Property Purchase Costs

Estimate the full upfront cost of buying a property in South Africa — transfer duty, attorney fees, and registration costs.

Purchase price

Bond amount

Leave at 0 for a cash purchase — bond registration fees will be excluded.

Property type

What are these costs? When you buy property in South Africa, you pay the government transfer duty (on existing properties), plus attorney fees for the transfer and bond registration. These are one-off costs on top of your deposit and monthly bond repayment.

Estimated upfront costsest.

Transfer duty

Estimated R 8 700

Transfer attorney fee (incl. VAT)

Estimated R 20 652

Deeds Office transfer fee

Estimated R 1 964

Bond registration fee (incl. VAT)

Estimated R 19 257

Deeds Office bond fee

Estimated R 1 912

Bank initiation fee (NCA max)

Typically capitalised into your bond — no cash required.

R 6 038

Estimated disbursements (FICA, postage, petties)

Actual disbursements vary by property and municipality.

Estimated R 3 500

Total estimated upfront costsest.R 62 023

As % of purchase price4.1%

Budget between 3% and 10% of the purchase price for upfront costs. Bonded purchases sit at the higher end of this range.

When do I pay this?

Transfer attorney's account — due 1–3 weeks before registration

Transfer duty

Estimated R 8 700

Transfer attorney fee (incl. VAT)

Estimated R 20 652

Deeds Office transfer fee

Estimated R 1 964

Estimated disbursements

Estimated R 3 500

Payment 1 subtotalR 34 816

Bond attorney's account — due 1–3 weeks before registration

Bond registration fee (incl. VAT)

Estimated R 19 257

Deeds Office bond fee

Estimated R 1 912

Payment 2 subtotalR 21 169

Bank initiation fee (R 6 038) — typically capitalised into your bond (added to your outstanding balance), so no cash payment required. Confirm this with your bank.

Total cash required before registrationR 55 985

Excludes the bank initiation fee — assuming it is capitalised into your bond.

These are estimates based on SARS transfer duty brackets (effective 1 April 2025), the LSSA Conveyancing Fee Guidelines (effective 1 August 2025), and Deeds Office fees gazetted on 1 April 2026. Attorney fees are negotiable — always request a formal quote from your conveyancer before signing. Actual costs may vary.

What would you like to do next?

Your numbers are ready to carry over — no re-entering needed.

Calculate your monthly bond repayment → →

See your monthly repayment, total interest, and true cost of your bond.

Check affordability →

See if your income meets NCA lending guidelines for this purchase price.

About this calculator

What this calculator does

Estimates the full upfront cost of purchasing a property in South Africa, including transfer duty (using the official SARS 2025/26 bracket table), transfer attorney fees, Deeds Office fees, bond registration attorney fees, and the NCA-regulated bank initiation fee. Results are grouped by when each payment is due.

How to interpret your results

The 'When do I pay this?' section separates costs into two payment events: money due to the transfer attorney (transfer duty, attorney fee, Deeds Office transfer fee, disbursements) and money due to the bond attorney (bond registration fee and Deeds Office bond fee). The NCA initiation fee is typically capitalised into your bond — meaning it is added to your outstanding balance rather than paid in cash.

Assumptions applied

Transfer attorney and bond registration fees are estimated using the LSSA Conveyancing Fee Guidelines (effective 1 August 2025). Actual attorney fees are negotiable.
Deeds Office fees use the tariff gazetted 1 April 2026. A flat R52 lodgement fee is included per deed.
Disbursements are estimated as a flat R3,500. Actual disbursements vary by property, municipality, and attorney.
The NCA bond initiation fee is shown at the regulatory maximum of R6,037.50.
New development properties: transfer duty is R0 because VAT is included in the purchase price by the developer.

What this calculator doesn't account for

Does not include your deposit — add this separately to calculate your total cash requirement.
Attorney fees are estimates. Always request a formal written quote from your conveyancer before signing.
Does not include rates clearance certificates, homeowner's insurance, or moving costs.
Bond attorney fees apply when the bank registers a bond — a cash purchase has no bond registration costs.