Saudi Company Compliance Calendar 2026: Key Deadlines

A Saudi company compliance calendar helps management track the recurring government, tax, employment, payroll, corporate, and licensing obligations that continue after a company has been established in Saudi Arabia.

Last updated: October 2026.

Company formation is a one-time project. Compliance is ongoing.

After receiving the Commercial Registration, companies may need to manage monthly payroll and GOSI obligations, VAT and withholding-tax filings, annual Commercial Registration confirmation, financial-statement filing, employee renewals, sector licences, and other activity-specific requirements.

Not every obligation in this guide applies to every company. The correct calendar depends on the company’s ownership, tax registrations, employees, business activities, licences, and financial year.

If your company has just been incorporated, start with our After Company Formation in Saudi Arabia: 2026 Guide.

Saudi Company Compliance Calendar: Quick Answer

A practical Saudi compliance calendar should normally track obligations in four groups:

Monthly: payroll, Wage Protection, GOSI, withholding tax where applicable, and employee-data changes.
Quarterly or monthly: VAT returns depending on the taxpayer’s filing period.
Annual: Commercial Registration confirmation, Zakat or Corporate Income Tax returns, financial statements, and applicable annual filings.
Event-driven: employee onboarding and termination, licence renewals, address changes, manager changes, new activities, visas, work permits, and regulated-sector approvals.

The most effective approach is to maintain one central compliance calendar with the responsible person, due date, status, supporting documents, and evidence of completion for every obligation.

Saudi Compliance Calendar at a Glance

Frequency	Compliance Item	Typical Timing
Monthly	Payroll	According to employment contracts and payroll cycle
Monthly	Wage Protection	Monthly wage-payment data / applicable WPS process
Monthly	GOSI contributions	Within the first 15 days of the following month
Monthly, if applicable	Withholding Tax	Within the first 10 days of the month following payment to the non-resident
Monthly, if applicable	VAT	Last day of the month following the tax period
Quarterly, if applicable	VAT	Last day of the month following the end of the quarter
Annual	Commercial Registration confirmation	Based on the Commercial Registration issuance date
Annual	Zakat / Corporate Income Tax	Within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year
Annual	Financial statements	Within six months after the end of the fiscal year
Annual, if applicable	Annual Withholding Tax statement	Generally within 120 days after fiscal year-end
Expiry-based	Sector and operational licences	According to each licence’s validity or regulatory requirement
Expiry-based	Employee immigration and insurance	According to each employee’s applicable dates

This table is a framework rather than a universal list. A regulated manufacturer with foreign employees will normally have more recurring obligations than a small professional-services company.

Monthly Saudi Company Compliance Requirements

1. Payroll

Companies with employees should operate a controlled monthly payroll process.

The payroll review should normally include:

Basic salary.
Allowances.
Overtime where applicable.
Leave adjustments.
Deductions.
GOSI contributions.
Employee additions and terminations.
Final settlements.
Bank-payment files.
Payslips.
Payroll accounting.

The amounts paid should remain consistent with documented employment terms and approved employee changes.

2. Wage Protection

Saudi Arabia’s Wage Protection System monitors wage-payment data for private-sector establishments.

Monthly-paid employees must generally receive their wages monthly, and establishments subject to Wage Protection should maintain the applicable salary-payment and compliance process.

The company should therefore verify every month that:

All active employees are included in payroll.
Salary amounts match the employment records.
Bank details are correct.
Salary payments have been processed on time.
Any required Wage Protection file or data has been handled correctly.
Payment failures or discrepancies have been investigated.

Payroll should not be treated as only a finance function. It is also an employment-compliance process.

3. GOSI Contributions

Employers must manage the social-insurance contributions applicable to their registered employees.

Under the applicable GOSI rules, contributions are generally payable within the first 15 days of the month following the month for which they are due.

Each month, review:

New employees.
Terminated employees.
Contribution wages.
Employee status.
Amounts due.
Payment confirmation.
Any differences between payroll and GOSI records.

