatement = dutiable amount
dutiable amount × 20% (25% above R30m) = estate duty
Section 4 deductions include debts and costs, the executor's fee, everything left to a surviving spouse (section 4(q), with no limit), and the capital gains tax above. The section 4A abatement is R3.5 million. When you are the second spouse to die, the unused part of the first estate's abatement rolls over, so up to R7 million can be deducted.
Worked example: a R12 000 000 estate (2027 tax year)
Gross R12 000 000, less liabilities and costs R1 000 000. Assets carry R2 000 000 of gains, so the section 9HA capital gains tax at a 45% marginal rate is about R280 800 (R2 000 000 less the R440 000 year-of-death exclusion, times 40%, times 45%).
Net value R10 719 200. Less the R3 500 000 abatement gives a dutiable amount of R7 219 200. Estate duty at 20% is about R1 443 840. Together, death costs this estate roughly R1 724 640 in tax.
Common questions
After reading this section, if you still have questions, feel free to contact us however you want.
How is estate duty calculated?
Gross estate, less section 4 deductions, gives the net value. Deduct the R3.5 million abatement to get the dutiable amount, then charge 20% up to R30 million and 25% above. Anything left to a spouse is deducted in full first.
What is the abatement, and how does the spousal rollover work?
The abatement is a flat R3.5 million every estate deducts before duty. If you die as the second of a couple, the part of your late spouse's abatement that was not used rolls over to your estate, up to R7 million in total.
Why is there capital gains tax as well?
Death is a deemed disposal under section 9HA, so your assets are treated as sold at market value. That can create a capital gain in your final tax return, taxed at your marginal rate after a R440 000 exclusion. It is a separate charge from estate duty, and it reduces the estate-duty base.
Does anything left to my spouse get taxed?
Not on the first death. Assets passing to a surviving spouse are deducted in full for estate duty under section 4(q), and roll over for capital gains tax under section 9HA(2). The tax is typically deferred to the second death.
Do my numbers leave my computer?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent to a server — which also keeps it clean under POPIA.
Who built this
Rian Cronje comes to personal finance from the outside. After 25 years in corporate finance: Group Financial Controller roles, multi-currency consolidations and digital transformation, the unglamorous rigour of making a business’s accounts actually reconcile - he found almost none of that discipline had reached the way individuals track their own wealth. He is not an advisor; he has nothing to sell you about where to put your money. He built Monverdo to close that gap: to hold a person’s wealth to the standard a company holds its own books, and to break down the jargon that keeps capable people. him once included, locked out of their own numbers.
This calculator publishes the standard SARS and Estate Duty Act mechanics for the selected year of assessment. It estimates duty on figures you enter and does not account for wills, trusts, marriage regime, offshore assets, or liquidity. It is an educational tool, not tax, legal or estate-planning advice. Methodology by Rian Cronje, 25 years senior international finance and Group Financial Controller experience. Monverdo is a wealth-tracking product in development. Join the waitlist to keep a current view of your estate.
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