Your Company Car

The year of assessment (1 March – 28/29 February). The tax tables and the SARS deemed fuel rates change every year.
The retail market value your employer paid for the car, INCLUDING VAT but excluding finance charges, interest and insurance. For a car held under an instalment agreement, use the cash value.
R
If a maintenance plan was included in the purchase price at the time the employer bought the car, the monthly rate drops from 3.5% to 3.25%. A top-up plan added later does not count — and a car under a plan means you cannot claim a maintenance reduction.
The number of months in the tax year you were entitled to use the car for private purposes. Part of a month counts as a month, pro-rated by days.
12 months
If your employer had the car for 12 months or more before giving you the use of it, the determined value drops by 15% for each completed 12-month period, on the reducing-balance method. Leave at 0 if the car was new to the company when you got it.
0 years
Any monthly amount you pay your employer for the right to use the car. This reduces the taxable benefit — but payments towards licence, insurance, maintenance or fuel do not count here (claim those below instead).
R

Your Logbook & Costs

Total kilometres travelled in the car during the tax year, per your logbook.
km
Kilometres travelled for business, substantiated by a logbook. Travel between home and work is private, not business. Without a logbook SARS allows no reduction at all.
km

You can only claim the costs below if you bear 100% of that cost yourself, for the whole period you had the car, with no reimbursement from your employer.

The full annual licence and registration cost, if you paid all of it yourself. Reduced by your private-use share.
R
The full annual insurance premium, if you paid all of it yourself. Reduced by your private-use share.
R
Full annual maintenance and repair costs you bore yourself. Not available where the car came with a maintenance plan — in that case you did not bear the full cost.
R

Not claimable — the car is under a maintenance plan.

If you pay for all the fuel yourself, SARS reduces the benefit by your private km × the Gazetted deemed fuel rate for your car's value band — you do not need your actual fuel slips for this.
Your salary and other taxable income for the year, excluding the company car benefit. The benefit is added on top of this, so it is taxed at your top marginal rate.
R
SARS gives a bigger rebate from age 65 and again from 75, which affects your overall tax position.
yrs

Estimate only. A SARS-compliant logbook is compulsory — without one no reduction is allowed and the full benefit is taxed. The business and cost reductions are only applied when SARS assesses your ITR12, not by your employer through payroll, so you may pay more PAYE during the year and recover it on assessment. Cars held under an operating lease, pool cars and vehicles with no taxable value are not covered here. Consult a registered tax professional for your situation.

Taxable Fringe Benefit for the Year

R 82 333

Adds about R 29 640 to your tax bill — roughly 36.0% of the benefit.

Monthly Benefit

R 13 000

Business Use

47%

Extra Tax

R 29 640

2027 (Mar 2026 – Feb 2027)3.25% per month (maintenance plan)Deemed fuel: R1.73/km

What Hits Your Payslip Each Month

Monthly cash equivalent

R 13 000

Included in remuneration

80%

Added to your PAYE base

R 10 400

Your employer includes 80% of the benefit in your remuneration for PAYE. This drops to 20% only where the employer is satisfied at least 80% of your use will be for business.

Where the Benefit Goes

Only the orange slice is taxed — the rest is reduced away on assessment.

Detailed Calculation

Determined valueR 400 000
Monthly value @ 3.25%R 13 000
Annual value (× 12 months)R 156 000
Less: business use (17 000 / 36 000 km)− R 73 667
Less: licence you paid—
Less: insurance you paid—
Less: maintenance you paidn/a — plan
Less: private fuel (19 000 km × R1.73)—
Less: paid to your employer—
Taxable Fringe BenefitR 82 333
Extra tax at your marginal rateR 29 640
Reductions for licence, insurance and maintenance are apportioned by your private-use share (53%).