# Saudi Arabia: taxes, residence and cost of living

Source: https://domicile.wiki/places/saudi-arabia/ (domicile.wiki, researched 2026-10-15). Data licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Research, not tax or legal advice.

## At a glance

For an EU-citizen family of five living off a EUR 30M portfolio (the guide's default reader).

- Score for a wealthy family: 74 / 100
- Can EU citizens live here?: from €952,806 · Premium Residency - Real Estate Owner
- Can US citizens live here?: from €952,806 · Premium Residency - Real Estate Owner
- Other passports: from €952,806 · Premium Residency - Real Estate Owner
- Tax on a €30M portfolio: €48,600 a year
- Wealth tax: none
- Children inherit: tax-free
- Living costs, family of five: €211,103 a year
- EU member: no
- Currency: SAR
- Capital: Riyadh

## Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth

No individual income tax scheme: a private investor's portfolio gains, dividends and interest are not taxed, and there is no inheritance, gift or wealth tax. Saudi and GCC nationals pay Zakat (2.5% of the Zakat base) on business holdings; foreign-owned business profits pay 20% income tax. Real Estate Transaction Tax 5% on property disposals; VAT 15%; 2.5% annual white land tax on qualifying vacant urban land. Residency for wealthy foreigners via Premium Residency. About 58 treaties, none with the US.

- **Saudi Arabia tax residence**: No personal income tax; Zakat applies to Saudi/GCC nationals' business holdings only.

## Income tax

There is no individual income tax scheme in Saudi Arabia; employment income is untaxed (PwC, reviewed 29 Jul 2026). Non-employment income is taxed under entity/permanent-establishment rules. Non-Saudi employees pay no GOSI contribution (the 2% occupational-hazard charge is borne by the employer); Saudi employees pay 9.75% (9% plus 0.75% SANED).

## How to get residence

No free movement for anyone; EU, US and other passports use the same Premium Residency products run by the Premium Residency Center. The cheapest is the Real Estate Owner residency (property of SAR 4,000,000), then the annual Limited Duration product (SAR 100,000 a year); permanent status costs SAR 800,000 once or SAR 7,000,000 invested with 10 jobs. No remote-work visa exists. Citizenship is by decree only.

- **Premium Residency - Unlimited Duration** (Other; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): A one-off payment of SAR 800,000 buys permanent residence without a sponsor.
- **Premium Residency - Limited Duration** (Other; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): A renewable residence of 1 to 5 years for SAR 100,000 a year, without a sponsor.
- **Premium Residency - Real Estate Owner** (Investor residence; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): Owning residential property worth at least SAR 4,000,000 gives residency for as long as you hold it.
- **Premium Residency - Investor** (Investor residence; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): Invest SAR 7,000,000 in a Saudi business and create 10 jobs in two years for permanent residence.
- **Premium Residency - Entrepreneur (two categories)** (Entrepreneur; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): Start-up founders backed by an approved investor get 5 years, or permanent residence for a SAR 15,000,000 venture with 20 jobs.
- **Premium Residency - Special Talent and Gifted** (Other; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): Residence for employed specialists (researchers, doctors, executives) and for people with exceptional artistic or sporting achievements.
- **Employer-sponsored iqama** (Work; EU citizens, US citizens, other passports; open): Most expatriates live in Saudi Arabia on an employer-sponsored work permit and iqama residence card.

Citizenship: Not researched from the Saudi Citizenship System in this pass. Premium Residency does not lead to citizenship automatically.

## Inheritance law and trusts

Sharia fixed shares apply, with a bequest of up to one third and none to an existing heir without the others' consent (Personal Status Law, Royal Decree M/73). Non-Muslim foreigners' treatment is unsettled in the sources. Courts do not recognise trusts; family waqf is the onshore alternative.

## Daily life (0-100, higher is better)

- Safety and personal security: 72
- Political and institutional stability: 59
- Corruption and government integrity: 61
- Legal system and property rights: 43
- Healthcare quality and access: 76
- Education quality: 24
- Human development and quality of life: 80
- Infrastructure and connectivity: 84
- Cost of living and housing: 79
- Business opportunities and economy: 76
- Cultural fit and lifestyle: 41

## Research notes

### Saudi Arabia — family-office tax dossier

Last reviewed: 2026-10-15
Tax year: 2026
Reviewer: research agent (Claude), unreviewed by a tax adviser

#### Summary

No individual income tax scheme: a private investor's portfolio gains, dividends and interest are not taxed, and there is no inheritance, gift or wealth tax. Saudi and GCC nationals pay Zakat (2.5% of the Zakat base) on business holdings; foreign-owned business profits pay 20% income tax. Real Estate Transaction Tax 5% on property disposals; VAT 15%; 2.5% annual white land tax on qualifying vacant urban land. Residency for wealthy foreigners via Premium Residency. About 58 treaties, none with the US.

