Skills Development Levy · Grant Recovery

How to Claim SETA Grants in South Africa (2026 Guide)

Every South African employer with a payroll above R500,000 pays 1% of payroll as the Skills Development Levy (SDL) to SARS. This guide shows exactly how to recover that levy — plus additional discretionary funding — through your governing SETA.

1. Understand the two grant types

• Mandatory Grant (20% of SDL): Refunded automatically when you submit a compliant Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR) by 30 April each year.
• Pivotal / Discretionary Grant (up to 49.5% of SDL): Awarded against advertised SETA windows for scarce & critical skills — learnerships, internships, apprenticeships and bursaries.

2. Register and appoint an SDF

Register your organisation with the SETA that governs your primary SIC code, using your SDL reference from SARS. Then appoint a Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) — internal or external — who is empowered to sign off WSP/ATR submissions on the SETA's Indicium / MIS portal.

3. Build a compliant WSP & ATR

The WSP is your planned training for the year ahead; the ATR is proof of training already delivered. Both must map to registered SAQA qualifications or unit standards. This is where i2G learning material carries the audit — every pack ships with SAQA IDs, NQF levels and credit-bearing evidence trails ready for SETA verification.

4. Submit by 30 April

Late submissions forfeit the entire Mandatory Grant for that year. Diarise 30 April, upload via the SETA's online portal, and retain the SDF sign-off certificate.

5. Apply for discretionary funding

Each SETA publishes discretionary grant windows several times a year for learnerships, bursaries and TVET partnerships. See the current 21-SETA grant window tracker for open dates and focus areas.

6. Stack against B-BBEE

Every Rand spent on accredited training also earns Skills Development points on your B-BBEE scorecard. Model the combined SDL refund + B-BBEE points using our ROI Calculator.