Calculate withholding tax on payments to non-residents
Pick the payment type and enter the amount; the calculator applies the withholding tax rate from ZATCA's table and shows the tax due and the net to the recipient.
When a business resident in Saudi Arabia pays a non-resident for a service or for income sourced in the Kingdom, it withholds part of the payment and remits it to ZATCA. That part is withholding tax, and its rate depends on the type of payment.
The withholding tax calculator does that step for you: pick the payment type, enter the amount, and it shows the tax due and the net the recipient receives, with the calculation broken down. For the tax itself, its scope and who must withhold it, see withholding tax in the Qoyod glossary, and the wider picture in types of taxes in Saudi Arabia.
What is the withholding tax calculator?
A free tool that applies the rate table in ZATCA's General Guideline for Withholding Tax (second version, May 2026) to the amount you enter. It updates instantly with no submit button and covers three cases: a gross amount the tax is deducted from, an agreed net amount where your business bears the tax, and a reduced rate under a double taxation treaty.
How is withholding tax calculated?
To calculate withholding tax, multiply the gross payment by the rate for its type, then subtract the result from the payment to get the net transferred to the recipient:
- Tax: gross amount × rate.
- Net to the recipient: gross amount − tax.
Example: a Saudi company engages a non-resident consulting firm for SAR 100,000. Technical and consulting services carry 5%, so the company withholds 100,000 × 5% = SAR 5,000, remits it to ZATCA, and transfers SAR 95,000 to the firm.
Withholding tax rates by payment type
These are the rates the calculator applies, as listed in the guideline's rate table:
| Payment type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Technical and consulting services | 5% |
| Management fees (management service contracts) | 20% |
| Royalties | 15% |
| Dividends | 5% |
| Rent (property in KSA or equipment used in KSA) | 5% |
| Loan charges | 5% |
| Insurance and reinsurance premiums | 5% |
| Air tickets and air or sea freight | 5% |
| International telecommunication services | 5% |
| Land transportation within KSA | 15% |
| Any other payments | 15% |
The 20% rate applies only to management fees, meaning payments under management service contracts. Management consulting is a consulting service at 5%. The table gives head-office or related-party services no rate of their own, so confirm their classification with your tax adviser.
When your business bears the tax
You may agree with a non-resident supplier that it receives a fixed net amount and your business bears the tax. In that case the tax is calculated on the grossed-up amount, not the agreed net. The gross amount is the net divided by (1 − rate), the method explained under gross-up.
Example: under a management services contract the recipient is to receive SAR 80,000 net. The gross amount is 80,000 ÷ (1 − 20%) = SAR 100,000, and the tax due is 100,000 − 80,000 = SAR 20,000. Calculating the tax on the net would give SAR 16,000, which is less than what is due.
Applying a double taxation treaty rate
Saudi Arabia has double taxation treaties with a number of countries, and a treaty may reduce the rate or exempt the payment. Choose "Treaty rate" in the calculator and enter the rate from the treaty text.
A reduced treaty rate applies only if the recipient is resident in the treaty country and is the beneficial owner, with a valid tax residency certificate and ZATCA's treaty-application form filed. The calculator does not determine any treaty's rate.
Withholding tax deadlines and late-payment penalty
- Monthly return: file and pay within the first 10 days of the month after the month of payment to the beneficiary.
- Annual return: file within 120 days of fiscal year-end, or 60 days for partnerships.
- Late-payment penalty: 1% of unpaid tax per 30 days of delay.
For the other violations and their penalties, see ZATCA violations and penalties in Saudi Arabia.
What the calculator leaves out
- VAT: withholding tax is separate from VAT; imported services may fall under VAT reverse charge, which this calculator does not compute. To work out VAT on your invoices, use the VAT calculator.
- Classifying the payment: the calculator applies the rate of the type you pick; it does not decide whether a payment is subject to the tax or which category it belongs to.
- Treaty rates: you enter them from the treaty text; the calculator suggests no rate for any country.
The calculator is a guide, not tax advice.
Record the withholding in your books
Once you know the tax, record the withholding entry manually through journal entries in Qoyod. To draft the accounting entry, use the journal entry generator, and to track withholding payments in an editable sheet, download the withholding tax calculator template.
Why use the Qoyod withholding tax calculator
- Current rates: the table comes from the second version of ZATCA's General Guideline for Withholding Tax (May 2026).
- Gross or net: calculates the tax from the gross amount or from an agreed net.
- Treaty rate: a separate field for a reduced rate, with the conditions for applying it.
- Clear breakdown: the basis of every figure on its own line.
Got questions?
Straight answers to what businesses ask about calculating and paying withholding tax.
What is the withholding tax rate on consulting services?
5%. ZATCA's General Guideline for Withholding Tax places technical and consulting services, management consulting included, in the 5% category. The 20% rate is for management fees, meaning payments under management service contracts.
Who pays withholding tax?
The tax falls on the non-resident recipient's income, but the party that must deduct and remit it is the payer resident in the Kingdom, or the non-resident's permanent establishment there. It withholds the tax from the payment, remits it to ZATCA and files the return.
Is the tax calculated on the gross or the net amount?
On the gross amount. If you agree that the recipient receives a fixed net and your business bears the tax, it is calculated on the grossed-up amount, the net divided by one minus the rate, not on the agreed net.
When must withholding tax be paid?
File the monthly return and pay within the first 10 days of the month after the month of payment to the beneficiary, and file the annual return within 120 days of fiscal year-end (60 days for partnerships). Late payment carries a penalty of 1% of unpaid tax per 30 days of delay.
Can a double taxation treaty reduce the rate?
Yes, if the recipient is resident in the treaty country and is the beneficial owner, with a valid tax residency certificate and ZATCA's treaty-application form filed. Enter the rate from the treaty text in the treaty rate field; the calculator does not determine it.
Is withholding tax the same as VAT?
No. Withholding tax is separate from VAT; imported services may fall under VAT reverse charge, which this calculator does not compute. Each tax has its own return with ZATCA.