Debt review aftercare fees in South Africa are capped by the National Credit Regulator at 5% of your monthly debt repayment installment for the first 24 months, then drop to 3% from month 25 onward. Both tiers are subject to an absolute ceiling of R400 per month before VAT. The fee pays your debt counsellor for ongoing management of your repayment plan, and it appears as a separate line on your monthly distribution statement.1National Credit Regulator. Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines
How the Fee Is Calculated
The NCR’s fee guidelines set out a two-tier structure that reduces your cost over time:
- First 24 months: 5% of your total monthly debt repayment installment, up to R400 before VAT.
- Month 25 onward: 3% of your monthly installment, up to the same R400 ceiling before VAT.
The R400 cap applies in both phases, so the percentage only matters when your installment is small enough that the percentage produces a figure below R400. During the first 24 months, 5% hits the R400 cap once your installment reaches R8,000. After 24 months, 3% only hits R400 when your installment exceeds roughly R13,333.1National Credit Regulator. Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines
The rate reduction after two years is one of the most poorly advertised features of debt review. If your statement continues to show 5% after month 24, that’s a problem worth raising.
VAT on the Fee
All aftercare figures in the fee guidelines are quoted excluding VAT. South Africa’s standard VAT rate increased to 15.5% on 1 May 2025, with a further increase to 16% taking effect on 1 April 2026.2South African Revenue Service. FAQs – Increase in the VAT Rate From 1 May 2025 For most of 2026, VAT of 16% will sit on top of the calculated fee.
Worked Examples
Say your monthly debt installment is R5,000. During the first 24 months, 5% of R5,000 is R250. Add 16% VAT (R40) and your aftercare fee is R290 per month. Once you pass month 24, the rate drops to 3%, so the base fee becomes R150. With VAT, that’s R174 per month. The drop is real, and it’s yours by right.
If your installment is R10,000, the math changes because the cap kicks in. At 5%, R10,000 would produce R500, but you pay only R400 plus R64 VAT, totaling R464. After 24 months, 3% of R10,000 is R300, which sits below the cap, so you pay R300 plus R48 VAT, or R348 in total. Consumers with larger installments are protected from paying disproportionate management fees by the R400 ceiling.1National Credit Regulator. Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines
What the Fee Pays For
Once a court or the National Consumer Tribunal approves your restructured repayment plan, the counsellor’s job continues for the full life of the plan. The aftercare fee covers tracking each payment through the distribution account, confirming that every creditor receives the correct amount, handling correspondence with credit providers, and reviewing your finances periodically. If your income changes materially, the counsellor can apply to adjust the repayment plan so you stay in compliance rather than sliding into default.
Other Fees on Your Statement
Aftercare is not the only charge, and confusing the different line items is a common source of complaints.
The Restructuring Fee
Before aftercare fees begin, your counsellor charges an upfront restructuring fee for assessing your finances, negotiating with creditors, and preparing the court application. The NCR caps this at the lesser of your first monthly installment or R6,000, excluding VAT. The full restructuring fee is payable with your first installment, which is why the aftercare fee only starts from the second month after the restructuring fee is settled.1National Credit Regulator. Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines
Payment Distribution Agent Fees
Your monthly payment doesn’t go straight to creditors. It flows through a registered Payment Distribution Agent, which collects the single payment and splits it among your creditors according to the court order. PDAs charge a small fee for each distribution, typically around R15 per creditor. Six creditors means roughly R90 a month in PDA charges. These are separate from your counsellor’s aftercare fee and appear as their own line item on your distribution statement.
When Aftercare Fees Start and Stop
Aftercare payments begin in the second month after the restructuring fee has been paid, and then recur every month for the full duration of your repayment plan.1National Credit Regulator. Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines For many consumers that means three to five years of monthly charges, sometimes longer depending on the debt size and the restructured terms.
Charges stop when one of three things happens: you settle all debts listed under the rearrangement order, you formally exit debt review through a court application, or the court terminates the debt review. No further aftercare fees are permitted once your counsellor issues the Form 19 clearance certificate to the credit bureaus.3National Credit Regulator. Form 19 – Clearance Certificate Issued If you settle earlier than projected, the fees end with the final distribution.
If You Stop Paying the Fee
A debt counsellor cannot unilaterally withdraw you from debt review because you’ve missed fee payments. What they can do is suspend their services. You remain legally under debt review at whatever stage you had reached, and creditors still can’t take legal action on debts covered by the order, but nobody is actively managing your distributions or answering creditor queries on your behalf.
The suspension is recorded by submitting Form 17W(b) to your credit providers and flagging the suspension on the NCR’s Debt Help System. To lift it, you pay the outstanding fees.4National Credit Regulator. Withdrawal From Debt Review Guidelines
If You’re Being Overcharged
The NCR’s fee guidelines exist because overcharging has been a persistent problem in the industry. If your statement shows an aftercare fee above the R400 cap, or the 3% reduction never kicks in from month 25, you have grounds for a complaint. The NCR registers and regulates all debt counsellors and has authority to investigate fee disputes.5South African Government. National Credit Act 34 of 2005
Raise it in writing with your counsellor first. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, lodge a formal complaint with the NCR through its website or offices. Keep copies of your monthly distribution statements, because the aftercare fee appears as a separate line item and discrepancies are straightforward to spot on paper. A counsellor who consistently charges above the cap risks losing their NCR registration.