Employee changes should be reflected promptly so that payroll, GOSI, Qiwa, and employment records remain aligned.

4. Withholding Tax

Saudi companies making certain payments to non-residents may have a Withholding Tax (WHT) obligation.

Examples can include certain payments for:

Services.
Management fees.
Royalties.
Interest or financing charges.
Rent.
Technical or consulting arrangements.
Other payments falling within Saudi withholding-tax rules.

The correct rate depends on the nature of the payment and applicable tax rules or treaty position.

Where withholding tax applies, the monthly statement and payment are generally due within the first 10 days of the month following the month in which the payment was made to the non-resident beneficiary.

If the company regularly pays an overseas parent company, shareholder, consultant, software provider, or other non-resident supplier, WHT should form part of the monthly accounts-payable review.

5. Employee and Qiwa Changes

There is no single monthly Qiwa return that applies to every employer, but companies should review their labour records whenever workforce changes occur.

Typical monthly checks include:

New employment contracts.
Contract amendments.
Employee transfers.
Terminations.
Job titles.
Saudization position.
Work-permit status.
Pending employee requests.
Establishment alerts or restrictions.

Leaving workforce records unreconciled for several months can create problems when the company later needs visas, transfers, work permits, or other labour services.

VAT Compliance: Monthly or Quarterly

VAT-registered companies must submit VAT returns according to their assigned tax period.

Monthly VAT Returns

VAT taxpayers with annual taxable revenues exceeding SAR 40 million generally have monthly VAT tax periods.

The VAT return and corresponding payment are due no later than the last day of the month following the end of the tax period.

For example, a monthly return covering September is normally due by the end of October.

Quarterly VAT Returns

For other VAT-registered taxpayers, the standard VAT tax period is generally three months.

The quarterly return and payment are due by the last day of the month following the end of the quarter.

A quarterly VAT calendar therefore normally follows this pattern:

January–March: return due by the end of April.
April–June: return due by the end of July.
July–September: return due by the end of October.
October–December: return due by the end of January of the following year.

Actual calendar management should still consider weekends, official holidays, ZATCA notices, and the taxpayer’s assigned filing period.

Monthly VAT Readiness Checks

Even quarterly filers should not wait until the end of the quarter to review VAT.

Each month, reconcile:

Sales invoices.
Purchase invoices.
VAT output tax.
VAT input tax.
Credit notes.
Debit notes.
Imports.
Reverse-charge transactions where applicable.
Exempt or zero-rated transactions.
Customer and supplier tax information.

This makes the actual VAT return a controlled reporting process rather than a last-minute reconstruction of three months of transactions.

ZATCA E-Invoicing Compliance

Companies subject to Saudi e-invoicing requirements should monitor their invoicing compliance continuously.

Areas to review include:

Invoice format.
Mandatory invoice fields.
VAT numbers.
QR-code requirements.
Credit and debit notes.
Invoice numbering.
System controls.
Electronic record retention.
Phase 2 integration where applicable.

Phase 2 implementation is based on taxpayer waves and formal notification from ZATCA. The company should therefore maintain the contact details in its ZATCA profile and monitor official notifications.

See our ZATCA FATOORA Saudi Arabia Guide.

Quarterly Compliance Review

Not every Saudi company has a statutory filing every quarter outside its applicable VAT cycle.

However, a quarterly management compliance review is a useful internal-control practice.

Every quarter, management should review:

Commercial Registration data.
Business activities.
Government-platform access.
ZATCA status.
VAT and withholding-tax compliance.
GOSI records.
Qiwa establishment status.
Saudization position.
Employee-contract status.
Work permits and residence permits.
Medical insurance.
Sector licences.
Municipal and facility licences.
Corporate bank mandates.
Authorized signatories.
Upcoming renewals within the next 90 days.

