Interest Rates

Interest rates charged in terms of the legislation administered by SARS are split into the following three main categories:

• interest charged on outstanding taxes, duties and levies and those payable in respect of refunds of tax on successful appeals and certain delayed refunds;
• interest payable on credit amounts (overpayment of provisional tax) in terms of section 89quat(4) of the Income Tax Act (“IT Act”); and
• interest applicable to a loan denominated in the currency of the Republic, as described in paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘official rate of interest’ in section 1(1) of the IT Act.

The interest rates applying to these categories are published by SARS by way of official Interest Rate Tables, which sets out the specific rate which will apply in respect of each of the above for a specific period.

Table 1 provides the interest rates on outstanding taxes and interest rates payable on certain refunds of tax and has been updated by SARS on 18 May 2022.

Find a copy of Table 1 here.

Table 2 provides the interest rates payable on credit amounts and has been updated by SARS on 18 May 2022.

Find a copy of Table 2 here.

Table 3 provides the interest rates at which interest-free or low interest loans are subject to income tax. As the South African Reserve Bank changed the “repo rate” on 19 May 2022, the official rates, as shown in Table 3, was updated with effect from 1 June 2022 until the next change in the “repo rate”.

Find a copy of Table 3 here.  

30/05/2022