What it costs to run a South African company.
Running a company in South Africa means an annual return to the registry after each incorporation anniversary, income tax returns, and monthly payroll and labour fund declarations. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) can keep those calendars for you. For companies running their own entity in South Africa, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes, and service terms adjusted to suit you within reason.
The deadline nobody diarises
Your annual return is not on a fixed date
This is the one South African obligation most likely to be missed, because it does not behave like an annual return anywhere else. It is not due at a tax year end or on a calendar date. It is due within 30 business days of the anniversary of the company's own incorporation.
That means every company in a group has a different deadline, determined by the day it happened to be registered. A finance calendar built around quarter ends will not catch it, and a company registered in, say, late October will have a deadline that moves around in November every year.
Missing it is not a small administrative matter either. Persistent failure to file annual returns can lead to the company being deregistered, which is a considerably larger problem than a penalty.
| Filing | Who to | When |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return | Companies and Intellectual Property Commission | Within 30 business days of the incorporation anniversary |
| Income tax return | Revenue service | Annually |
| Provisional tax | Revenue service | Twice yearly |
| Payroll and labour fund declarations | Revenue service and the funds | Monthly |
The rate you actually pay
27% is the ceiling, not the rate
The standard corporate rate is 27% for years of assessment ending between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027, reduced from 28%. For an ordinary company that is the rate on every rand of taxable income.
A qualifying Small Business Corporation is taxed completely differently. Nothing on the first R99,000, then 7% on income above that up to R365,000, then 21% up to R550,000, and only above R550,000 does 27% apply. A company earning R400,000 of taxable income under that regime pays a fraction of what a flat 27% would suggest.
The qualifying conditions are specific, and whether a foreign-owned subsidiary meets them needs checking rather than assuming. But it is the first thing to check, because nothing else on this page moves the number as much.
What you actually pay
The filings are cheap. The monthly rhythm is not.
South Africa's recurring cost sits in the monthly obligations rather than any single annual fee. Payroll declarations, unemployment insurance contributions and the workplace injury fund all run every month, and provisional tax adds two more points in the year. That is a bookkeeping and payroll engagement rather than an occasional filing.
Market estimate
R18,000 to R45,000 a yearWhat the market charges for monthly payroll, bookkeeping and the annual filings on a small company. Not a Teamed price.
Your options
Who can keep it running for you
Four kinds of help can keep a company in South Africa running, and the right one depends on whether it employs people.
You can file the annual return yourself with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and the tax returns with the revenue service. That suits a founder with no staff and the time to track each deadline.
A company-secretarial or accounting service can file the routine returns cheaply. That suits a company that employs nobody.
A law firm or corporate-services firm is the right call for complex group structures and tax planning, where the advice is worth more than the paperwork.
For companies that will employ people in South Africa, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get one system from your first EOR hire to your own entity, a designated person who has done this before and Ted, Teamed's AI agent, to answer questions from your live employment data. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in South Africa.
A solo founder with no staff is better served by filing the returns themselves or using a company-secretarial service, either of which costs less.
Worth saying plainly
This is the cost people forget when they compare
R175 to register makes South Africa look almost free. The monthly payroll and labour fund declarations, the twice-yearly provisional tax and an annual return on a date nobody remembers are the part that repeats.
If the annual running cost looks heavy against the size of your team here, that is useful information rather than a problem. An employer of record carries all of it inside one monthly fee.
Teamed's employer of record in South Africa is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency pairing and one invoice at the end of it. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity all run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or re-onboarding anybody. Real HR and legal experts handle the work, not a ticket queue.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers yourself first, the crossover calculator models it for South Africa.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, move your people across, and keep it running.
GEMO is how Teamed forms your company and keeps it running, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
In South Africa that matters a little more than elsewhere, because Teamed employs through its own local entity rather than a partner. The people who would run your company are the people already running ours.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Questions about running a South African company
When is the annual return due?
Within 30 business days of the anniversary of incorporation, so every company has its own date rather than a common one. A calendar built around quarter ends will not catch it.
What happens if we miss it?
Penalties, and persistent failure to file can lead to deregistration of the company, which is a considerably larger problem than a fee.
Will we pay 27%?
Only as an ordinary company. A qualifying Small Business Corporation pays nothing on the first R99,000, then 7%, then 21%, and 27% only above R550,000.
How often is payroll filed?
Monthly, along with the unemployment insurance and workplace injury fund contributions. Provisional tax adds two further points in the year.
What if the company did not trade?
It still files its annual return and its tax return. A dormant company has fewer numbers but the same deadlines.
Sources
- CIPC, annual returns and the 30 business day deadline
- SARS, companies, trusts and small business corporations tax rates
- SARS, employer registration and monthly declarations
The rest of the South Africa guides
Looking for a job in South Africa yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
