primary · National Treasury / SAnews
Per child per month
R580 / month
From 2026-04-01
From R560 to R580.
I look after a child · SASSA
Child Support Grant
Monthly amount per child under 18 for a primary caregiver who passes the means test. A top-up exists for orphans in kinship care.
R580 / month
Hover the amount for four other currencies (live rate).
Who it is for
Primary caregiver of a child under 18, South African citizen/permanent resident/refugee, living in SA.
State child assistance. Not private medical-scheme child rates, and not maintenance paid by a parent through court.
Conditions
- Child
- Under 18. Paid per child.
- Means test
- Single about R5,800/month (R69,600/year); married R11,600/month (R139,200/year) from April 2026. No asset test.
Primary source first. A disputed or stale figure stays visible. Hover a rand or dollar figure for four other currencies.
disputed · GroundUp
Orphan / kinship top-up (GroundUp)
R250 extra (R830 total) / month
From 2026-04-01
GroundUp: R250 top-up. Other aggregators list R280 or R290. Confirm with SASSA.
Cross-checks
- agrees Everything you need to know about social grants Base rate R580 agrees with Budget.
- note Everything you need to know about social grants Top-up amount is not in the Budget table. GroundUp R250 vs other sites R280–R290 — treat as unverified until SASSA confirms.
- disagrees The Citizen — SASSA payment-date articles Citizen listed R560.
How to apply
SASSA. Child’s birth certificate, caregiver ID, proof of income.
Methodology
coreza_ss_methodology.sassa_grant_rates
Headline amounts are the National Treasury 2026 Budget figures from 1 April 2026. Cross-checks are stored on each grant. Sliding-scale means tests can pay less than the maximum. Change this row in Core SA and the Compass follows.
- Take the Budget Review amount as the maximum.
- Keep a cross-check (GroundUp, SASSA, news). If a page still lists the pre-April figure, mark it as disagreeing, do not overwrite the Budget amount.
- Means-test thresholds are aggregator figures unless SASSA publishes a table — labelled as such on the grant.
Where sources disagree
- noteThe Citizen Jul/Aug 2026 payment-date articles still listed pre-April amounts.
- noteFoster child: Budget R1,295 vs some explainers R1,290.