Split a gross salary into its components
Enter the gross salary and split it by percentage or by amount across basic pay and allowances, to see the GOSI deduction, the net salary and the cost of the employee to the business under Saudi rules.
Gross salary is one number in a job offer, but on the payroll it is several components: basic salary, housing allowance, transport allowance and other allowances. How the same amount is split across them changes what is deducted from the employee for social insurance, and what the business pays on top of the salary.
The salary structure calculator works all of that out from a single input. It splits the gross by percentage or by amount, checks that the total matches the gross, then calculates the contributory wage, the employee share and the employer share according to the employee’s nationality and the GOSI system that applies.
What is the salary structure calculator?
A free tool that helps business owners and payroll staff try more than one salary structure before writing the contract or approving the payroll. For each split it shows four figures: the contributory wage, the employee deduction, the employer contribution and the monthly cost of the employee to the business, together with the net amount the employee receives.
- Two ways to split: as percentages of the gross, or as fixed amounts per component. Switching between them keeps your values.
- A check on the total: the calculator warns you if part of the gross is left unallocated or if the split goes over it.
- Nationality and system: it distinguishes a Saudi from a non-Saudi employee, and the existing GOSI system from the new one.
- A dated rate, not a fixed one: the new-system rate is read from the step table on the date you open the page, so it does not go out of date when the year changes.
How does the tool calculate the figures?
- Contributory wage = basic salary + housing allowance. This is what Article 17 of the Implementing Regulations of the new Social Insurance Law provides, and it is the same base under the existing system, so the transport allowance and other allowances sit outside it. Article 17 also adds commission and percentages of sales and profits to the basic wage. Read the detail in contributory wage.
- The ceiling is 45,000 SAR a month, and anything above it does not count toward contributions. It is set in Article 8 of the new Social Insurance Law, and it applies under the existing system as well.
- The floor is 1,500 SAR, and the calculator applies it under the existing system only. The new system refers the floor to the minimum set by the competent authority, and we have not obtained that figure, so the calculator applies no floor there.
- Employee deduction = contributory wage × employee rate.
- Employer contribution = contributory wage × employer rate, paid on top of the salary.
- Net salary = sum of the components minus the employee deduction, and cost of the employee to the business = sum of the components plus the employer contribution.
GOSI rates by system and nationality
Two systems run in parallel in Saudi Arabia. An employee with an uncompensated contribution record from before 3 July 2024 stays on the existing system. Under it a Saudi employee bears 9.75% (9% pensions and 0.75% SANED), and the employer bears 11.75% (9% pensions, 2% occupational hazards and 0.75% SANED). The difference between the two is explained in the two parallel systems at GOSI.
A new subscriber from 3 July 2024 falls under the new system. There the pensions rate rises by half a percentage point for each side on 1 July every year until 2028, while SANED and occupational hazards stay as they are. That is why we do not give it a single rate, but the table with its dates:
| From | Pensions, each side | Employee deduction | Employer contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 July 2024 | 9% | 9.75% | 11.75% |
| 1 July 2025 | 9.5% | 10.25% | 12.25% |
| 1 July 2026 | 10% | 10.75% | 12.75% |
| 1 July 2027 | 10.5% | 11.25% | 13.25% |
| 1 July 2028 | 11% | 11.75% | 13.75% |
For a non-Saudi employee, nothing is deducted from the salary, and the calculator counts 2% occupational hazards borne by the employer alone. The basis in the new system is the wording of its articles: the pensions article (Article 14) and the SANED article (Article 43) cover “Saudi” workers, while the occupational hazards article (Article 28) covers all workers inside the Kingdom with no nationality qualifier. For the components of the contribution wage and its limits, see the contribution wage at GOSI.
Do the rules set a ratio for housing allowance or basic salary?
In the sources we reviewed, we found no provision in the Labor Law that sets the housing allowance as a share of basic salary, or basic salary as a share of the gross. The split is agreed in the employment contract, which is why the calculator offers three presets only as starting points to try: startup 75/15/10, mid-size business 70/20/10, and large business 60/25/10/5 with other allowances. Adjust any preset to fit your company’s policy, and to organise grades and bands use the salary scale template.
