South Africa: capital gains tax on stocks

South Africa: on a ZAR 200,000 gain from shares held for under a year, you pay about ZAR 21,600 in tax, 10.8% of the gain.

These figures assume ZAR 600,000 of other taxable income a year, because the rate depends on it.

Only 40% of each gain is taxable.

South Africa: the rules for shares

40% of your gain joins your income, taxed at 18% to 45%.

The first ZAR 50,000 of gains each year is free.
Only 40% of a gain is taxable — the rest is yours whatever your rate.
Shares held for three years or more are deemed capital in nature under section 9C — a safe harbour, not a different rate. The primary rebate is not modelled, and a weighted-average election binds a class of shares from its first disposal.

Calculate your own sale

You paid

You sold for

Gain of ZAR 200,000

How long you held itAt least 6 months

Your country

Cheapest for this sale

Switzerland

ZAR 0

0% of your gain

no capital gains tax

Your country

South Africa

ZAR 21,600

10.8% of your gain

Priced as a single share. South Africa charges gains against your other income, read here against a representative ZAR 600,000 a year — set yours under More options. Live rates were unavailable, so amounts use our saved rates from Nov 10, 2026.

Every country, with its rule

The same 29 rows as the chart, plus what each country does and what changes if you hold for longer.
Country	Rule	Tax	Rate	What time changes
Switzerland	RuleNo capital gains tax for private investors. This applies to private investors. Frequent trading, borrowed money or very short holding periods can make the tax office treat you as a professional — and then the whole gain is ordinary income.	TaxZAR 0	Rate0%	What time changes—
Greece	RuleNo capital gains tax for private investors. The 15% tax on listed shares is suspended, not abolished, and is renewed year by year. It does not apply below a 0.5% shareholding either way.	TaxZAR 0	Rate0%	What time changes—
Netherlands	RuleNo capital gains tax for private investors. There is no tax on the gain itself. Instead an assumed return on your assets is taxed at 36% each year, above €59,357 of tax-free capital — whether you sell or not.	TaxZAR 0	Rate0%	What time changes—
Belgium	Rule10% on your gains, whenever you sell. The first €10,000 of gains each year is free. Only the growth after 1 January 2026 is taxed. What a holding gained before that date stays free.	TaxZAR 1,600	Rate0.8%	What time changes—
Romania	Rule6% at first, 3% once you have held for 1 year. Your broker withholds the tax on each sale. There is no annual netting of gains against losses.	TaxZAR 12,000	Rate6%	What time changesChanges after 1 year
Canada	Rule50% of your gain joins your income, taxed at 14% to 33%. Only 50% of a gain is taxable — the rest is yours whatever your rate. Only 50% of each gain is taxable. Your province's own tax is not estimated.	TaxZAR 14,000	Rate7%	What time changes—
Mexico	Rule10% on your gains, whenever you sell. This applies to shares sold THROUGH a recognised exchange. A private sale of the same share is ordinary income instead.	TaxZAR 20,000	Rate10%	What time changes—
South Africa	Rule40% of your gain joins your income, taxed at 18% to 45%. The first ZAR 50,000 of gains each year is free. Only 40% of a gain is taxable — the rest is yours whatever your rate. Shares held for three years or more are deemed capital in nature under section 9C — a safe harbour, not a different rate. The primary rebate is not modelled, and a weighted-average election binds a class of shares from its first disposal. Only 40% of each gain is taxable.	TaxZAR 21,600	Rate10.8%	What time changes—
United Kingdom	Rule18% to 24%, depending on your other income. The first £3,000 of gains each year is free. Shares of the same class are pooled at their average cost — the Section 104 holding. HMRC pools across all your accounts; this tab pools per account, and its same-day and 30-day matching rules are not modelled.	TaxZAR 24,101	Rate12.1%	What time changes—
Lithuania	Rule15% on your gains, whenever you sell. The first €500 of gains each year is free. Very large gains are charged at 20% above a threshold set as a multiple of the average wage.	TaxZAR 28,620	Rate14.3%	What time changes—
Czechia	RuleSales are tax-free after more than three years of holding. Sell no more than CZK 100,000 of securities in a year and none of it is taxed — one crown over and the exemption is gone. An already tax-free sale still counts toward the limit.	TaxZAR 30,000	Rate15%	What time changesChanges after 3 years