#### Residence and eligibility

Resident if the individual has a permanent home in Saudi Arabia and is present at least 30 days in the year, or is present at least 183 days in the year; part days count as full days (PwC). Relevant only for business income, since there is no personal income tax.

- **Premium Residency** (EU, US, OTHER): Residence permit for foreigners without a sponsor, offered in several products (limited-duration, unlimited, investor, real-estate owner, talent). Fees and thresholds are published by the Premium Residency Center but could not be read (site renders by script); not verified.

#### Capital gains

No tax on capital gains for a private individual investor. Business income (including gains) is taxed at entity/PE level: 20% income tax for the non-Saudi share, Zakat for the Saudi/GCC share.

- **Rate basis:** No individual income tax scheme (PwC). Gains realised in a business are subject to income tax or Zakat at the normal rates (PwC corporate); disposals of shares listed on the Saudi Exchange are exempt subject to conditions.
- **Professional trader:** Activity amounting to a business carried on in Saudi Arabia is taxed at the business level (20% income tax for non-Saudis).
- **Foreign assets:** Not taxed.
- **Important exceptions:** Disposal of Saudi real estate bears 5% Real Estate Transaction Tax on the full disposal value (also on transfers of real-estate-rich entities); this is a transaction tax, not a gains tax. A non-Saudi individual selling shares in an unlisted Saudi company may be taxed at 20% on the gain under the Income Tax Law; not verified, and not relevant for a foreign private business.
- **Confidence:** medium (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON numbers:** headline 0.0; listed domestic 0.0, listed foreign 0.0, private business 0.0, local real estate 0.0, foreign real estate 0.0.

#### Dividends

No tax on dividends received by individuals.

- **Rate basis:** No individual income tax scheme.
- **Outbound WHT:** 5% WHT on dividends paid to non-residents (treaty rates 0-15%).
- **Treaty network:** About 58 treaty partners listed by PwC; no treaty with the United States, so US dividends held directly bear 30% US WHT.
- **Confidence:** high (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON numbers:** domestic 0.0, foreign gross 0.0, credit method `not_applicable`.

#### Inheritance and gifts to children

No inheritance, estate or gift tax.

- **Gift tax:** None.
- **Foreign assets:** No tax on any asset.
- **Domicile rules:** Not relevant for tax.
- **Thresholds:** No tax, so no thresholds.
- **Important exceptions:** Succession, not tax, is the issue: personal status (family) law based on Sharia governs inheritance of Muslims, with fixed shares (a son typically takes twice a daughter's share) and at most one third freely disposable by will to non-heirs. How estates of non-Muslim foreigners are handled (home-country law, own religious rules, or Sharia by default) was not verified for this country; non-Muslim families should take local legal advice and hold portfolio assets outside the country or through a structure with a clear governing law. Saudi courts apply Sharia; the 2022 Personal Status Law codified it (not opened).
- **Confidence:** high (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON numbers:** basis `none`, children `fully_exempt`, exemption 0, brackets none, other transfer cost 0.0.

#### Wealth tax

No net wealth tax. Zakat on Saudi/GCC nationals is assessed on business/company Zakat bases, not on a foreign family's personal portfolio.

- **Property taxes:** No general property tax. White land tax: 2.5% a year of market value on qualifying vacant urban land zoned residential or commercial.
- **Confidence:** high (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON:** type `none`.

#### Special regimes

None. Every resident is taxed the same way; no special regime is needed because the standard position is already nil (see Open questions for announced changes).

#### Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

20% income tax on the non-Saudi/non-GCC share of company profits; Zakat at 2.5% of the Zakat base on the Saudi/GCC share; oil and hydrocarbon production 50-85%. WHT 5% on dividends paid to non-residents. VAT 15% since July 2020. RETT 5%.

#### Cost of living notes

City: Riyadh.

