Estate Duty & Executor Fee Calculator (South Africa)
Estimate estate duty, capital gains tax at death, the executor's fee and whether your estate has enough cash to pay, or whether assets would have to be sold. Free, no signup.
Estate Duty & Executor Fee Calculator
What would it really cost to wind up your estate in South Africa, and would your family have the cash to pay, or be forced to sell? Estate duty, capital gains tax at death, the executor's fee and the Master's fee, in one estimate.
Your results update live as you type. Scroll down to the purple results panel below the tabs for the full breakdown, the liquidity check and the future projection.
What happens as your estate grows
The R3.5m abatement is fixed in rands and does not rise with inflation, so as your wealth grows, more of it becomes dutiable. This is your projected estate duty if your net worth grows about 6% a year for 15 years.
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What it really costs to wind up an estate in South Africa
Most estate duty calculators stop at one number, the duty itself. The trouble is that estate duty is often the smaller part of the bill. Before your heirs see a cent, the estate has to settle its debts, pay capital gains tax on everything you are deemed to have sold on the day you die, pay the executor up to 3.5 percent plus VAT, pay the Master of the High Court, and only then pay estate duty. This calculator adds all of that up in one place, in the order SARS applies it, so the figure you see is the real cost of dying, not just the duty.
The question the other calculators dodge: liquidity
The costs above fall due within months, while the estate is frozen. If your wealth is tied up in a home, a business or a farm, there may simply not be enough cash to pay them, and the executor can be forced to sell an asset your family wanted to keep, often at a poor price. That is a liquidity shortfall, and it is the single most common estate planning failure in South Africa. The tool compares the cash your estate could raise against the costs due, and if there is a gap it tells you how big it is and which asset is most at risk, so you can arrange cover while there is still time.
What falls inside your estate, and what does not
This is where careful planning saves the most. Money in a retirement fund, a pension, provident, retirement annuity or preservation fund, is paid straight to your beneficiaries and falls outside your estate, so it carries no estate duty, no capital gains tax and no executor's fee. A life policy with a named beneficiary works the same way. Getting these nominations right can move millions out of the taxable and fee bearing estate. The calculator keeps these amounts separate, counting them in what your family receives without loading them with costs, so you can see the difference the structure makes.
Married couples and the second death
Anything left to a surviving spouse is free of estate duty and capital gains tax, so the first death in a marriage usually costs very little. The catch is that the tax is not cancelled, it is deferred to the second death, when the survivor's estate can be much larger. The good news is that the survivor can also inherit the first spouse's unused R3.5 million abatement, giving a combined R7 million. Use the spouse and legacy tab to model both deaths and see where the real exposure sits.
Why the projection matters
The R3.5 million abatement is fixed in rands and has not moved since 2007. As your wealth grows, more of it drifts above the line and becomes dutiable, a quiet fiscal drag that pulls estates into duty that would have escaped it a decade ago. The projection shows your estate duty not just today but as your net worth grows over the years ahead, which is the number worth planning against.
For the full detail, read our companion guide on estate duty, executor fees and the cost of dying in South Africa. You can also see how much tax your income attracts with the income tax calculator, plan your savings with the retirement calculator, or browse all our free South African tools and calculators.
Frequently asked questions
How much is estate duty in South Africa?
Estate duty is charged at 20 percent on the dutiable value of an estate up to R30 million, and 25 percent on any amount above R30 million. Before the rate is applied, every estate gets an abatement of R3.5 million, so only the value above that is taxed. A great many estates pay no duty at all once the abatement, debts, costs and anything left to a spouse are taken off. The calculator above works out the dutiable amount and the duty from your own figures, alongside the other costs of winding up.
How is estate duty calculated?
You start with the gross value of everything in the estate, add deemed property such as a policy paid to the estate, then subtract allowable deductions: debts, funeral and administration costs, the executor's fee, the capital gains tax due on death, anything left to a surviving spouse and any bequest to a registered charity. That gives the net estate. Take off the R3.5 million abatement and what remains is the dutiable amount, taxed at 20 percent up to R30 million and 25 percent above it. The tool follows exactly this order so you can see each step.
What is the R3.5 million abatement and the R7 million spousal rollover?
Section 4A of the Estate Duty Act gives every estate a R3.5 million abatement, an amount that is free of duty. When the first spouse to die leaves everything to the survivor, their own R3.5 million goes unused, and the law lets the survivor's estate claim that unused portion on top of its own. So on the second death the abatement can be as much as R7 million. Switch on the second spouse to die option in the calculator to model this, which is where the real estate duty usually lands in a marriage.
How much are executor's fees in South Africa?
The most an executor may charge is 3.5 percent of the gross value of the estate, plus VAT at 15 percent if the executor is registered for it, which most professional executors are. On a R5 million estate that is R175,000, or just over R201,000 with VAT. The fee is negotiable, and it is worth agreeing a lower rate up front, especially on a larger estate or a simple one. The calculator lets you set the rate and switch VAT on or off. Assets that pass outside the estate, like a retirement fund or a policy with a named beneficiary, do not attract this fee.
Are retirement funds and life policies included in estate duty?
Retirement fund death benefits, from a pension, provident, retirement annuity or preservation fund, are paid straight to your beneficiaries by the fund and fall outside your estate, so they carry no estate duty, no capital gains tax and no executor's fee. A life policy paid to a named beneficiary usually also avoids duty and the executor's fee. A policy paid to the estate is different, it forms part of the estate and bears the executor's fee, though it is often used deliberately to give the estate cash. Getting your beneficiary nominations right is one of the simplest ways to cut costs.
Is there capital gains tax when you die in South Africa?
Yes. On death you are treated as having sold all your assets at market value, which can trigger capital gains tax in your final tax return. For deaths on or after 1 March 2026 the first R440,000 of gain in the year of death is excluded, a home gets a further R2 million exclusion, and 40 percent of the remaining gain is taxed at your marginal rate, up to an effective 18 percent. Assets left to a surviving spouse roll over with no capital gains tax, and retirement funds are exempt. This tax is paid before estate duty and is deductible when duty is worked out. Many estate calculators leave it out, this one includes it.
Could my family be forced to sell the house to pay estate costs?
It happens more often than people expect. Estate duty, capital gains tax, the executor's fee and outstanding debts all fall due while the estate is frozen, and if most of the wealth is tied up in a house, a business or a farm, there may not be enough cash to pay them. The executor can be forced to sell an asset, sometimes at a poor price and at a bad time, to raise the money. The liquidity check in the calculator compares the cash your estate could raise against the costs due, and tells you the shortfall, so you can arrange cover before it becomes your family's problem.
How can I legally reduce estate duty in South Africa?
There are several well established, legal ways to lower the eventual bill, and they work best reviewed with a fiduciary specialist. Leaving assets to a spouse defers both estate duty and capital gains tax to the second death. Nominating beneficiaries on retirement funds and life policies keeps those amounts out of the estate and away from the executor's fee. Donating within the R100,000 a year that is free of donations tax gradually moves value out of your estate. A bequest to a registered charity is fully deductible. And taking out life cover earmarked for the estate solves the liquidity problem so nothing has to be sold. This calculator is here to show you the shape of the exposure, it is general information and not advice, so use it to prepare for that conversation.
This calculator is general information to help you plan, not financial, tax or legal advice, and it recommends no product. It applies the 2026/27 rules and simplifies real estates, which can involve trusts, foreign assets, donations tax and income earned after death. Use it to understand your exposure, then confirm the detail with a fiduciary specialist or your financial adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.