Your Details

Select the year of assessment (1 March – 28/29 February). The 25/45 ratio has applied since the 2018 year of assessment.
Age determines your primary, secondary, or tertiary tax rebate.
Under 6565–7475+
40 years old
Your salary and other taxable income for the year, excluding this dividend. This sets the marginal rate and drives the section 6quat credit limit.
R

The Foreign Dividend

The gross dividend before any foreign tax was withheld, translated to rand at the spot rate on the date of accrual or the average rate for the year (section 25D).
R
The rate the source country withheld. 15% is the usual treaty rate on US dividends where a W-8BEN is on file; the US statutory rate without one is 30%.
%

R 15 000 withheld offshore.

Section 10B(2)(a) exempts the dividend entirely where you hold at least 10% of the equity shares AND the voting rights in the company. Most portfolio investors are far below that.
%

Under 10% — no participation exemption, so the 25/45 partial exemption applies.

A cash foreign dividend on a share listed on a South African exchange is exempt from normal tax under section 10B(2)(d), but dividends tax at 20% is withheld instead. If a company is dual-listed, only the shares held on the SA register qualify.
Section 23(q) prohibits any deduction for expenditure incurred in producing foreign dividend income — platform fees, and interest on money borrowed to buy the shares. Section 23(f) blocks the rest.
R

Nothing here is deductible — sections 23(f) and 23(q) block every expense incurred in producing a foreign dividend.

This calculator provides estimates only and does not constitute tax advice. It models a resident natural person receiving a cash foreign dividend. Out of scope: dividends in specie, the country-to-country exemption in section 10B(2)(b), controlled foreign company rules, foreign collective investment schemes and the other carve-outs in sections 10B(4) to 10B(6A) — including dividends received for services rendered or on restricted equity instruments, where no exemption is available at all. The section 6quat credit shown follows the section 6quat(1B)(a) limitation; a tax treaty may change the outcome. Consult a registered tax professional for your situation.

Total Tax on This Dividend

R 19 819

An effective rate of 19.8% on the gross dividend, including R 15 000 withheld offshore.

Exempt Portion

R 55 556

Taxable Portion

R 44 444

Cash You Keep

R 80 181

2027 (Mar 2026 – Feb 2027)Partial exemption 25/45 — section 10B(3)Marginal rate 39%
Partially exempt — section 10B(3). 25/45 of the dividend (R 55 556) is exempt, leaving 20/45 (R 44 444) in your taxable income at your 39% marginal rate. That formula is designed so the effective rate never exceeds 20% — matching dividends tax — and it lands below 20% for anyone not in the top bracket.

The R23 800 interest exemption does not apply to dividends. Section 10(1)(i) exempts interest from a South African source only. There is no equivalent tax-free slice for foreign dividends — the 25/45 formula is the entire relief, and it starts at the first rand.

What You Keep, Compared

The grey bar shows what would be left if the whole dividend were taxed at your marginal rate with no section 10B relief.

Detailed Calculation

Foreign dividend in gross incomeR 100 000
Less: exempt — s 10B(3) [25/45]− R 55 556
Taxable Foreign DividendR 44 444
Your other taxable incomeR 750 000
Total taxable incomeR 794 444
Normal tax before rebatesR 223 686
Less: section 6 rebates− R 17 820
Section 6quat credit limitR 12 514
Less: s 6quat foreign tax credit− R 12 514
Foreign withholding tax paidR 15 000
SA normal tax on the dividendR 4 819
Total TaxR 19 819
Cash After TaxR 80 181
Effective rate on the gross dividend: 19.8%

R 2 486 of your foreign tax cannot be credited this year. The section 6quat(1B)(a) formula caps the credit at R 12 514 — your foreign taxable income divided by your total taxable income, times your normal tax before rebates. The excess carries forward and can be used against foreign tax in a later year, for up to seven years.

How foreign dividends are taxed

They go into gross income, not dividends tax. A dividend from an offshore company is included in your gross income under paragraph (k) and taxed as normal income. It is not subject to South African dividends tax — unless the share is listed here.

The 25/45 formula does the work. 25/45 of the dividend is exempt, so 20/45 (44.4%) is taxable. At the top 45% rate that is 45% × 20/45 = 20% of the gross — deliberately equal to dividends tax.

Dual-listed shares split two ways. Only the shares listed on a South African exchange qualify for the section 10B(2)(d) exemption. Hold the same company's offshore line and the dividend falls back to the 25/45 treatment.

Foreign tax is credited, not deducted. Tax withheld abroad becomes a section 6quat rebate against your South African tax, capped by a formula. Helpfully, the proviso to section 6quat(1A) lets you count the foreign tax on the exempt 25/45 portion too.

No expenses, ever. Section 23(q) denies any deduction for costs of earning foreign dividends, including interest on money borrowed to buy the shares.