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Business finance

Business payments, VAT and payroll

A payment gateway, a card machine and accounting software do not make the firm compliant. PAYE, UIF, the skills development levy and VAT have their own rules.

Reviewed 29 October 2026 by the WiT Money editorial team. This is general information, not a recommendation from a named adviser.

Key points

  • Standard VAT in the tax file is 15%. Compulsory registration is R2.3 million of taxable supplies in twelve months.
  • Not every supply is standard-rated. Not every employer pays the skills development levy.
  • UIF is 1% from the employee and 1% from the employer, before a ceiling this site does not apply because it was not coded from the Act.

A gateway or a card machine charges a percentage, a fixed fee, or both, and sometimes a monthly rental. VAT may sit on top of those fees. The payment-gateway calculator uses the tariff you type. A point-of-sale system records the sale. It is not the bank, and it is not SARS.

VAT registration becomes compulsory when taxable supplies exceed the threshold in the tax file: R2.3 million in a twelve-month period. Voluntary registration can be considered from R120 000. The standard rate is 15%. Some supplies are zero-rated or exempt. The VAT calculator adds or removes 15% and says so. It does not decide whether your product is standard-rated.

Payroll

Once you employ someone you need a payslip, employees' tax, and UIF. The skills development levy applies above a remuneration threshold in the SARS employer guide for the 2027 tax year. This page does not print that threshold, because it is not in the calculator file. Payroll software can prepare the numbers. It does not pay SARS, and it does not remove a penalty if the payment is late.

Business bank fees

Price a normal month of EFTs, immediate payments, cash deposits and debit orders. The business-banking calculator adds the fees you enter. A zero is a zero you typed, not a statement that the bank charges nothing.

Scams

A funder who wants a fee before any money moves, or who asks for remote access to your banking, is a reason to stop. Check CIPC if they claim a company, and the National Credit Regulator if they offer credit that needs registration. A grant that arrives as a WhatsApp message is not National Treasury.

Questions readers ask

Does accounting software file my VAT?

Only if you use it to file, and only if the figures are right. The software is not a SARS assessment.

Related

Sources

Page updated 29 October 2026. A source date is the day WiT Money checked that page, not a promise the institution has not changed it since.