VAT Calculator South Africa

VAT Calculator South Africa

2025/2026

Zero-Rated Items for VAT

Last updated: 2025-12-12 | Source: SARS VAT 404 Guide for Vendors (Issue 15, Dec 2024) & VAT Act Schedules

Basic Foodstuffs

Schedule 2, Part B
  • Brown bread (including brown rolls and brown buns)
  • Brown wheaten meal
  • Maize meal
  • Samp
  • Mealie rice
  • Dried mealies
  • Dried beans
  • Lentils
  • Fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Canned vegetables (in brine or water only – no added sugar/salt/sauce)
  • Fresh or UHT milk (full cream, low fat, fat free – unflavoured)
  • Cultured milk (e.g., maas, sour milk)
  • Milk powder (unflavoured)
  • Brown bread flour (stone-ground or otherwise)
  • Eggs (hen's eggs in the shell)
  • Edible legumes and pulses of leguminous plants (dried)
  • Pilchards/sardinella in tins or cans (whole or pieces, in tomato sauce or brine)
  • Rice
  • Vegetable cooking oil (excluding olive oil)
  • Poultry (chicken, fresh or frozen – whole or portions, excluding offal and further processed)

Note: Prepared, cooked, seasoned, or packaged versions are usually standard-rated (15%).

Farming & Agricultural Inputs

Schedule 2, Part A
  • Animal feed (including poultry, livestock, ostrich, fish, game feed)
  • Stock licks
  • Fertiliser
  • Pesticides and herbicides
  • Plants, seeds, bulbs, tubers for cultivation
  • Remedies and medicines for animals (excluding syringes and veterinary services)

Note: Zero-rating for animal feed and fertilisers is currently under review – repeal date still to be announced via Government Gazette.

Fuel Levy Goods

Schedule 2
  • Illuminating paraffin (marked, intended for heating/lighting)
  • Petrol (all grades)
  • Diesel (all grades, including biodiesel)

Note: Aviation kerosene and lubricants are standard-rated.

Exports & International Services

Section 11(1) and (2)
  • Direct and indirect exports of movable goods
  • International transport of passengers and goods (air, sea, rail, road)
  • Services physically rendered outside South Africa
  • Services supplied to non-residents (not connected to SA property)
  • Repair/alteration of foreign ships or aircraft
  • Supply of intellectual property for use entirely outside SA

Other Zero-Rated Supplies

  • Sale of a business as a going concern
  • Municipal property rates (when separately invoiced)
  • Certain welfare and foreign donor-funded activities
  • Goods temporarily imported for repair and re-export

Important Notice: This list is a practical summary only. For full legal definitions and conditions, refer to the VAT Act No. 89 of 1991 and the latest SARS VAT 404 Guide. Always verify with a registered tax practitioner for your specific circumstances.

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