This quarterly review is a management-control recommendation, not a universal statutory quarterly filing requirement.

Annual Commercial Registration Confirmation

Saudi Arabia’s Commercial Register framework now requires annual confirmation of Commercial Registration data rather than the previous traditional expiry-and-renewal model.

The annual confirmation date is linked to the Commercial Registration’s issuance date.

The company should review information including:

Commercial activities.
Licence information.
National Address.
Contact information.
Mobile number and email.
E-commerce information where applicable.
Other Commercial Registration data.

The Ministry of Commerce states that if the annual confirmation is not submitted within three months of its due date, regulatory action can include reminders, a fine, and suspension of the Commercial Registration.

For this reason, the annual confirmation date should be entered into the compliance calendar immediately after incorporation.

See our Commercial Registration in Saudi Arabia: 2026 Guide.

Annual Financial Statements and Qawaem

Saudi companies are required to prepare financial statements at the end of each fiscal year in accordance with the accounting standards approved in the Kingdom.

The Ministry of Commerce confirms that company financial statements must be filed electronically through Qawaem within six months after the end of the financial year.

The responsible person depends on the company’s legal form and can include the manager, chairman, board, or other person responsible under the Companies Law.

The year-end process should therefore begin well before the six-month deadline.

A practical sequence is:

Close the accounting period.
Complete bank reconciliations.
Reconcile customers and suppliers.
Reconcile payroll, GOSI and employee balances.
Review fixed assets and depreciation.
Review accruals and provisions.
Reconcile taxes.
Prepare the financial statements.
Complete the audit where required.
Obtain the necessary corporate approvals.
File the financial statements through Qawaem.

The company should not wait until the sixth month to start preparing the financial statements.

Annual Zakat and Corporate Income Tax Returns

The Zakat or Corporate Income Tax position depends on the company’s ownership and applicable Saudi tax rules.

ZATCA requires the applicable annual return and payment to be completed within 120 days from the end of the taxpayer’s fiscal year.

For a company whose financial year ends on 31 December, the statutory deadline will therefore generally fall approximately at the end of April, subject to the applicable calendar and official holidays.

The year-end tax process can require:

Final trial balance.
Financial statements.
Tax or Zakat adjustments.
Related-party information.
Fixed-asset records.
Provisions and accruals.
Withholding-tax information.
Foreign ownership information.
Supporting schedules.

Companies with foreign shareholders should ensure that the tax treatment is assessed based on the actual ownership and structure rather than assuming one standard treatment applies to every Saudi entity.

Annual Withholding Tax Statement

Where a company has withholding-tax obligations, the monthly filing process is not necessarily the only reporting requirement.

ZATCA’s current guidance also provides for an annual withholding-tax statement, generally no later than 120 days after the end of the company’s fiscal year.

Different timing can apply to certain legal forms such as partnerships.

The annual statement should reconcile with the monthly withholding-tax filings made throughout the financial year.

Licence and Permit Renewals

There is no single annual renewal date covering every Saudi licence.

The company should maintain a licence register containing:

Licence name.
Issuing authority.
Licence number.
Issue date.
Expiry date.
Renewal window.
Responsible person.
Supporting documents.
Government fees.
Status.

Depending on the company’s activities, this register can include:

Municipal licences.
Industrial licences.
Environmental permits.
SFDA licences.
Professional licences.
Construction-related approvals.
Tourism licences.
Education licences.
Other sector-specific approvals.

For regulated food, pharmaceutical, medical-device, or cosmetics businesses, see our SFDA Licenses in Saudi Arabia 2026 Guide.

Employee Expiry and Renewal Calendar

Employee compliance does not operate on one universal company anniversary.

Each employee can have different dates for:

Employment-contract expiry.
Work permit.
Residence permit.
Passport.
Medical insurance.
Professional accreditation.
Probation period.
Fixed-term contract notice periods.
Other profession-specific requirements.

Companies with several employees should therefore maintain an employee compliance calendar separate from the corporate licence calendar.

