Transfer cost calculator
Buying a home means more than the purchase price. Use current SARS transfer duty tables, Law Society conveyancing tariffs and Deeds Office fees to estimate the cash you'll need before registration — with a line-item breakdown you can email to yourself.
What will the upfront costs be?
Drag the purchase price. Toggle the bond switch to add bond registration costs. These are planning estimates — actual quotes vary by firm and province.
Adds bond registration costs and the bank initiation fee.
About 6.1% of the purchase price.
How this estimate works
Transfer duty uses the SARS sliding scale effective 01 Apr 2026. Conveyancing fees follow the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) recommended tariff effective 01 Jul 2026, plus 15% VAT. Deeds Office fees use the schedule effective 01 Apr 2026. The bank initiation fee is the NCA cap effective 06 Nov 2015.
- No transfer duty on properties bought for R1 210 000 or less, or on VAT-inclusive sales from registered developers.
- Attorney fees are negotiable. The LSSA tariff is a guideline; firms may quote higher or lower.
- This is an estimate, not a quote. Disbursements, rates clearance, levy clearance and occupational rent are not included.
Sources: SARS transfer duty, LSSA conveyancing fee guideline, Deeds Office fee schedule. Verified 06 Sept 2026.
What transfer costs actually cover
When you buy an existing property, the buyer usually pays three big upfront costs: transfer duty (a SARS tax on the purchase price), conveyancing fees (the attorney who registers the property in your name), and Deeds Office fees (the government lodgement and registration charge).
If you are financing the purchase with a home loan, you also pay a bond attorney to register the mortgage bond, another Deeds Office bond fee, and the bank's once-off initiation fee — which is capped under the National Credit Act.
We do not include VAT in the transfer duty figure because transfer duty is not VAT-able. Conveyancing and bond attorney fees include 15% VAT in the estimate. Always ask your conveyancer for a written quote before paying.
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