- **prime_rent_monthly**: 15,000 SAR (2026). Median asking rent SAR 180,000 a year (/12) of the 25 four- and five-bedroom villas on page 1 of Property Finder Saudi Arabia's Riyadh results (62 listings) on 15 Oct 2026; mostly new villas in Sidra (north Riyadh), range SAR 80,000-280,000. Western expatriate compound villas, which many foreign families choose, were not in the sample and usually cost more. Source: [4-5 bedroom villas for rent in Riyadh](https://www.propertyfinder.sa/en/rent/ar-riyadh/villas-for-rent.html?bdr[]=4&bdr[]=5).
- **intl_school_annual_fee**: 120,757 SAR (2026). American International School - Riyadh, Grades 9-12 annual tuition 2026-27 for non-Saudi students (SAR 120,756.90 incl. 15% VAT); one-off fees for new families: capital fee SAR 26,389, registration SAR 16,964, application SAR 5,027. Source: [AIS-R - Tuition and fees 2026-2027](https://www.aisr.org/admissions/tuition-and-fees).
- British International School Riyadh's site refused access (403). Compound rents, purchase prices, health insurance and housekeeper costs not sourced.

**US citizens:** US citizens remain fully US-taxed; no Saudi-US income tax treaty.

#### Open questions

- Premium Residency fees not verified.
- Reported 2025 law opening real-estate ownership to non-Saudis (in force 2026) not verified.
- Prime expatriate compound rents in Riyadh not sourced; the rent figure is for ordinary 4-5 bedroom villas.
- Treatment of gains on unlisted Saudi company shares sold by a non-Saudi resident individual not verified; private_business_sale 0 assumes a foreign private company.
- Whether non-Muslim foreigners' Saudi estates can follow home-country law not verified.

#### Sources

- [Saudi Arabia - Individual - Taxes on personal income (last reviewed 29 Jul 2026)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/individual/taxes-on-personal-income)
- [Saudi Arabia - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income (last reviewed 29 Jul 2026)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income)
- [Saudi Arabia - Corporate - Income determination (capital gains)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/corporate/income-determination)
- [Saudi Arabia - Corporate - Withholding taxes](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/corporate/withholding-taxes)
- [Saudi Arabia - Individual - Other taxes](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/individual/other-taxes)
- [Saudi Arabia - Corporate - Other taxes (RETT, VAT, Zakat)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/corporate/other-taxes)
- [Saudi Arabia - Individual - Residence](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/individual/residence)
- [Premium Residency Center](https://pr.gov.sa/en)
- 4-5 bedroom villas for rent in Riyadh (Property Finder Saudi Arabia, other): https://www.propertyfinder.sa/en/rent/ar-riyadh/villas-for-rent.html?bdr[]=4&bdr[]=5
- AIS-R - Tuition and fees 2026-2027 (American International School - Riyadh, other): https://www.aisr.org/admissions/tuition-and-fees

#### Change log

- 2026-10-15: initial research.
- 2026-10-15: data-quality pass: added rent (Riyadh 4-5 bed villas, Property Finder sample; compounds not covered) and school fee (AIS-R 2026-27).
- 2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: kept.


## Residence and succession sources

- [Premium Residency Center](https://pr.gov.sa/en) — Premium Residency Center, Saudi Arabia
- [Saudi Arabia - Individual - Residence](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/saudi-arabia/individual/residence) — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries
- [Saudi Premium Residency: Your Route to Permanent Residency in 2026 (updated 3 Feb 2026)](https://www.centuroglobal.com/articles/saudi-premium-residency/) — Centuro Global
- [Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia: Complete Guide 2026 (Sep 2026)](https://ksaexpats.com/eligibility-requirements-for-special-privilege-iqama/) — KSA Expats
- [Saudi Arabia gives foreigners lifetime residency rights when they buy real estate in approved projects](https://amlak.net.sa/en/88096/) — Amlak News (citing AGBI)
- [A guide to international estate planning in Saudi Arabia](https://pbl.legal/insights/a-guide-to-international-estate-planning-in-saudi-arabia-navigating-complexities-for-high-net-worth-individuals/) — PBL Legal
- [Estate distribution in Saudi Arabia: faraid law guide](https://baticfirm.com/estate-distribution-saudi-arabia-faraid-law-guide/) — Batic Firm
- [Inheritance tax and inheritance law in Saudi Arabia](https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/middle-east/saudi-arabia/inheritance) — Global Property Guide
- [HCCH status table: Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=59) — Hague Conference on Private International Law