SARS travel allowance & the new R4.95/km rate

Every March, SARS quietly re-prices the road. For the 2026/27 year of assessment — 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027 — the prescribed rate per kilometre climbs to R4.95. It's a small number with a long reach: it sets what employers may reimburse tax-free, and it anchors what sole proprietors and commuting employees can claim back on assessment.

Here's the part most people skip past: a higher rate is only worth something if the paperwork behind it survives an audit. SARS didn't loosen a single record-keeping rule this year. So before you bank the extra nineteen cents a kilometre, it pays to see the whole picture.

What actually changed

One thing — the rate — and it reverses last year's dip. After two years of falling rates, SARS has nudged it back up:

Nineteen cents doesn't sound like a raise until you multiply it by real distance. A rep covering 15,000 business kilometres a year is looking at roughly R2,850 more in tax-free reimbursement than last year — for exactly the same driving.

The 80/20 rule that surprises people

If you receive a fixed monthly travel allowance, SARS assumes you're mostly driving for pleasure until you prove otherwise. By default, 80% of that allowance is folded into your remuneration and taxed through PAYE every month.

Allowance vs. reimbursement — know which you're on

These two get muddled constantly, and they're taxed differently.

The logbook is non-negotiable

This is the part SARS never bends on. No logbook, no claim. It doesn't matter how obviously business-related the driving was — without the record, the deduction simply doesn't exist. For every business trip you need:

• Opening and closing odometer readings for the full tax year;
• The date of each business trip;
• The kilometres travelled for business;
• The destination and reason for the trip.

The relief: you do not have to log private trips in detail. SARS works out private distance as the balance — total kilometres for the year, minus the business kilometres you recorded. The discipline is entirely on the business side. SARS also publishes a free e-Logbook each year if you'd rather not build your own.

Two ways to turn a logbook into a deduction

Once you're claiming against a travel allowance on assessment, you pick one of two methods — whichever gives the better result:

• The SARS cost-table method. Use SARS's deemed-cost table based on your vehicle's value — a fixed cost, plus fuel and maintenance rates per kilometre. No fuel slips needed, just the logbook.
• The actual-cost method. Claim your real running costs — fuel, repairs, insurance, licence, finance charges, depreciation — apportioned by your business-kilometre percentage. Keep every receipt.

What it looks like in rand

Say an employee drives 6,000 verified business kilometres and is reimbursed at the new rate, with no other travel compensation:

At last year's R4.76 the same 6,000 km returned R28,560 — so the rate change alone is worth R1,140 here. Reimburse above R4.95, or add another travel allowance on top, and the excess becomes taxable.

The bottom line

The rate went up, which is genuinely good news. But SARS gave with one hand and kept the other exactly where it was: the logbook still decides everything. The businesses that win at travel claims aren't the ones with the fanciest cars — they're the ones who can produce a clean, dated, kilometre-by-kilometre record on demand, backed by receipts they didn't have to hunt for.

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rates and rules change and individual circumstances differ — confirm your position with a registered tax practitioner before you file. Figures verified against SARS and industry sources in July 2026.