Hungary	Rule15% on your gains, whenever you sell.	TaxZAR 30,000	Rate15%	What time changes—
Slovakia	RuleTax-free once you have held for 1 year; taxed with your income before that. The first €500 of gains each year is free. The one-year exemption applies to securities traded on a regulated market. Health-insurance contributions of about 15% may also fall due on a taxable gain, and are not in this estimate.	TaxZAR 36,252	Rate18.1%	What time changesChanges after 1 year
Poland	Rule19% on your gains, whenever you sell.	TaxZAR 38,000	Rate19%	What time changes—
Spain	Rule19% to 30%, depending on how big the gain is.	TaxZAR 39,792	Rate19.9%	What time changes—
United States	RuleHeld more than one year is taxed at the lower long-term rate. Above $200,000 of income, investment gains pay 3.8% more. State tax is not estimated for your state — only federal tax is shown.	TaxZAR 44,000	Rate22%	What time changesChanges after 1 year
Estonia	Rule22% on your gains, whenever you sell.	TaxZAR 44,000	Rate22%	What time changes—
Germany	RuleEvery sale is taxed at the flat rate — there is no holding period. The first €1,000 of investment gains each year is free. Equity funds: 30% of the gain is exempt. Shares bought before 2009 are never taxed.	TaxZAR 47,897	Rate23.9%	What time changes—
Slovenia	Rule25% now, falling step by step to nothing after 15 years.	TaxZAR 50,000	Rate25%	What time changesChanges after 5 years
Latvia	Rule25.5% on your gains, whenever you sell. Income above €200,000 carries an extra 3%.	TaxZAR 51,000	Rate25.5%	What time changes—
Italy	Rule26% on your gains, whenever you sell.	TaxZAR 52,000	Rate26%	What time changes—
Denmark	Rule27% to 42%, depending on how big the gain is. Married couples get the lower band twice: the DKK 79,400 threshold is per person and transferable.	TaxZAR 54,703	Rate27.4%	What time changes—
Austria	Rule27.5% on your gains, whenever you sell.	TaxZAR 55,000	Rate27.5%	What time changes—
Portugal	Rule28% on your gains, whenever you sell. Sell within a year while your income is in the top bracket and the gain is added to that income instead, at up to 48%.	TaxZAR 56,000	Rate28%	What time changes—
Ireland	Rule33% on your gains, whenever you sell. The first €1,270 of gains each year is free.	TaxZAR 58,289	Rate29.1%	What time changes—
Sweden	Rule30% on your gains, whenever you sell. A loss is not carried forward — it gives you a tax reduction of 30% in the same year, against other tax you owe.	TaxZAR 60,000	Rate30%	What time changes—
Finland	Rule30% to 34%, depending on how big the gain is. Sell €1,000 or less in total across the year and the gain is exempt — it is a test on PROCEEDS, not on profit.	TaxZAR 60,000	Rate30%	What time changes—
France	Rule12.8% on your gains, whenever you sell. Social levies of 18.6% are charged on the same gain, on top of the income tax. You can choose the progressive income-tax scale instead of the flat tax — worth checking at a low income, and it then applies to all your investment income for the year.	TaxZAR 62,800	Rate31.4%	What time changes—
Norway	Rule37.8% on your gains, whenever you sell. A shielding deduction reduces the taxable gain by a risk-free return on what you paid, and any unused shielding carries forward.	TaxZAR 75,680	Rate37.8%	What time changes—

South Africa among 29 countries

South Africa: number 8 of 29 countries on the same sale, lowest tax first.

South Africa among 29 countries
Place	Country	Tax	Rate
6	Canada (federal)	ZAR 14,000	7%
7	Mexico	ZAR 20,000	10%
8	South Africa	ZAR 21,600	10.8%
9	United Kingdom	ZAR 24,101	12.1%
10	Lithuania	ZAR 28,620	14.3%

Each country's tax is worked out in its own currency and converted at the rates of Nov 10, 2026.

Compare all 29 countries

An estimate, not a tax return

This tool prices one hypothetical sale under each country's general rules for a private investor holding listed shares or ETFs. It ignores fees, currency conversion, losses elsewhere in your portfolio, allowances already used this year, wrappers such as an ISA or a PEA, double-tax treaties and every personal circumstance a real return depends on. Rates and thresholds come from our published tax data file, which records a source and a verification date per country; laws change, and some 2026 figures were still provisional when it was written. Nothing here is tax advice. Check your own position with a qualified adviser before you sell.

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