What the split does decide is the contributory wage. Every riyal moved from the transport allowance to the housing allowance or basic salary raises it, and raises the deduction and contribution calculated on it, unless the wage is already above the ceiling. Moving it the other way lowers it. If you came looking for a housing allowance calculator, enter the housing allowance as its own component here: the split table shows its amount, and the results recalculate the contributory wage, the GOSI deduction and the employer contribution each time you change it.
Basic salary in overtime and end-of-service pay
The Labor Law uses two definitions of the wage, and each one enters a different calculation:
- Overtime: Article 107 prices overtime at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage, so that part of the formula follows the basic wage, not the gross. Whether the housing or transport allowance falls within the basic wage as Article 2 defines it is not settled by the text, so the calculator does not assume that moving an amount between basic pay and allowances changes overtime pay or leaves it as it is. The basis is explained in compensatory rest and the basis for computing overtime, and you can try the figures in the overtime calculator.
- End-of-service award: Article 84 calculates it on the “last wage”, and the wage in the law, when unqualified, means the actual wage, which is wider than the basic wage. Where the housing or transport allowance sits between the two definitions is not settled by the text of Article 2, so the calculator does not assume that changing the split changes the award or leaves it as it is. Calculate it separately in the end of service calculator.
Managing the salary structure for a whole team
This calculator is enough to try a split for one employee. A whole team needs the salary components kept for each employee and reviewed at every change. If you want the monthly net salary after other deductions, try the salary calculator.
Qoyod HR has a payroll with clear salary components for each employee, with their entitlements, allowances, deductions and advances, a Wage Protection file ready from the same payroll, and end of service, overtime and leave balance calculations built into the system. Qoyod HR is a standalone system on its own subscription. The connection to Qoyod Accounting is now available.
Limits of the calculator
- It calculates the monthly contribution under Saudi rules only. It is not connected to any authority and does not replace an official statement from the General Organization for Social Insurance.
- It assumes the housing allowance is paid in cash. Housing provided in kind is valued for contributions by a separate rule in Article 17 of the Regulations, and the calculator does not compute it.
- It does not cover a daily wage, piece rate or a percentage of sales (Article 18 of the Regulations), or a worker employed by more than one employer.
- It applies no floor to the contributory wage under the new system or for a non-Saudi employee, because the figure was not available to us from a statutory source.
- Rates change by decision of the competent authority. The figures on this page were last reviewed in October 2026.
Have some questions?
Quick answers to what business owners and payroll staff ask about splitting a salary.
What share of basic salary is the housing allowance?
In the sources we reviewed, we found no provision in the Labor Law that sets this share, so it is agreed in the employment contract. What matters is that the housing allowance counts with basic salary in the contributory wage, so raising it raises the GOSI deduction and the employer contribution.
Which salary components count toward GOSI contributions?
Basic salary and housing allowance, under both the existing and the new system. Article 17 of the Implementing Regulations of the new Social Insurance Law also adds commission and percentages of sales and profits to the basic wage. The transport allowance and other allowances do not count toward the contributory wage.
How much is deducted from a Saudi employee’s salary for GOSI?
Under the existing system, 9.75% of the contributory wage. Under the new system the rate steps up: 9.75% from 3 July 2024, 10.25% from 1 July 2025, 10.75% from 1 July 2026, 11.25% from 1 July 2027, 11.75% from 1 July 2028. The calculator picks the rate in force on the date you open the page.
Is anything deducted from a non-Saudi employee’s salary?
No, under neither the existing system nor the new system. The calculator counts 2% occupational hazards borne by the employer alone, so the net salary equals the sum of the components.
What if basic salary plus housing is above 45,000 SAR?
Contributions are calculated on 45,000 SAR only, and anything above it counts toward neither the deduction nor the employer contribution. The calculator shows a notice when this ceiling applies.
Does the salary split affect overtime and end-of-service pay?
Article 107 calculates overtime at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage, and Article 84 calculates the end-of-service award on the actual wage, which is wider than the basic wage. Where the housing and transport allowances sit between the two definitions is not settled by the text of Article 2, so calculate each one separately with the overtime calculator and the end of service calculator.