Transfer duty is a tax levied by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) under the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949 on the value of immovable property that is transferred to a new owner, and it is normally payable by the purchaser before the transfer of ownership can be registered in the Deeds Office. The duty is calculated on a sliding-scale (bracket) basis on the property’s value — or on the consideration paid, whichever is higher — with the brackets revised periodically, most recently effective from 1 April each year in line with the National Budget announcements published by SARS. Crucially, transfer duty is not the same as the conveyancing attorney’s fee for registering the transfer: the duty is a SARS tax and the conveyancing fee is a separate legal fee, and they appear as distinct line items in any property transfer cost breakdown.

What Transfer Duty Actually Is

Transfer duty is a SARS-administered, once-off transactional tax on the acquisition or transfer of immovable property in South Africa, levied under the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949. It sits apart from income tax, capital gains tax, and VAT — each of those is a separate regime, with transfer duty being triggered only by the transfer of ownership.

The duty is calculated on the fair value of the property, or on the actual consideration paid (whichever is higher). The “whichever is higher” rule is an anti-undervaluation safeguard: parties cannot reduce the duty by recording a low purchase price in the deed if the true market value is higher. SARS assesses against the higher of the two figures.

Payable before the transfer can be registered, transfer duty is settled through SARS eFiling, and SARS then issues a transfer duty receipt — a document the Deeds Office requires at lodgement. Without that receipt, the transfer simply cannot be registered.

Who Pays It (and Where the Confusion Sits)

The default rule under the Transfer Duty Act is straightforward: the purchaser is liable for transfer duty. Seller and purchaser may in writing agree otherwise and direct SARS accordingly — but in practice the default almost always applies, and transfer duty is treated as a buyer cost in any standard cost breakdown.

The real confusion sits elsewhere. The duty is regularly conflated with three other charges that surface during a property transfer:

Charge	Paid to	What it is
Transfer duty	SARS	The once-off tax on the property value, calculated on the SARS bracket schedule.
Conveyancing (transfer) fee	Transferring attorney’s firm	The legal fee charged for the work of passing ownership into the buyer’s name.
Bond registration fee	Bond attorney’s office	The legal fee charged for registering the mortgage bond (separate firm if a bond is involved).
VAT at 15%	SARS (collected by the VAT-registered vendor)	Applies only to newly built properties sold by a VAT-registered vendor (typically a developer).

Current Rates and How They Are Structured

SARS publishes the current transfer duty rate schedule on its website at sars.gov.za/tax-rates/transfer-duty/, and that schedule is the authoritative reference at any given date. Rates are revised periodically and have most recently taken effect from 1 April each year in line with National Budget announcements.

The schedule is a sliding-scale (bracket) structure: the first portion of the property’s value is taxed at a lower rate (often zero), and successive portions are taxed at progressively higher rates. A property whose value falls at or below the zero-rated threshold attracts no transfer duty.

Indicative SARS transfer duty bracket structure — confirm current values on sars.gov.za before any transaction.

Bracket	Property value band	Marginal rate
1	Up to the zero-rated threshold (currently R1,210,000 for acquisitions on or after 1 April 2025)	0%
2	Next band	3% of value above the threshold
3	Next band	6% + a base amount
4	Next band	8% + a higher base amount
5	Next band	11% + a higher base amount
6	All value above the top threshold	13% + the highest base amount

For older transactions or contracts predating a recent budget change, the schedule applicable at the relevant date is what SARS applies. Buyers should always confirm the current schedule rather than relying on an estimate from the date of the offer to purchase.

When Transfer Duty Becomes Payable

The duty is triggered on the transfer of ownership, not on the signing of the offer to purchase or the sale agreement. The buyer’s conveyancing attorney is the one who calculates the duty, collects it from the buyer, and pays it over to SARS via SARS eFiling.

SARS issues the transfer duty receipt, which the conveyancer then files at the Deeds Office together with the Deed of Transfer and the supporting lodgement documents. Without the transfer duty receipt, the Deeds Office will not register the transfer — the receipt is effectively a precondition to lodgement.

How Transfer Duty Relates to VAT

VAT does not apply to a used (existing) residential property sold by a private seller. VAT at 15% does apply where the seller is a VAT-registered vendor — typically a developer selling new property — and the sale constitutes a “supply” in the VAT sense.

Where VAT applies, the developer’s invoice normally reflects VAT separately, and transfer duty is calculated by the conveyancer on the VAT-inclusive price (i.e. duty is payable on top of VAT, not in place of it). Determining which regime applies — VAT, transfer duty, or both — is one of the conveyancer’s pre-transfer steps and depends on the seller’s VAT status and the nature of the property.

Exemptions and Special Cases

Certain categories of acquisition are exempt under the Transfer Duty Act or under SARS practice. Common examples include transactions at or below the zero-rated threshold, transfers between spouses married in community of property, certain inheritances, and certain intra-group corporate restructure transactions.

The exemptions are not always intuitive. A transfer between unmarried partners is not automatically exempt, and neither is every transfer between close family members — each case must be checked against the current schedule and, where appropriate, confirmed with SARS or a conveyancing attorney before the transfer proceeds.

