Enter your monthly take-home income and what you support your family with. The calculator shows your black tax ratio, what it adds up to over a year and five years, and what each budget band would mean for your income.
See what family financial support takes from your income, where it goes, and what it adds up to over five years.
Where the support goes
| Category | Per month | % of support | % of income |
|---|
What each band would mean for your income
| Support at | Per month | Per year |
|---|
Use this to set a family support figure in advance, rather than deciding request by request.
For scale
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How the ratio works. Ratio = monthly family support divided by monthly take-home income, times 100. The five bands (under 10%, 10% to 25%, 25% to 40%, 40% to 60%, 60% and above) are adapted from a Cowrywise report cited by Nairametrics. They are a budgeting guide, not a financial or medical standard, and a higher ratio is not a verdict on anyone's choices. Where a ratio sits exactly on a band edge, it falls in the higher band.
Privacy: the figures you enter are calculated in your browser and are not stored or sent anywhere. Site analytics may record that the tool was used. When you press Calculate, your browser requests current exchange rates from open.er-api.com, a free third-party service that can see your IP address but receives none of your figures. USD conversions are estimates.
How the Black Tax Calculator works
- Ratio: monthly family support divided by monthly take-home income, times 100.
- Bands: under 10%, 10% to 25%, 25% to 40%, 40% to 60% and 60% and above, adapted from a Cowrywise report cited by Nairametrics. A budgeting guide, not a standard.
- Transfer costs: optional. Prefilled with the World Bank’s 8.46% average for sending US$200 to Sub-Saharan Africa (Q3 2025), and you can change it.
- Privacy: calculated in your browser. Your figures are not stored or sent.
Want the full guide? Read Black Tax: What Family Support Really Costs and How to Plan for It.
FAQ
Is my financial information stored?
No. The calculation runs in your browser, and the figures you enter are not stored or sent. Site analytics may record that the tool was used.
Which income should I enter?
Monthly take-home income, after tax and deductions, from all jobs, in the same currency you pay support in.
Where do the ratio bands come from?
They are adapted from a Cowrywise report cited by Nairametrics. They are a budgeting guide, not an official standard.
Sources