Treasury norm: 95%
Share of the rates and service charges billed in the year that was actually collected.
Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money; calculated with the Circular 71 formula.
Money in · Eastern Cape
Buffalo City
Where does the metro’s money come from?
60.2%
of what it billed residents and businesses was collected in 2024-25. Treasury’s norm is 95%.
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated
Compare all eight metros: Money in. An asterisk marks a figure our automated checks found inconsistent with another official figure; it is shown as reported, explained in a footnote and left out of rankings.
Where the money comes from
Metros do not get income tax or VAT. Those go to national government.
A metro’s own money comes from property rates (a tax on property value) and from selling services: electricity, water, sanitation and refuse removal. On top of that, national government sends grants, mostly for building infrastructure and for free basic services to poor households.
So a metro’s finances depend heavily on one thing: collecting what it bills.
Collecting what it bills
Official: National Treasury · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated
What these words mean
- Property rates
- A yearly tax on property, based on its municipal valuation. It is the metro’s main tax.
- Collection rate
- How much of what the metro billed residents and businesses in the year was actually paid.
- Grants
- Money national government sends to metros, mostly for building infrastructure and free basic services.
- Treasury norm
- A target National Treasury sets for every municipality in MFMA Circular 71, so metros can be compared on the same scale.
2025-26, unaudited: operating revenue
Official: National Treasury, Section 71 (unaudited) · Data as of 30 June 2026 (2025-26, 12 of 12 months, unaudited) · Next update expected November 2026 (Treasury’s next quarterly Section 71 release)
98%
of the revenue it budgeted for: Buffalo City brought in R10.75bn of R10.92bn in the full year (preliminary) of 2025-26, as it reported to Treasury. Residents, businesses and government owed it R10.43bn at 30 June 2026.
Unaudited: what each metro reported to National Treasury for the full year (preliminary) of 2025-26, to 30 June 2026. The audited years stay the reference; these figures are not used in headlines. Source: Treasury’s summary of metros workbook (all files).
Money in, by source
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money (audited) · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated
What these words mean
- Property rates
- A yearly tax on property, based on its municipal valuation. It is the metro’s main tax.
- Grants
- Money national government sends to metros, mostly for building infrastructure and free basic services.
- Fuel levy share
- Part of the national tax on petrol and diesel, which national government shares with the metros.
- Electricity sales
- Property rates
- Water sales
- Sanitation charges
- Refuse charges
- Operating grants
- Fuel levy share
- Everything else
2024-25 R10.28bn · R11 725 per resident
Electricity sales 29% · Property rates 21% · Operating grants 14%
2023-24 R9.35bn · R10 713 per resident
Electricity sales 26% · Property rates 23% · Operating grants 15%
2022-23 R8.05bn · R9 258 per resident
Electricity sales 27% · Property rates 22% · Operating grants 15%
2021-22 R8.25bn · R9 514 per resident
Electricity sales 27% · Property rates 21% · Water sales 15%
2020-21 R7.88bn · R9 113 per resident
Electricity sales 25% · Property rates 20% · Operating grants 17%
Operating revenue, not counting grants for building infrastructure. Per resident uses Stats SA’s mid-year population estimates. Source: National Treasury, Municipal Money, income and expenditure (audited actuals).
Money owed to the metro
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money (unaudited monthly returns) · Data as of Mar 2026 (unaudited monthly returns) · Updates: Treasury adds months quarterly · Last updated
What these words mean
- Money owed to the metro
- Unpaid bills for rates, electricity, water, sanitation, refuse and other charges, from households, businesses and government.
- Older than 90 days
- Bills unpaid for more than three months. The older a debt, the less likely the metro is to collect it.
R10.00bn
owed to Buffalo City by residents, businesses and government at the end of Mar 2026; 86% of it was more than 90 days old. The audited figure for June 2025 was R9.15bn.
Households R8.00bn · businesses R1.80bn · government R202.8m · other R0. Source query · audited June 2025.
Money the metro owes suppliers
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money (unaudited monthly returns) · Data as of Mar 2026 (unaudited monthly returns) · Updates: Treasury adds months quarterly
R1.17bn
owed by Buffalo City to its suppliers at the end of Mar 2026; 0% of it was more than 90 days old.
Income tax and the metro’s own money
Official: SARS and National Treasury · Data as of tax year 2024 (provisional) · Updates: SARS and Treasury publish once a year · Last updated
Metros do not receive income tax or VAT. Income tax goes to national government. Part of national revenue flows back to municipalities as grants: the equitable share and grants for set purposes. A metro’s own money comes from property rates and charges for electricity, water, sanitation and refuse.
The figures below put three things side by side for Buffalo City. They cover different periods: a tax year runs from 1 March to the end of February; a municipal year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The periods overlap but are not the same.
What these words mean
- Income tax assessed
- The personal income tax SARS worked out from the tax returns of people who live in the metro. It is paid to national government, not to the metro.
- Own revenue
- Money a metro raises itself: property rates and charges for electricity, water, sanitation and refuse removal.
- Transfers received
- Money national and provincial government gave the metro in the year: the equitable share for running costs and free basic services, and grants for set purposes such as infrastructure.
- Income tax assessed on residents (tax year 2024, provisional)
- Metro’s own revenue (2023-24)
- Transfers received (2023-24)
Buffalo City
123 402 assessed taxpayers · average taxable income R311 180
Income tax: tax year 2024 (1 Mar 2023 to 29 Feb 2024); provisional: The latest tax year in each edition is incomplete: it holds only the assessments finished when SARS extracted the data, and the next edition revises it upwards. We use each tax year from the newest edition that has it. Metro figures: municipal year 2023-24 (1 Jul 2023 to 30 Jun 2024), audited. Own revenue is property rates plus charges for electricity, water, sanitation and refuse. Transfers received are operating and capital transfers from national and provincial government, as recognised in the audited statements. Per resident uses Stats SA’s mid-year population estimate for 2024.
Income tax assessed on Buffalo City residents, every tax year published
| Tax year | Taxpayers | Taxable income | Tax assessed | Average taxable income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (provisional) | 123 402 | R38.40bn | R6.92bn | R311 180 |
| 2023 | 114 865 | R35.68bn | R6.52bn | R310 629 |
| 2022 | 109 731 | R33.57bn | R6.33bn | R305 894 |
| 2021 | 105 285 | R30.54bn | R5.74bn | R290 098 |
| 2020 | 96 693 | R29.49bn | R5.75bn | R304 955 |
| 2019 | 81 764 | R26.04bn | R5.10bn | R318 491 |
| 2018 | 89 955 | R26.83bn | R5.05bn | R298 238 |
| 2017 | 93 362 | R25.52bn | R4.63bn | R273 398 |
| 2016 | 92 105 | R23.74bn | R4.25bn | R257 793 |
Each tax year is from the newest edition that has it (link on the year). Tax year 2024 is 1 Mar 2023 to 29 Feb 2024, and so on.
Buffalo City’s own revenue and transfers received, every municipal year
| Municipal year | Own revenue | Transfers received |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | R7.16bn | R2.26bn |
| 2023-24 | R6.46bn | R2.26bn |
| 2022-23 | R5.56bn | R1.94bn |
| 2021-22 | R6.05bn | R1.79bn |
| 2020-21 | R5.53bn | R2.41bn |
Sources: SARS and National Treasury, Tax Statistics, Chapter 2 Personal Income Tax, tables A2.10.1 to A2.10.9 (assessed individual taxpayers, by the residential address declared on their tax returns); National Treasury, Municipal Money, income and expenditure (audited). Not published by ward.