Common Confusions About “Transfer Fees” and “Transfer Cost”

“Transfer cost” and “transfer fee” are used loosely in everyday conversation to mean the bundle of charges that appear at the transfer stage. A clear, conveyancer-prepared cost breakdown separates these out so that the buyer can tell what is a SARS tax, what is the attorney’s fee, and what is a Deeds Office charge:

Line item	Recipient	Nature of the charge
Transfer duty	SARS	Tax on the property value, calculated on the SARS bracket schedule.
Conveyancing fee	Transferring attorney’s firm	Legal fee for passing ownership into the buyer’s name.
Deeds Office registration fees	Deeds Office	Statutory fees for lodging and registering the deed.
Petties and postages	Attorney’s firm / third parties	Searches, certificates, FICA administration, postage and sundry disbursements.
Bank charges for bond registration	Bond attorney’s office	Attorney’s fee and disbursements for registering the mortgage bond, if a bond is involved.

How a Conveyancing Attorney Fits In

The transfer duty calculation is one step in the conveyancer’s pre-transfer work. The conveyancer verifies the purchase price, calculates the duty against the current SARS bracket, requests payment from the buyer, and pays SARS via eFiling. The conveyancer also confirms whether VAT applies, checks for any available exemption, and confirms that the property is not subject to a section 45 simultaneous sale-and-purchase VAT treatment.

Choosing a conveyancing attorney does not change the transfer duty itself; it affects the legal work done at transfer and the separate conveyancing fee charged for that work. The duty itself flows to SARS regardless of which firm handles the transfer.

How the Transfer Duty Process Steps Through

1. The offer to purchase is signed and a conveyancing attorney is appointed (typically by the bond originator or by the buyer’s own choice).
2. The conveyancer prepares the transfer duty calculation based on the purchase price (or value, whichever is higher) and confirms the applicable SARS bracket on the current schedule.
3. The buyer pays the calculated duty into the conveyancer’s trust account.
4. The conveyancer pays SARS via SARS eFiling and obtains the transfer duty receipt.
5. The receipt is filed with the Deed of Transfer and supporting documents at the Deeds Office at lodgement.
6. The Deeds Office registers the transfer into the buyer’s name once all lodgement requirements (including the receipt) are satisfied.

Where the Duty Is Lodged in Gauteng

The transfer duty calculation itself is lodged with SARS by the conveyancing attorney via SARS eFiling — the duty is paid to SARS nationally and is not filed at any specific local SARS branch. What is locally variable is the Deeds Office at which the underlying property transfer is registered.

Deeds Office	Catchment in Gauteng
Pretoria Deeds Office	Properties falling within the Tshwane Magisterial District and surrounding northern Gauteng areas, including Centurion.
Johannesburg Deeds Office	Properties in the Johannesburg / southern Gauteng area, including Sandton, Randburg, Roodepoort, and Alberton.

The choice is driven by where the property is, not by where the parties or the attorney are based, and the conveyancer confirms the correct Deeds Office early in the transfer so that the SARS transfer duty receipt and the Deed of Transfer end up at the right lodgement point. Burger Huyser Attorneys fields conveyancing work for Gauteng properties from its Bedfordview branch (45A Florence Avenue, Bedfordview, 011 201 7190) and its Linden/Randburg head office (49 First Avenue, 011 888 0246), with a qualified Notary and Conveyancer — Amanda le Roux — on staff to handle the calculation, SARS payment, and Deeds Office lodgement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is transfer duty in South Africa?

Transfer duty is a once-off tax levied by SARS on the value of immovable property that is being transferred to a new owner, under the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949. It is normally payable by the buyer and must be paid before the transfer can be registered at the Deeds Office.

Who pays transfer duty — the buyer or the seller?

The Transfer Duty Act places the liability on the purchaser. The parties can in writing agree to a different allocation, but in everyday practice transfer duty is treated as a buyer cost on a typical property transfer cost breakdown.

How much is transfer duty in South Africa?

Transfer duty is calculated on a sliding-scale bracket basis on the property’s value, with the schedule revised periodically — most recently effective from 1 April each year following the National Budget. The current rate schedule is published on sars.gov.za and should be confirmed before any property transaction.

Is transfer duty the same as the transfer/conveyancing fee?

No. Transfer duty is the SARS tax. The conveyancing (or “transferring attorney”) fee is the legal fee the conveyancing attorney charges for transferring ownership into the buyer’s name. They are two separate charges, going to two different recipients (SARS and the attorney’s firm), and they appear as separate line items on a transfer cost breakdown.

When does transfer duty become payable?

Transfer duty is calculated and paid before the transfer can be registered at the Deeds Office. Conveyancing attorneys typically pay SARS via eFiling once the buyer has paid the duty into the trust account, and the resulting transfer duty receipt is filed at lodgement.

Do I pay transfer duty on a new (developer-built) property?

Yes and no. Transfer duty still applies on top of the purchase price for new property, but properties sold by a VAT-registered developer also attract VAT at 15% (which does not apply to existing private sales). The conveyancer handles both calculations and pays each to SARS.

Is there a property value below which no transfer duty is payable?

Yes. The current SARS schedule starts duty only above a specified threshold, which is reviewed in the annual Budget cycle. Properties at or below that threshold do not attract transfer duty.

Transfer duty is just one of several costs that come up when a property changes hands. If you are buying or selling property in Gauteng and want one point of contact for the full transfer — including the SARS transfer duty lodgement, the Deeds Office registration, and the separate conveyancing fee — Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Notary and Conveyancing team can assist. The firm fields a qualified Notary and Conveyancer (Amanda le Roux, Bedfordview) and runs transfers from its Bedfordview (011 201 7190) and Linden/Randburg (011 888 0246) offices, with the Bedfordview after-hours line on 061 536 3223. Speak to the team before signing a sale agreement so the duty, VAT treatment, and the registration timeline are clear up front. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”).