Country guide · 6 min read · Updated October 2026
Payroll in Saudi Arabia: the month, the calendar and a salary worked through
How a payroll month runs in Saudi Arabia: the deadlines, social insurance branch by branch on both tiers, a salary worked through to net pay and employer cost, overtime, the year's holidays and what is changing.
How does payroll work in Saudi Arabia?
Each month, wages go into each employee's account at a bank in the Kingdom and are reported on Mudad. GOSI contributions are due by the 15th of the next month, on basic pay plus housing. For a Saudi national who first joined GOSI from 3 July 2024, that is 12.75% from the employer and 10.75% from the employee. For an expatriate, it is 2% from the employer. There is no personal income tax. Every employee builds up end of service.
Know the month's deadlines
Five deadlines shape a Saudi payroll. Each one sits with your own entity.
| Deadline | What is due |
|---|---|
| Once a month, on the pay date in the contract | Wages, into each employee's account at a bank in the Kingdom, with the salary file uploaded to Mudad |
| By the last day of the month someone joins | Registering them with GOSI |
| By the last day of the month someone leaves | Reporting to GOSI that they have left |
| By the 15th of the next month | GOSI contributions, both shares together |
| When employment ends | Final pay and every amount owed within a week, or two weeks when the employee ended the contract |
A change to an employee's details is reported to GOSI by the last day of the month it happens. Contributions paid late carry a fine of 2% of the amount due for each month late, or part of a month.
Follow one salary through the month
Take a salary of SAR 13,500 a month: SAR 10,000 basic pay, SAR 2,500 housing and SAR 1,000 transport. GOSI is worked out on SAR 12,500, the basic pay and housing. Here is the same salary for a Saudi national who first joined GOSI from 3 July 2024, and for an expatriate, at the rates in force since 1 July 2026.
| A Saudi national, first joined from 3 July 2024 | An expatriate | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | SAR 13,500 | SAR 13,500 |
| GOSI, from the employee | SAR 1,343.75 | Nothing |
| Net pay | SAR 12,156.25 | SAR 13,500 |
| GOSI, from the employer | SAR 1,593.75 | SAR 250 |
| Work-permit levy | Nothing | SAR 700 |
| End of service, built up each month | SAR 562.50 | SAR 562.50 |
| The employer's cost for the month | SAR 15,656.25 | SAR 15,012.50 |
The levy shown is the rate where non-Saudi nationals do not outnumber Saudi nationals. Where they do, it is SAR 800 a month.
End of service is worked out on the full wage, transport included. It builds up at half a month's wage for each of the first five years, then a month's wage for each year after.
For a Saudi national who first joined GOSI before 3 July 2024, the same salary has SAR 1,218.75 deducted from pay. Their employer pays SAR 1,468.75.
Health insurance comes on top for both, at the premium your insurer sets.
Pay overtime at the right rate
| What it earns | |
|---|---|
| Hours beyond 8 a day, or beyond 48 a week where you work to a weekly standard | The hourly wage plus 50% of the basic hourly wage |
| Hours worked on an official holiday | Overtime, for every hour |
| Paid time off instead, with the employee's consent | At least 1.5 hours off for each hour of overtime |
Time off in place of overtime pay is taken within 60 days, unless you both agree otherwise. It comes to no more than 30 days in a year. Time off still owed when someone leaves is paid out.
Overtime may not pass 720 hours in a year unless the employee agrees. In Ramadan, Muslim employees work at most 6 hours a day and 36 a week.
Mark the year's public holidays
Each official holiday is paid at the full wage.
| Holiday | Days |
|---|---|
| Founding Day | One day, the 22nd of February |
| Eid al-Fitr | Four days, from the day after the 29th of Ramadan |
| Eid al-Adha | Four days, from Arafat Day |
| National Day | One day, the 23rd of September |
The two Eids follow the Umm al-Qura calendar. A holiday that falls on the weekly rest day is made up with a day before or after it. One that falls during annual leave extends the leave. One that falls during sick leave is paid at the full wage. Founding Day or National Day falling within an Eid is not made up.
Pay through a Saudi bank, and set each Saudi national's pay high enough to count
Wages are paid in riyals, once a month for monthly-paid staff, into an account at a bank in the Kingdom. The employer provides housing or a cash allowance in its place, and transport or an allowance for it.
Deductions from pay are limited. Recovering a loan from the employer takes no more than 10% of the wage. All deductions together stay within half the wage.
The Labour Law lets the Council of Ministers set a minimum wage. For a Saudi national, the threshold to plan around is Nitaqat's. A Saudi national counts as one employee towards your Saudization share when their pay for GOSI is at least SAR 4,000 a month. From SAR 3,000 up to that, they count as half. Below SAR 3,000, they do not count.
Plan for the rises already scheduled
| When | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2027 | GOSI for Saudi nationals who first joined from 3 July 2024 rises to 13.25% from the employer and 11.25% from the employee |
| 1 July 2028 | It rises again, to 13.75% from the employer and 11.75% from the employee. The pension branch then stands at 11% on each side |
Each change is in our engine before the run it affects. You are told what changed and what it does to your figures.
Run the month from one record
A Saudi month brings together the salary file for Mudad, GOSI on two tiers, a levy for each expatriate and end of service for everyone. A payroll fed from several places struggles to keep them in step.
On our payroll, each comes from one record, on an engine we build and maintain for Saudi law. Your entity uploads the salary file, submits the GOSI schedule and pays its people.
Common questions.
When are GOSI contributions due?
Which GOSI rate applies to a Saudi hire?
Is there income tax on salaries in Saudi Arabia?
See how a payroll month runs with us.
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