Saudi Payroll 2026: Mudad, GOSI and Qiwa Explained
A plain guide to Saudi payroll in 2026: what Mudad's wage file needs, what GOSI takes from Saudis and non-Saudis, why Qiwa contracts matter, and a checklist.
Saudi Arabia
Payroll, HR and accounting for companies in Saudi Arabia
Run the month from leave to the Mudad file, charge GOSI and end of service, and file VAT and Zakat, in Arabic and English.
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- Mudad wage file
- GOSI contributions
- End-of-service award
- VAT and Zakat
What the rules ask, and what Tarleaks does
Each rule names its official source and what Tarleaks does about it today. Where the product covers only part of a rule, the gap is written next to it.
- Built in Works today in the app.
- Built in, switch on Works today once an administrator switches it on.
- Partly Covers part of the rule. The gap is written beside it.
- Built in, ask us Built in. Ask us how to set it up for your company.
| Rule | What you must do | What Tarleaks does | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wage protection file through Mudad | Upload the wage protection file through Mudad. Since 1 March 2025 the allowed upload period is 30 days, not 60.Source: Saudi Press Agency (HRSD announcement) | Writes the Mudad payroll file from the approved run and refuses a file where anyone's deductions exceed half of salary.The file is not digitally signed. You upload it through your own Mudad account, so check it with your first live upload.Payroll and WPS | Built in, ask us |
| Social insurance (General Organization for Social Insurance, GOSI) | Saudis pay 9% and the employer 9% for annuities; the employer pays 2% occupational hazards for every employee; the contributory wage is capped at SAR 45,000 a month.Source: GOSI employer FAQ | Charges GOSI to Saudi nationals, the employer's hazards share for every employee and the SAR 45,000 cap, and reports what is owed with a CSV export.The new-pension rates are applied by hire date (from 3 July 2024). The law applies them to people with no contributions before that date, so check anyone hired since then who contributed earlier.Payroll and WPS | Partly |
| End-of-service award | Pay the end-of-service award set by the Labour Law when employment ends. The rules are on the ministry's site.Source: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) | Quotes the award for any contract and leaving date, applies the reduced share on resignation, and builds the full settlement with leave and loans.Payroll and WPS | Built in |
| Saudization (Nitaqat) | Your band (Platinum, High Green, Mid Green, Low Green or Red) depends on your Saudization rate and your number of employees.Source: Qiwa | Shows an indicative band from your Saudi and non-Saudi headcount, simulates planned Saudi hires, and keeps dated snapshots.It uses general thresholds and an older set of colours. The rates for your activity and Qiwa's five bands are not applied, so your official band is the one in Qiwa.HR | Partly |
| Employment contracts on Qiwa | Since 15 April 2026, a Saudi employee counts for Nitaqat only when their contract is documented on Qiwa.Source: HRSD | Stores each person's Qiwa contract number and status, and the Saudi leaving checklist includes cancelling the Qiwa contract.Tarleaks does not connect to Qiwa. Contracts are documented on Qiwa itself.HR | Partly |
| Iqamas and work permits | Keep each employee's Iqama and work permit current and renew them before they expire. The rules are on the ministry's site.Source: HRSD | Keeps Iqamas, visas and work permits in one register, alerts HR and the manager before they expire, and checks Iqama and national ID numbers on save.HR | Built in |
| Overtime and Ramadan hours | Pay overtime at the premium the Labour Law sets. The rules are on the ministry's site.Source: HRSD | Installs Saudi starter overtime rates you can edit, shortens the working day in Ramadan, and pays approved overtime hours in the run.Payroll prices overtime with its own weekday rate. The night, rest-day and holiday rates set in Attendance are not applied to pay yet.Attendance | Partly |
| VAT return to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) | File each period's VAT return with ZATCA. The rules are on the authority's site.Source: ZATCA | Builds the Saudi VAT return in ZATCA's boxes from posted entries, opens the entries behind every box, and freezes a return once it is filed.Accounting | Built in |
| Zakat and withholding tax | File the Zakat declaration and the withholding tax returns with ZATCA. The rules are on the authority's site.Source: ZATCA | Computes the Zakat base, records withholding tax with numbered vendor certificates, and lists every filing date on one calendar.Accounting | Built in, switch on |
| E-invoicing Phase 2 (FATOORA) | Wave 25 covers VAT-able revenue above SAR 187,500 in any of 2022 to 2025; integration with FATOORA is due by 1 February 2027.Source: ZATCA, Wave 25 announcement | Connects each branch to ZATCA, signs every invoice with its QR code, clears business invoices and reports consumer invoices within 24 hours.Ask us how to set it up for your company.Accounting | Built in, ask us |
Rules checked against official sources on 8 October 2026. A named reviewer has not signed these pages yet, so confirm your own case with your adviser.