Good practice is to create advance reminders before expiry rather than waiting for the government portal to block a transaction.

Saudization and Nitaqat Monitoring

Saudization should be monitored continuously rather than only when the company needs a new visa.

The company’s position can change when it:

Hires a Saudi employee.
Hires a non-Saudi employee.
Terminates an employee.
Changes employee professions.
Changes business activities.
Moves into a different workforce-size category.
Becomes subject to profession-specific localization requirements.

Management should assess the effect of planned hiring before making employment commitments.

A company that monitors Saudization only after a labour service becomes unavailable is managing compliance too late.

Event-Driven Compliance Obligations

Some of the most important compliance actions are not monthly or annual. They are triggered by a business event.

When Hiring an Employee

Review:

Employment contract.
Qiwa documentation.
GOSI registration.
Medical insurance.
Work permit and immigration requirements.
Payroll.
Saudization impact.

When an Employee Leaves

Review:

Termination documentation.
Final settlement.
Leave balance.
GOSI update.
Qiwa status.
Medical insurance.
Immigration process where applicable.
Company-property return.
System and government-platform access.

When Paying a Foreign Supplier

Before payment, assess whether Saudi withholding tax applies and retain the supporting contract, invoice, payment details, and tax analysis.

When Changing Business Activities

A new activity can affect:

Commercial Registration.
Ministry of Investment requirements.
Operational licences.
Saudization classification.
Municipal requirements.
Tax treatment.
Regulated-sector approvals.

When Changing Office or Facility

Review whether the change requires updates to:

National Address.
Commercial Registration.
Municipal licence.
Government platforms.
Bank records.
Tax records.
Sector licences.
Employment records.

When a Manager or Authorized Signatory Changes

The change may need to be reflected across corporate documents, government systems, banking mandates, tax accounts, employment platforms, and internal authority records.

How to Build a Saudi Compliance Register

A compliance calendar works best when it is supported by a structured compliance register.

For each requirement, record:

Compliance requirement.
Government authority.
Company or employee affected.
Reference number.
Issue date.
Expiry or due date.
Reminder date.
Responsible person.
Required documents.
Government fee.
Submission date.
Status.
Evidence of completion.

A simple spreadsheet may work for a very small company, but the process becomes more difficult as the company adds employees, licences, branches, and recurring regulatory obligations.

Recommended Compliance Reminder Schedule

For expiry-based obligations, a practical internal reminder structure can be:

90 days before: identify the requirement and confirm ownership.
60 days before: collect documents and determine any prerequisite actions.
30 days before: submit the renewal where the service allows.
7 days before: escalate unresolved issues.
Due date: confirm completion and archive evidence.

This is an internal management approach, not a universal statutory renewal period. The actual renewal window must always follow the rules of the relevant authority.

Common Saudi Compliance Mistakes

Companies commonly create unnecessary risk when they:

Treat company formation as the end of compliance.
Do not maintain a central calendar.
Allow government notices to go to an old employee’s email or mobile number.
Wait until an employee document expires before taking action.
Ignore Saudization until they need a visa.
Prepare VAT returns only at the filing deadline.
Make payments to foreign suppliers without assessing withholding tax.
Miss the annual Commercial Registration confirmation.
Start preparing financial statements close to the six-month filing deadline.
Fail to reconcile payroll, GOSI, Qiwa, and Wage Protection data.
Operate a new activity before checking the required licence.
Fail to retain evidence that a filing, payment, or renewal was completed.

Who Should Own Compliance?

Compliance should have named owners rather than being treated as a general company responsibility.

A typical allocation can be:

Management: governance, licences, corporate approvals, major regulatory decisions.
Finance: VAT, WHT, Zakat or CIT, financial statements, accounting records.
HR: employment contracts, employee records, insurance, payroll inputs.
Government Relations: Qiwa, GOSI, labour, immigration, licence and government-platform processes.
External specialists: audit, tax, legal, technical or regulated-sector matters where specialist expertise is required.

