South Africa’s 2025 Budget: What You Need to Know
The South African government has announced the Budget for 2025, and there’s a lot to unpack! From education and health to taxes and social grants, here’s a simple and fun breakdown of the key highlights.
1. Education: More Money, But Where Does It Go?
The government is putting a huge amount of money into education:
Basic Education: R332.3 billion
National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS): R55.4 billion
Skills Development Institutions: R27.9 billion
Technical & Vocational Training: R14.2 billion
Sounds great, right? But here’s the catch—76% of provincial education budgets go to paying salaries. That means out of every R100, only R24 is left for schools, books, and meals.
To keep 11,000 teachers in classrooms, the government is adding R19.1 billion. Hopefully, this will help improve education quality!
2. Early Childhood Development (ECD): Finally, More Support!
Good news for little ones! The ECD subsidy has been stuck at R17 per child per day since 2019. Finally, the government plans to increase it to R24 per child per day over the next few years, with an extra R10 billion allocated.
This could help 700,000 more children access early learning, giving them a better start in life.
3. Sin Tax: Drinking & Smoking Just Got More Expensive!
If you enjoy a pint or a cigarette, prepare to pay more. The government has raised sin taxes, meaning higher prices for alcohol and tobacco:
Beer & Ciders: R0.16 more per can
Wine: Up by R0.29 to R0.90 per bottle
Spirits: A big increase of R5.97 per bottle
Cigarettes: R1.04 extra per 20-pack
Cigars: A massive jump of R8.49 per 23g
The idea? To reduce drinking and smoking while raising money for the budget.
4. VAT Increase: More Tax for Everyone!
The Value Added Tax (VAT) rate is going up by 0.5 percentage points in 2025/26 and another 0.5 points in 2026/27.
This might not sound like much, but it’s expected to bring in:
R28 billion in 2025/26
Another R14.5 billion in 2026/27
The government argues that growing the economy is the bigger issue, but consumers will definitely feel this increase when buying goods and services.
5. Health: Big Spending on Hospitals & Services
A huge amount of money is going into healthcare this year:
District health services: R132.1 billion
Central hospitals: R58.3 billion
Provincial hospitals: R49 billion
Facilities maintenance: R11.9 billion
Other health services: R47.5 billion
Let’s hope this helps improve public hospitals, which are often overcrowded and underfunded.
6. Defence & Security: More Funding for Peacekeeping
South Africa’s defence force is getting a boost, with an extra R9.4 billion to fund military operations and prisons.
The Department of Defence is also receiving R5 billion to support the SADC mission in the DRC and other peacekeeping efforts.
7. Social Grants: More Help for Those in Need
If you rely on social grants, there’s some relief coming:
Old-age & disability grant: R117.4 billion total, with an increase of R130 per month (new amount: R2,315 from April).
Child support grant: R90.4 billion total, increasing by R30 to R560 per month.
Foster care grant: Up by R70.
Other grants: R77 billion, with R35.2 billion for the R370 SRD grant.
While the increases are welcome, rising food and transport costs might cancel out the extra money.
Final Thoughts
The Budget 2025 is a mix of good and bad news. More money is going into education, healthcare, and social grants, but taxes are going up, and a huge chunk of education spending is still tied up in salaries.
Join CIBA for the 2025 Budget Breakfast: Key Insights for Accountants and Finance Professionals – In-person
🚀 Unlock Critical Insights from the 2025 Budget 🚀
Accountants and finance professionals, are you ready to navigate South Africa’s evolving financial landscape? Join us for the 2025 Budget Breakfast, an in-person event packed with expert analysis, tax updates, and economic forecasts to help you stay ahead of the curve.
📅 Date: 18 March 2025
⏰ Time: 08:30 - 13:00
📍 Venue: Atterbury Theatre, Gauteng
🎯 CPD: Earn 4 CPD units in Taxation
🔎 Why Attend?
✅ Economic & Policy Insights – Senior Researcher Duma Gqubule will analyze inflation, interest rates, and employment trends affecting businesses in 2025.
✅ Practical Tax & Compliance Updates – Johan Heydenrych (Kreston Director: Tax Services) will break down the latest tax amendments and their impact.
✅ Direct Engagement with Leaders – Gauteng MEC Lebogang Maile and CIBA CEO Nicolaas van Wyk will discuss policy priorities and the role of accountants in economic shifts.
✅ Technology & the Budget – Radlin Wagner (Sage) will explore how digital transformation is shaping financial management.
✅ Networking Opportunity – Connect with top professionals and industry experts.
🎟 Limited Seats Available – First Come, First Served!
Standard Ticket Price: R650
👉 Secure Your Spot Here Now.
