---
title: "Setting Up a Company in South Africa 2026 | Steps"
description: "Register a private company for R175 in a day through BizPortal. What follows registration is what actually takes the time."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/south-africa/entity-setup
---

![A South African city street with Table Mountain in the distance.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/south-africa/entity-setup/images/hero.webp)

# How do you set upa company in South Africa.

You register a private company with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, appoint a director, then register it with the revenue service and the labour funds. Teamed does all of it and runs the company afterwards.

Served by Teamed's own legal entity in South Africa

Last reviewed 17 September 2026 · South Africa guide

South Africa at a glance

## The facts most people need first

South Africa has one of the cheapest and fastest company registrations anywhere. The state's own portal will register a private company for R175, in a day. That is genuinely the easy part, and it is worth saying so plainly because the registrations that follow are not.

Usual company typePrivate company, a (Pty) Ltd RegistryCompanies and Intellectual Property Commission Registration feeR175 through BizPortal Registration timeOne day Corporate tax, standard27% Small business corporationsProgressive, starting at 0% Annual returnWithin 30 business days of the incorporation anniversary

The part that is misunderstood

## Will you actually pay 27%

Almost every summary of South African business tax prints 27% and stops. For a small company that is not the rate, and the gap is large enough to change the decision entirely.

A company that qualifies as a Small Business Corporation is taxed progressively rather than at a flat rate. The first R99,000 of taxable income is taxed at nothing at all. Above that it steps through 7% and then 21%, and only income above R550,000 is taxed at 27%.

So a small South African subsidiary earning modest profit can pay dramatically less than the headline implies, and a plan built on a flat 27% will have overstated the cost badly. The qualifying conditions are specific and worth checking properly rather than assuming, but the difference is too large to ignore.

### Two ways a company is taxed, and they are not close

Which one applies depends on whether the company meets the Small Business Corporation conditions, not on what you call it.

An ordinary company

27% on taxable income, flat, for years of assessment ending 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Reduced from 28% in 2022 and 2023.

A Small Business Corporation

Nothing on the first R99,000, then 7%, then 21%, reaching 27% only above R550,000.

Before you file

## What you need to have ready

Registration itself asks for very little. What asks for more is everything that has to happen before the company can employ or trade.

You need a company name, or you can register with the registration number as the name and choose one later. You need at least one director, identified to the registry's satisfaction, and for directors outside South Africa that identification is the step most likely to add time.

You need a South African registered address. And you need to understand that registration with the registry does not make you an employer. A separate tax reference, and registration with the labour funds that cover unemployment insurance and workplace injury, all have to follow before anybody is paid.

How it runs

## How long does it take to register a South African company

The registration is advertised as a single day and generally is. The honest timeline for being able to pay somebody is considerably longer, because the registrations that make you an employer come afterwards and each has its own queue.

1. Director details and identificationEveryone appointed identified to the registry's satisfaction. For directors outside South Africa this sets the real start date.
2. The company registeredR175 through the state portal, usually within a day. You come away with a registration number and a certificate.
3. Tax registrationThe company obtains its tax reference. This does not happen automatically in a way you can rely on for payroll timing.
4. Employer and labour fund registrationsRegistration as an employer, plus the unemployment insurance and workplace injury funds. Payroll cannot run properly before these exist.
5. Bank accountThe least predictable step, and worth starting the week the company exists rather than the week you need it.

Setting up your own entity takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the country's registry and how fast you can open a local bank account. South Africa's registry is a day. The rest is not.

What it costs

## How much does it cost to set up a South African company

R175 registers the company. That is the whole state cost of bringing it into existence, and it is among the lowest anywhere. The money goes on the professional work around the registrations that follow.

| What | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Company registration | R175 |
| Corporate tax, ordinary company | 27% |
| Small Business Corporation, first R99,000 | 0% |
| Small Business Corporation, above R550,000 | 27% |

Market estimate

R5,000 to R15,000

What the market charges to form the company and complete the tax and labour fund registrations. Not a Teamed price.

Before you commit

## Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit

R175 and a day makes incorporating look like a decision you can take lightly. The company that follows is not light: employer registrations, labour fund contributions, an annual return and a director with real duties all outlive the day you registered.

If the team here is small, still changing shape, or you are testing whether the market works, an employer of record can be the better answer, and it is a fair one rather than a lesser one.

Teamed's employer of record in South Africa is a flat $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.

Talk to a member of the team

Model the crossover for South Africa

Who carries it

## Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.

Global Entity and Employment Operations, which we call GEMO, is how Teamed forms your company, registers it for corporation tax and payroll, runs it month to month and keeps its filings current, 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.

Entity Management (GEMO)

The Graduation Model

Employer cost calculator

> They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.

*Helene Dubois, COO*

Talk to an expert about setting up in South Africa

Questions

## Questions people ask before they register

How much does it cost to register a South African company?

R175 through the state's BizPortal, and it is advertised as a one-day registration. That is the whole state cost of bringing the company into existence.

Will we pay 27% tax?

Only if the company is taxed as an ordinary company. A qualifying Small Business Corporation pays nothing on the first R99,000, then 7%, then 21%, reaching 27% only above R550,000.

Can a non resident be a director?

Yes. The practical obstacle is identification, which takes longer for directors outside South Africa and usually sets the real start date.

How soon can we pay somebody?

Later than you can register. Tax registration and the employer and labour fund registrations all follow incorporation, and payroll cannot run properly before they exist.

When is the annual return due?

Within 30 business days of the anniversary of incorporation, every year, and the fee varies with turnover.

Sources

1. CIPC BizPortal, company registration
2. SARS, companies, trusts and small business corporations tax rates
3. CIPC, annual returns

The rest of the South Africa guides

Running costs and filings

Moving people across

Permanent establishment risk

When an entity makes sense

## More on entities in South Africa

- [Hiring in South Africa, overview](/country-hiring-guides/south-africa)parent
- [South Africa running costs and filings](/country-hiring-guides/south-africa/entity-running-costs-and-filings)sibling
- [South Africa tax presence risk](/country-hiring-guides/south-africa/permanent-establishment-risk)sibling
- [South Africa entity or EOR](/country-hiring-guides/south-africa/eor-vs-entity)sibling
- [South Africa moving from an EOR](/country-hiring-guides/south-africa/moving-from-eor-to-your-own-entity)sibling
- [Set up an entity, by country](/entity-setup-by-country)hub
- [Entity Management (GEMO)](/entity-management)core
- [Talk to an expert about South Africa](https://www.teamed.global/contact?from=entity-setup)CTA