Your payslip explained: PAYE, UIF, and SDL
Your gross salary and your take-home pay are two different numbers, and the gap is a short list of deductions. Here's what each line on a South African payslip actually means.
PAYE: your income tax
PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn. It's your income tax, worked out on the SARS tax tables and withheld from every salary so you don't face one big bill at year-end. Your employer reduces it by the rebates you're entitled to and by your medical aid tax credits, then pays it over to SARS on your behalf. It's usually the biggest deduction on the slip.
UIF: unemployment insurance
The Unemployment Insurance Fund pays benefits if you lose your job, or take maternity, illness, or adoption leave. You contribute 1% of your pay, and your employer adds another 1% on top.
There's a ceiling. Contributions are worked out on earnings up to R17,712 a month, so the most you'll pay is R177.12 a month, even if you earn far more. Your employer's matching 1% is capped the same way.
SDL: not actually your deduction
The Skills Development Levy funds worker training. It's 1% of the payroll, paid by the employer, for businesses with an annual payroll above R500,000. You might see it referenced on documents, but it isn't deducted from your salary. It's a cost your employer carries, not money out of your pocket.
The other common lines
- Pension or provident fund: if you contribute through work, it comes off here, and it's tax-deductible within the 27.5% limit, so it also lowers your PAYE.
- Medical aid: if your employer pays the scheme from your salary, you'll see the premium here, and the tax credit reflected in your PAYE.
Gross to net, in order
Start with gross pay. Take off PAYE, UIF, and any pension and medical contributions. What's left is your net pay, the amount that actually lands in your account. If you want to know why your take-home changed, one of these lines is almost always the reason.
Related guides
- 2026/2027 SARS tax brackets: how the PAYE on your slip is calculated.
- Medical aid tax credits: the credit that lowers your monthly PAYE.