On 21 May Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his third Budget Speech this year (“Budget 3.0”), telling South Africans that “this is not an austerity budget” and confirming that VAT remains at 15%.

Whilst the previous version of the Budget proposed no increase to the fuel levy, it will now, for the first time in three years, go up on 4 June 2025, petrol by 16c to R4.01 per litre and diesel by 17c to R3.85 per litre. Further inflationary increases are anticipated in 2026 and 2027.

Unchanged from the previous version of the Budget is that individual taxpayers will see no inflation adjustment to personal income tax brackets for the second consecutive year, leading to bracket creep as salary increases push individuals into higher tax brackets. Medical tax credits also remain unchanged. Also unchanged is that property buyers benefit from an upward adjustment of 10% in transfer duty brackets from 1 April, and social grant recipients will see above-inflation increases, with the Covid Social Relief of Distress grant extended until March 2026.

SARS has also released an updated version of the "Budget 2025 Tax Pocket Guide" which provides a useful summary of the tax tables and their impact on taxpayers.