Saudi Arabia Withholding tax rates
Saudi Arabia Withholding tax rates: no single figure applies. The reason is set out below, cited to the governing instrument. Last checked against the official source on 10 Aug 2026.
The withholding taxes Saudi Arabia levies on payments from a source in the Kingdom to non-residents - dividends, loan charges (interest), royalties, management fees, technical and consulting services and other services - each at its domestic statutory rate before any double-tax agreement relief. Imposed by Article 68 of the Income Tax Law (Royal Decree No. M/1 of 15/1/1425H) and Article 63 of its Implementing Regulations; administered by ZATCA.
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| Current value | structured — see the API |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2004-03-06 |
| Official source | ZATCA Tax Circular 'Implementation of Withholding Tax (WHT) Under the Double Taxation Agreement', Version 1, January 2025, s.3.1.5: 'in accordance with Article 68 of the Law and Article 63 of the Regulations, the WHT rates ... apply depending on the type of income: Management fees 20%; Royalties 15%; Dividends 5%; Rent 5%; Insurance/reinsurance 5%; Loan returns 5%; Technical & consulting services 5%; Airline tickets/air or sea freight 5%; International telecommunication services 5%; Any other services from sources in KSA 15%.' |
| Last verified | 2026-08-10 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
THERE IS NO SINGLE WITHHOLDING TAX RATE, WHICH IS WHY value IS NULL. Saudi Arabia withholds at rates from 5% to 20% depending entirely on the character of the payment - a management fee bears 20%, a royalty 15%, a dividend or loan charge 5%, and unclassified services 15%. A caller wanting a number must name which payment type; read withholding_rates rather than expecting a headline figure. ALL RATES ARE DOMESTIC STATUTORY RATES, BEFORE TREATY RELIEF. Saudi Arabia has more than 56 double-tax agreements and, as ZATCA's January 2025 circular states, 'DTAs take precedence over the domestic law and taxpayers may benefit from relevant WHT relief available under an applicable DTA' - either at source (with an authenticated tax residency certificate lodged via the ZATCA portal) or by refund after withholding at the domestic rate. We do NOT serve treaty rates: they are bilateral, and applying one is a legal determination (beneficial ownership, residence, documentation) rather than a lookup. WHT applies only to cross-border payments: 'KSA does not impose WHT on domestic payments'. WHT is a final tax on the non-resident, withheld by the resident payer or Saudi permanent establishment, payable to ZATCA within the first ten days of the month following payment. Technical and consulting fees are within scope 'regardless of the place of performance of such services'. The circular's rate table also distinguishes payments to non-resident related parties; under Article 63 of the Regulations, payments to a head office or related company for services attract 15% rather than the 5% third-party services rate. The series effective_from is the date of the Income Tax Law, Royal Decree No. M/1 dated 15/1/1425H (6 March 2004); the Article 68 rate ceilings have not changed since. Rates below 5% and below the 15%/20% ceilings for specific categories are fixed by Article 63 of the Implementing Regulations (Ministerial Resolution No. 1535 of 11/6/1425H, as amended).
Get it programmatically
curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/sa/withholding-tax
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/sa/withholding-tax/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://asiaref.dev/provenance/sa/withholding-taxOther Saudi Arabia series: SAMA Repo Rate · Value Added Tax (standard rate) · VAT registration threshold · Minimum wage for Saudi nationals (Saudization / Nitaqat) · Public holidays · Consumer Price Index inflation (year-on-year) · Corporate income tax rate · Statutory default interest · Personal income tax · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: Singapore · South Korea · Sri Lanka · Taiwan · Thailand · all 28