What it costs to buy a new apartment in Cape Town (2026/27)

If you buy a new apartment from a VAT-registered developer, you pay no transfer duty, because 15% VAT is already built into the price. You still pay a conveyancing fee, a Deeds Office fee and, if you take a bond, bond registration costs. Together, on a 90% bond, those come to about R82,000 on a R1.5 million unit and about R208,000 on an R8 million one.

This guide works the numbers at four price points using the 2026/27 SARS transfer duty table, the Deeds Office fees in force since 1 April 2026 and the Law Society's conveyancing fee guideline. It applies to new apartments across Cape Town and complements our step-by-step guide to buying off-plan. These are estimates for planning, not quotes, and not tax or legal advice: ask the developer's conveyancer for a written pro forma account before you sign.

Which tax do you pay on a new apartment: VAT or transfer duty?

One or the other, never both. SARS says a property sale is subject to either VAT or transfer duty, and VAT takes preference. If the seller is a registered VAT vendor and the property forms part of its enterprise, VAT is payable. If not, transfer duty is payable.

In practice that means a unit sold by a VAT-registered developer carries VAT, normally quoted inside the price, and no transfer duty. A resale unit from a private owner carries transfer duty on top of the price. SARS also notes that the seller decides which applies, so ask the developer in writing whether it is a VAT vendor and whether the price includes VAT.

What transfer duty costs in 2026/27

SARS's table for properties acquired from 1 April 2026 shows no change from the previous year. Transfer duty is paid by the person acquiring the property, normally through the conveyancer, within six months of the date of acquisition. After that SARS charges interest at 10% a year for each completed month (SARS: Transfer Duty).

Some third-party sites still show the old R1.1 million threshold. The current SARS threshold is R1,210,000 (SARS: transfer duty rates, last updated 25 February 2026).

What the VAT in a new-build price means in rand

VAT at 15% is not added on top of a VAT-inclusive price: it is 15/115 of it, or about 13% of the price. You do not write a separate cheque for it, but it is part of what you are paying the developer.

The table is not a claim that new builds cost more or less than resales. A new unit's price reflects the developer's costs, the finishes and the market, and VAT is only one part of it. What the table shows is that the VAT is much larger than the duty you avoid, so compare total prices rather than treating "no transfer duty" as a saving.

Conveyancing and Deeds Office fees: the costs you still pay

A VAT sale removes transfer duty, not transfer costs. The conveyancing attorney's fee and the Deeds Office registration fee both apply.

Conveyancing fees follow the Law Society of South Africa's guideline, effective 1 July 2026. It is a guideline, not a minimum or maximum, and fees are negotiable. For a purchase between R1 million and R5 million, Column B gives R26,275 for the first R1 million plus R2,120 for each R200,000 (or part) above it. Above R5 million it is R68,675 plus R5,340 per R1 million (or part) above R5 million. VAT at 15% is added (LSSA Guideline of Fees, 1 July 2026). For a sale on which VAT is charged, the guideline values the property at the purchase price plus VAT, so the examples below work on the VAT-inclusive price.

Deeds Office fees come from the Schedule of Fees of Office in Government Gazette No. 54225, effective 1 April 2026. A transfer costs R1,738 between R1 million and R2 million, R2,408 between R2 million and R4 million, and R3,480 between R6 million and R8 million. A bond is charged on the bond amount using the same brackets (Deeds Office fee schedule, capetownlawyer.co.za).

Bond registration costs

If you finance the purchase, three more charges apply: the bond attorney's fee (the same guideline scale, applied to the bond amount), the Deeds Office bond fee and the bank's initiation fee. The National Credit Act regulations cap the initiation fee on a mortgage at R5,250 plus VAT, which is R6,037.50 including VAT (Government Notice 1080 of 2015), and many banks let you add it to the loan instead of paying it in cash (bond.co.za). The examples below include it. Our upcoming finance guide covers how bonds work for off-plan purchases.

Worked examples: new build against resale, by price band

Each example assumes a 10% deposit and a 90% bond, a VAT-inclusive price for the new build, and the same price for the resale. Conveyancing is calculated on that price. All fees include VAT where VAT applies, and amounts are rounded to the nearest rand. Your deposit is separate from, and on top of, these costs.

The pattern is clear. Attorney and Deeds Office fees rise slowly with price, so they weigh most on cheaper units. Transfer duty rises steeply above R3 million, which is why the gap between new build and resale widens fast in the upper bands. Buying without a bond removes the bond costs but not the transfer costs.

Other costs to budget for

The figures above leave out items that depend on the development and your contract:

• Levies. A Cape Town law firm's costs calculator tells buyers to provide for levies of up to 12 months, normally three, at transfer (DVH Law). Ask what the development's levy is and what the conveyancer will collect.

• Parking and exclusive use areas. The same firm estimates about R4,000 per exclusive use area transferred and about R750 for an insurance certificate on sectional title transfers. Treat both as rough guides.

• FICA and sundries. The Law Society guideline suggests R375 per natural person for FICA documentation, plus postage and other disbursements, which vary by firm.

• Occupational interest. Once you can occupy an off-plan unit, you usually pay interest on the price until transfer. See our off-plan buying guide for how it works.

• Developer incentives. Some developments advertise that transfer costs are included. Read the agreement of sale to see which fees the developer pays.

When do you pay these costs?

Your deposit normally goes into an attorney's trust account when you sign. Transfer costs, and any transfer duty on a non-VAT sale, are normally collected by the conveyancer before the transfer is lodged at the Deeds Office, because SARS must issue its receipt first. On an off-plan unit this happens close to completion, once the sectional title register is open. Bond registration costs are usually settled at or just before registration, and they can be deducted from the bond proceeds. Ask your conveyancer which costs are due in cash and when.

Fee schedules change every year. Transfer duty, Deeds Office fees and the Law Society guideline are all revised annually, with the Budget in February and the Deeds Office schedule on 1 April, so recheck the numbers if you sign after February 2027.