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The deposit is not the only cash a purchase needs. Transfer duty, two sets of attorneys, the Deeds Office and the bank all get paid before registration. Type the price and see the figure.
Cash needed before transfer
R 90 836
On top of the deposit. Attorney disbursements are extra, see below.
Attorney fees follow the Law Society guideline of 1 July 2026. They are a guideline, not a tariff, and each firm quotes its own. Transfer duty is the SARS table for 2026/27, nil up to R 1 210 000. Deeds Office fees are those of 1 April 2026. This is an estimate, not a quotation.
Line by line
Five payments, three payees. The buyer pays all of them unless the offer to purchase says otherwise.
A tax paid to SARS on the purchase price, on a sliding scale that starts at nil. The threshold and the bands are set in the Budget each February and take effect on 1 March. The calculator uses the 2026/27 table. When the seller is a VAT vendor, VAT is inside the price and no duty is payable, so tick that box and the line drops to nil.
The transferring attorney, appointed by the seller, moves the property into your name and charges on the price. The bond attorney, appointed by your bank, registers the bond and charges on the bond amount. Both follow the Law Society of South Africa guideline of 1 July 2026, both add VAT, and both quote their own disbursements on top: postage, FICA checks, Deeds Office searches and clearance certificates.
The Deeds Office charges a fixed fee for each document it registers, one for the transfer and one for the bond, on a table gazetted each year and effective 1 April 2026. The bank charges a once-off initiation fee on the home loan, capped by the National Credit Act at R5 250 before VAT, which most banks charge in full.
Every figure on this page comes from a published table, and each table has its own date. We check them when they change and record the source here so you can check them too.
Attorney fees are a guideline, not a tariff. A firm may charge more or less, and the figure here is the guideline amount for the price you typed. Read more in our guide to transfer costs and taxes when buying property.
A buyer who has the transfer costs in the bank signs with confidence and the conveyancer lodges without a delay. Any branch will walk you through the figure for a home you have your eye on.
