South Africa Travel Allowance 2026/27 - SARS Logbook, PAYE and Kilometre Rates

A South African travel allowance looks simple on a payslip until tax season arrives. The amount may be paid every month, but SARS does not treat the full allowance as a confirmed deduction. The final result depends on business kilometres, a usable logbook, the vehicle value, who paid fuel and maintenance, and whether the employer treated the allowance correctly through PAYE.

This guide explains the 2026/27 SARS travel allowance rules using official material available on May 8, 2026. It covers the new 495 cents per kilometre simplified reimbursement rate, the fixed-cost table for the 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027 tax year, the 80% and 20% PAYE inclusion rule, and the records you should keep before filing season starts.

Use this as a planning guide, not as a substitute for tax advice on a disputed assessment or a complex employer policy. If you are checking the salary impact first, pair it with the South Africa salary after tax guide. If you need trip-level running cost estimates, use the AfroTools fuel cost calculator before you decide whether an allowance is enough.

What Matters in 2026/27

The 2026/27 travel allowance year runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027. SARS has published a 2026/27 eLogbook and a rate-per-kilometre schedule for that assessment year. The most important planning points are:

• 495 cents per kilometre: SARS says the simplified reimbursement rule can apply up to 495 cents per kilometre where the allowance or advance is based on actual business distance and the employee does not receive another vehicle allowance or reimbursement, other than parking or toll fees.
• Logbook evidence still matters: for a travel allowance claim, SARS expects total kilometres and business kilometres to be substantiated by a logbook.
• Fixed allowance PAYE inclusion: 80% of a fixed travel allowance is generally included in remuneration for PAYE. The inclusion can be reduced to 20% if the employer is satisfied that at least 80% of vehicle use for the tax year will be business use.
• Fuel and maintenance claims depend on who paid: SARS says no fuel cost may be claimed if the employee did not bear the full fuel cost, and no maintenance cost may be claimed if the employee did not bear the full maintenance cost.
• Vehicle value matters: the fixed-cost table uses the vehicle value including VAT. A more expensive car can increase the fixed-cost component, but it can also make the allowance look smaller against real costs.

The big practical lesson is that the monthly allowance is only half the story. The tax return is where SARS reconciles the allowance against business use and records.

How PAYE Treats a Fixed Travel Allowance

A fixed travel allowance is a regular amount paid to an employee for business travel in a private vehicle. It is not automatically tax free. SARS employer guidance requires a portion of that allowance to be included in remuneration when PAYE is calculated.

This rule can surprise employees. A lower monthly PAYE deduction is not the same as a final SARS approval. If the employer uses the 20% inclusion because expected business use is high, but the logbook later shows weaker business use, the annual assessment can still create a tax shortfall.

For payroll teams, the safer workflow is to document why the 20% inclusion was used. That usually means having a business-travel expectation that is credible at the beginning of the tax year and not simply lowering PAYE because the employee requested it.

The Logbook SARS Expects

SARS does not allow a serious travel allowance claim to rest on memory. The 2026/27 eLogbook is designed to capture the details that turn a mileage claim into evidence. At minimum, your logbook should let you prove:

• opening odometer reading on 1 March 2026 or the first day the vehicle was used for the year
• closing odometer reading on 28 February 2027 or the last day the vehicle was used for the year
• date of each business trip
• business destination and reason for the trip
• business kilometres for each trip
• total kilometres for the year, including private use

Private kilometres do not need the same trip-by-trip detail, but they do matter because SARS uses total distance and business distance together. If you only record business trips and never capture the odometer movement for the year, you have a weak claim.

There is also a common misunderstanding about commuting. Normal travel between home and your regular place of work is usually private travel, not business travel. A logbook that treats every commute as a business trip is likely to fail a reasonableness check.

2026/27 Kilometre and Cost Table

SARS provides two broad routes for travel allowance calculations. The first is a simplified reimbursement rule. The second uses the cost scale table where actual costs are not claimed.

Simplified 495 Cents per Kilometre Rule

For 2026/27, SARS states that no tax is payable on a qualifying allowance paid by an employer to an employee up to 495 cents per kilometre, regardless of the value of the vehicle. This simplified route is only available where the allowance or advance is based on actual business kilometres and no other compensation is received from the employer for the vehicle, except parking or toll fees.

That means the simplified rule is best suited to a clean reimbursement model. It is not a magic exemption for every car allowance on a payslip.

Fixed-Cost Table for 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027

When the fixed-cost table is used, SARS combines a fixed annual cost with fuel and maintenance cents per kilometre. The fixed cost must be reduced pro rata if the vehicle is used for business for less than the full year.

The vehicle value cap in the table is easy to miss. Once the vehicle exceeds R920,000, the table does not keep increasing the fixed-cost, fuel, and maintenance bands. SARS uses the top line shown above.

Claim Workflow for Employees

If you receive a travel allowance, the cleanest workflow starts before the first business trip of the year. Do not wait until filing season to reconstruct kilometres from calendar invites and fuel receipts.

1. Confirm the allowance type: ask payroll whether you receive a fixed travel allowance, a reimbursive allowance, or both. The tax treatment differs.
2. Record the opening odometer: keep a dated photo or written record when the tax year starts or when you start using the car for business.
3. Log every business trip: record the date, destination, client or business purpose, and business kilometres.
4. Keep cost evidence where relevant: if you plan to rely on actual costs or claim fuel and maintenance components, keep proof that you personally paid those costs.
5. Check payroll inclusion: if only 20% of the allowance is included for PAYE, make sure the business-use expectation is realistic.
6. Reconcile before filing: compare total allowance received against the claim supported by the logbook and SARS table.

For employers, this workflow is also a payroll-risk control. If the company pays vehicle allowances without clear employee guidance, the tax problem often lands later as employee frustration.

Formula Walkthrough Based on the SARS Table

This is a formula walkthrough, not an invented taxpayer story. It uses the SARS 2026/27 table to show how the mechanics work.

Assume a vehicle value of R520,000. That falls in the R460,001 to R575,000 band, where the fixed cost is R152,097, fuel cost is 185.5 cents per kilometre, and maintenance cost is 86.9 cents per kilometre.

Assume the odometer shows 18,000 total kilometres for the year, with 10,000 business kilometres supported by the logbook.

If the employee did not personally pay fuel or maintenance, the relevant fuel or maintenance portion should not be claimed. This is why payslip benefits, fuel cards, and maintenance plans matter. The logbook proves business distance, but payment responsibility controls which cost components can be used.

The allowance received for the year is then compared against the supported claim in the tax return. If PAYE was too low during the year, assessment can still create an amount payable.

Common Mistakes That Create SARS Problems

Most travel allowance disputes are not caused by complicated maths. They are caused by weak records or by applying the wrong rule to the wrong kind of allowance.

• Keeping fuel slips but no logbook: receipts help with cost evidence, but they do not prove business kilometres.
• Counting normal commuting as business travel: home-to-office travel is usually private unless a specific exception applies.
• Using the 495 cents rate for a fixed allowance: the simplified rate is tied to qualifying actual business kilometre reimbursement, not every allowance.
• Ignoring PAYE inclusion: the 20% inclusion is not a permanent exemption. It depends on high expected business use and still gets reconciled later.
• Claiming costs paid by the employer: SARS is explicit that fuel and maintenance components require the employee to have borne those costs.
• Using the wrong tax year table: the 2026/27 table applies from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027. Prior-year rates can produce the wrong claim.