AS Brokers – Estate Duty Calculator
Estimate your estate duty liability and executor's fees based on South African tax law.
What This Estate Duty Estimate Tells You
The figure shown above is a high-level estimate of how much estate duty SARS could potentially claim from your estate based on the information you entered.
Estate duty is calculated on the total value of your estate at death — including property, investments, policies, cash, and other assets — after allowable deductions. It is currently charged at 20% on the first R30 million and 25% on amounts above that, and it is payable in cash before heirs receive their inheritances.
This calculator is not designed for precision. Its purpose is awareness.
The Hidden Problem
What often catches families off guard is not poor investment performance, but the fact that growth inside an estate quietly increases the eventual tax bill over time.
When sufficient liquidity is not available, estates are often forced to sell assets under pressure, delay finalisation, or disrupt long-term plans.
The good news is that estate duty exposure can usually be reduced legally and gradually — but only if planning starts early and is applied consistently.
A Practical Solution
One of the most effective tools available to South Africans is the annual donations allowance.
By using the R100,000 per person per year exemption and redirecting growth outside your personal estate, future estate duty can be reduced without drastic once-off decisions.
This result is not a prediction.
It is a planning signal.
The size of the problem is shown above — the solution requires structured action over time.
Next Step
If you would like to see how annual donations, when invested correctly, can reduce estate duty and shift long-term growth outside your estate, the next calculator will walk you through that strategy.
Calculate Your Annual Estate Reduction Strategy