One person should still have visibility over the entire calendar so that an obligation does not fall between two departments.

Saudi Company Compliance Checklist

Use this checklist as a starting point:

Every Month

Run payroll.
Check Wage Protection compliance.
Reconcile GOSI and pay applicable contributions.
Review employee additions and terminations.
Assess payments to non-residents for WHT.
Submit monthly WHT where applicable.
Submit monthly VAT where applicable.
Review upcoming employee and licence expiries.
Review Saudization position after workforce changes.

Every Quarter

Submit quarterly VAT where applicable.
Perform a government-platform and licence review.
Review upcoming 90-day expiries.
Reconcile employee compliance records.
Review corporate-authority and bank-access records.

Every Year

Complete annual Commercial Registration confirmation.
Prepare annual financial statements.
File financial statements through Qawaem.
File Zakat or Corporate Income Tax return as applicable.
Complete annual WHT reporting where applicable.
Review company licences and registrations.
Review corporate documents and authorities.
Review business activities.
Review National Address and contact information.
Review the next year’s compliance calendar.

Compliance Support With IncorpKSA

IncorpKSA supports local and international businesses with ongoing corporate, HR, government-relations, payroll, and compliance operations in Saudi Arabia.

Our ongoing support can include:

Compliance-calendar management.
Commercial Registration monitoring.
Government-platform administration.
Qiwa and GOSI support.
Saudization monitoring.
Employment administration.
Payroll coordination.
Wage Protection support.
Employee renewal tracking.
Licence and permit monitoring.
ZATCA and accounting coordination.
Corporate document administration.
Government Relations.
Ongoing corporate support.

The objective is to identify obligations before they become overdue and give management visibility over what needs to happen next.

Contact IncorpKSA if you need ongoing compliance and operational support for your Saudi company.

Saudi Company Compliance Calendar FAQs

What are the main monthly compliance requirements for a Saudi company?

For companies with employees, common monthly requirements include payroll, Wage Protection processes, GOSI contributions, employee record updates, and withholding-tax filings where applicable. VAT may also be monthly for certain taxpayers.

When are GOSI contributions due?

GOSI contributions are generally due within the first 15 days of the month following the month for which the contributions are payable.

When is Saudi withholding tax due?

Where withholding tax applies to a payment to a non-resident, the monthly statement and payment are generally due within the first 10 days of the month following the month in which the payment was made.

Are Saudi VAT returns monthly or quarterly?

Both are possible. VAT taxpayers with annual revenues exceeding SAR 40 million generally file monthly. Other VAT-registered taxpayers generally use quarterly tax periods.

When is a VAT return due in Saudi Arabia?

The VAT return and corresponding net tax payment are generally due by the last day of the month following the end of the relevant monthly or quarterly tax period.

Does a Saudi Commercial Registration need annual renewal?

The current framework uses annual confirmation of Commercial Registration data rather than the previous traditional expiry-and-renewal model. The due date is linked to the CR issuance date.

What happens if annual CR confirmation is missed?

The Ministry of Commerce states that failure to submit annual confirmation within three months of the due date can result in reminders, a fine, and suspension of the Commercial Registration.

When must Saudi companies file financial statements?

Companies must prepare financial statements for each fiscal year and file them through Qawaem within six months after the end of the financial year.

When is the annual Zakat or Corporate Income Tax return due?

The applicable annual return is generally due within 120 days after the end of the company’s fiscal year.

Do all Saudi companies have the same compliance calendar?

No. Requirements differ according to ownership, tax registrations, workforce, industry, business activities, licences, and regulated-sector requirements.

Can IncorpKSA manage recurring company compliance?

Yes. IncorpKSA can support ongoing government relations, HR administration, payroll, employee compliance, licence tracking, corporate administration, and recurring operational compliance in Saudi Arabia.