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What is the accrual system and how is it calculated?

In our previous blog post, “Understanding the Divorce procedure” we discussed that how you are married, whether in community of property, out of community of property without the accrual or out of community of property with the accrual, is an important factor to take into consideration when applying for or going through a divorce. In this blog post, we will be sharing a basic overview of what the accrual system is and how it is calculated. 

In basic terms, the accrual refers to the growth in the value of your estate from the date of your marriage until the date of the end of your marriage (whether by divorce or by death of either spouse). It was adopted into our legal system in 1984, by way of the Matrimonial Property Act, and since then every marriage entered into out of community of property is subject to the accrual system – unless it has been expressly excluded in your ante-nuptial contract (ANC). 

In this marriage system, spouses share only in the profits that accumulated during the marriage, and not in any liabilities or losses. Essentially, this means that if your spouse’s estate has more liabilities than assets, you will not share in that estate or be liable for those debts. 

There are a number of conditions to take into consideration when calculating the accrual; 

  • • You will only be able to share in the accrual (or profits) that accumulate during the marriage, once the marriage has ended; 
  • • Your right to claim is not transferable and neither your creditors nor your spouse’s creditors can make a claim against the accrual during the course of the marriage; 
  • • The calculation to determine which estate shows no accrual or a smaller accrual is done at the end of the marriage. 


When calculating the accrual, you will need to first determine the net value of your estate (this is the difference between the value of your assets and your debts or liabilities) on the day that either you or your spouse pass away, or when a final divorce order is granted. Once you have that figure, you will then deduct the net value of your estate at the start of your marriage (which will be calculated before you get married and should be set out in your ANC) to reach your accrual value. 

How you defined your assets in your ANC – either as ‘starting values’ or ‘excluded values’ play an important role in how the accrual is calculated. 


Starting values refers to the net value of your estate at the start of your marriage. This value, and how it was calculated, is then set out in your ANC and when calculating the accrual, is adjusted according to the value of money from the date of your marriage until the date of the end of the marriage. The Matrimonial Property Act states that the starting value should be “translated” to the Rand value at the end of the marriage due to the eroding effect of inflation. This is done by using the consumer price index (CPI) as published from time to time in the Government Gazette. There are however numerous websites that you can use that will provide you with the CPI and even do the calculation for you. 


Excluded assets refers to a list of the assets (stated in your ANC) that you would like excluded from the calculation of the accrual completely. These assets are not included when calculating the value of your estate at either the start or the end of the marriage. 


Besides your own excluded assets, there is another list of assets that are excluded, in terms of the Matrimonial Property Act. These include; 


  • • Any amount accrued by way of special damages 
  • • Any amount received by way of inheritance, legacy or donation. 

Below is an example of how to calculate the accrual value: 



The difference between the accrual of Spouse 1 and Spouse 2 is R805 000.00 – R416 000.00 = R381 000.00. As S2’s accrual is less that S1’s accrual, they have a claim for half of the difference. That is R381 000.00 ÷ 2 = R194 500.00. So, at the end of the marriage S1 will need to pay S2 R194 500.00. 


If you would like a more comprehensive and detailed explanation of the accrual, please contact us on 011 475 1398 or email mouchanev@alanjoseatt.co.za. 




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