Start with these apps
Most Saudi companies start with these four. Each joins the same people and ledger.
Payroll & WPS
Runs the month with GOSI and end of service, and writes the Mudad file.
HR Management
One record per person, with Iqamas, Qiwa contract numbers and an indicative Nitaqat band.
Time & Attendance
Leave, timesheets, Saudi overtime starter rates and the shorter Ramadan day.
Accounting & E-Invoicing
The Saudi VAT return, Zakat and withholding tax, and ZATCA e-invoicing.
Local facts
What the Saudi pack and settings set up for you.
- Currency
- Saudi riyal (SAR), from the Saudi pack.
- Taxes in the pack
- VAT at 15%, with the Saudi VAT return layout.
- Wage file
- Mudad payroll file, uploaded through your own Mudad account.
- Week and holidays
- Weekly rest days and public holidays are settings (Friday and Saturday unless you change them).
- Ramadan
- Set the Ramadan dates and a shorter day (six hours by default).
- IDs
- Iqama and national ID numbers are checked when a record is saved.
A typical month
Four steps, each a real flow in the product.
Leave and hours are approved
Managers approve leave and timesheets. Approved leave reaches payroll as typed days, and unpaid leave reduces pay.
One person prepares the run, another approves it
The run is computed with GOSI and its flags explained, then a second person approves it, which locks the payslips.
The Mudad file is uploaded
The file is checked and generated, you upload it through your own Mudad account, and its status is recorded.
Payroll reaches the ledger
The run posts one balanced entry to the ledger, ready for the month-end close.
Guides
Plain-language guides from our blog, with their official sources, and step-by-step guides for each role.
Nitaqat Bands in 2026: How Your Colour Is Calculated
How Saudi Nitaqat bands work in 2026: the five colours, what sets your required Saudization rate, the Qiwa contract rule from 15 April 2026, and next steps.
ZATCA Phase 2 Waves: Which One Are You In?
Find your ZATCA e-invoicing integration wave from your VAT revenue: waves 23, 24 and 25 compared, their deadlines, and what to do if yours has passed.
Step-by-step role guides
Questions
Does Tarleaks create the Mudad wage file?
Yes. Payroll writes the Mudad payroll file from the approved run and blocks a file where deductions exceed half of salary. The file is not digitally signed: upload it through your own Mudad account and check your first upload.
How does it calculate GOSI?
The Saudi pack charges annuities to Saudi nationals, the employer's occupational-hazards share for every employee, and caps the base at SAR 45,000 a month. The new-pension rates are applied by hire date from 3 July 2024; the law applies them to people with no earlier contributions, so check those cases.
Does it show my Nitaqat band?
It shows an indicative band from your headcount, a what-if for planned Saudi hires and dated snapshots. It uses general thresholds, not the rates for your activity, so your official band is the one in Qiwa.
Is ZATCA Phase 2 e-invoicing available?
It is built in: connecting a branch, signed invoices with QR codes, clearance and reporting. Ask us how to set it up for your company.
Does it connect to Qiwa, Mudad or GOSI directly?
No. HR stores each person's Qiwa contract number and status, Payroll writes the Mudad file you upload yourself, and the contributions report gives the figures to reconcile with GOSI.
Can one company run Saudi and UAE branches?
Yes. Each branch follows its own country pack, so a Riyadh branch and a Dubai branch can be paid in the same run, and each sees its own VAT return layout.
Not covered yet
- Nitaqat rates by activity and Qiwa's five bands.
- GOSI new-pension rules by prior contributions: the product splits by hire date.
- A digitally signed Mudad file, or upload to Mudad from Tarleaks.
- Any direct connection to Qiwa, Mudad or GOSI.
- Night, rest-day and holiday overtime rates in the pay run.
See your own Saudi payroll in Tarleaks
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