Money in · KwaZulu-Natal
Where does the metro’s money come from?
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.
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.
Official: National Treasury · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated
Not yet published
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.
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)
101%
of the revenue it budgeted for: eThekwini brought in R61.94bn of R61.44bn in the full year (preliminary) of 2025-26, as it reported to Treasury. Residents, businesses and government owed it R47.12bn 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).
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money (audited) · Data as of 2024-25 financial year (audited) · Last updated
2024-25 R58.45bn · R13 543 per resident
Electricity sales 33% · Property rates 23% · Water sales 12%
2023-24 R54.91bn · R12 883 per resident
Electricity sales 31% · Property rates 23% · Water sales 13%
2022-23 R48.86bn · R11 610 per resident
Electricity sales 32% · Property rates 24% · Water sales 12%
2021-22 R42.68bn · R10 268 per resident
Electricity sales 35% · Property rates 23% · Water sales 13%
2020-21 R39.22bn · R9 543 per resident
Electricity sales 35% · Property rates 24% · Water sales 14%
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).
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money (unaudited monthly returns) · Data as of Mar 2026 (unaudited monthly returns) · Updates: Treasury adds months quarterly · Last updated
R44.56bn
owed to eThekwini by residents, businesses and government at the end of Mar 2026; 86% of it was more than 90 days old.
Households R33.65bn · businesses R8.98bn · government R1.68bn · other R247.0m. Source query.
Official: National Treasury, Municipal Money (unaudited monthly returns) · Data as of Mar 2026 (unaudited monthly returns) · Updates: Treasury adds months quarterly
R768.2m
owed by eThekwini to its suppliers at the end of Mar 2026; 3% of it was more than 90 days old.
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 eThekwini. 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.
eThekwini
667 629 assessed taxpayers · average taxable income R312 686
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.
| Tax year | Taxpayers | Taxable income | Tax assessed | Average taxable income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (provisional) | 667 629 | R208.76bn | R40.26bn | R312 686 |
| 2023 | 606 488 | R189.94bn | R37.16bn | R313 175 |
| 2022 | 550 634 | R167.16bn | R33.30bn | R303 579 |
| 2021 | 509 687 | R149.93bn | R29.68bn | R294 163 |
| 2020 | 477 225 | R148.73bn | R30.82bn | R311 660 |
| 2019 | 433 206 | R139.13bn | R28.64bn | R321 152 |
| 2018 | 416 150 | R127.66bn | R25.90bn | R306 767 |
| 2017 | 417 250 | R122.07bn | R23.94bn | R292 554 |
| 2016 | 407 374 | R114.19bn | R22.23bn | R280 310 |
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.
| Municipal year | Own revenue | Transfers received |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | R42.86bn | R8.36bn |
| 2023-24 | R39.72bn | R10.07bn |
| 2022-23 | R35.86bn | R8.25bn |
| 2021-22 | R32.16bn | R7.64bn |
| 2020-21 | R30.28bn | R7.31bn |
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.