In force
Saudi Real Estate Transaction Tax Law
نظام ضريبة التصرفات العقارية
The Real Estate Transaction Tax Law of Saudi Arabia. This page presents the official Arabic text of each article with plain-English explanations for residents and businesses.
- Articles
- 20
- In force
- 20
- Amended
- 0
- Issued
- 19/3/1446 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم (م/84) وتاريخ 1446/3/19هـ · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (239) وتاريخ 1446/3/14هـ
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Real Estate Transaction Tax Law by topic
Defining the Taxable Real Estate Disposition2 articlesReal Estate Transaction Tax Rate and Calculation2 articlesReal Estate Transaction Tax Exemptions1 articlePaying the Real Estate Transaction Tax4 articlesVerifying Value and Refunding Tax2 articlesNotaries' Obligations and Confidentiality5 articlesPenalties for Evading Real Estate Transaction Tax5 articlesAppealing Zakat Authority Decisions1 article
Articles of the Saudi Real Estate Transaction Tax Law
- Article 1The article defines the key terms of the Real Estate Transaction Tax Law, such as real estate disposition, real estate company, disposer, transferee, fair market value and documentation.
- Article 2The article imposes a 5% tax on every real estate disposition whatever the state of the property, calculated on the agreed value within fair market value without financing cost, and only once.
- Article 3The article lists 21 cases of real estate dispositions fully exempt from the tax, with their conditions, and allows the Council of Ministers to exempt other dispositions in full or in part.
- Article 4The article makes the real estate transaction tax due on the date of the disposition, treats that date by law as the date of documentation, and refers to the Regulations for the date where there is no documentation.
- Article 5The article requires the real estate transaction tax to be paid to the Authority on the date of the disposition, allows payment before it, and exceptionally after it in cases the Regulations specify.
- Article 6The article bars any step or agreement creating sham or concealed dispositions that cause the tax not to be paid correctly, and requires the tax to be calculated and collected on the real disposition.
- Article 7The article makes the disposer responsible for the tax and for paying it to the Authority, and makes the transferee jointly liable if it is proven to the Authority that he caused the non-payment.
- Article 8The article gives the Authority, within three years, power to verify the value of the disposition, recalculate the tax, estimate undetermined-value dispositions and claim payment, with an accredited appraiser if needed.
- Article 9The article provides for refunding tax paid in excess, by mistake or on an incomplete disposition, and tax on a cancelled disposition if the conditions of sub-paragraph (21) of paragraph (a) of Article 3 are met.
- Article 10The article gives the Authority the right to request any available information from any person to apply the Law, and binds everyone authorized to document real estate dispositions to the relevant provisions of the Law and Regulations.
- Article 11The article obliges the Authority's staff and those working for it to keep information on applying the Law confidential, limits its use to its purposes, and bars disclosure except in cases the Regulations specify.
- Article 12The article refers to the Implementing Regulations the controls, procedures, forms and documents needed to apply the Law, including registering transactions, correcting their data, examining them, notifying decisions and keeping records.
- Article 13The article requires the Authority to issue guides and tax bulletins, allows it to issue clarifying decisions on tax treatment on request or on its own initiative and to publish them, and binds it to the Law and the Implementing Regulations.
- Article 14The article treats as tax evasion the submission of forged or incorrect documents or information intended to evade tax, or any other act with that intent, and places on the taxpayer the burden of proving there was no intent.
- Article 15The article sets the penalties: a fine of up to three times the tax evaded, a late-payment fine of 2% per month capped at 50% plus 1% if the tax is adjusted, a general fine for other violations, and penalties for notaries.
- Article 16The article makes the Authority responsible for imposing the Law's penalties under a classification of violations set by the Board that respects proportionality, by decision of the Governor or his delegate, without preventing collection of the tax.
- Article 17The article allows a grievance against the Authority's decisions within 60 days, requires the Authority to decide within 90 days, then allows an objection before the competent judicial body within 30 days, failing which the decision becomes final.
- Article 18The article assigns monitoring, inspection and detection of violations of the Law and the Implementing Regulations to employees named by decision of the Governor, gives them the necessary powers, and refers their working procedures to the Implementing Regulations.
- Article 19The article allows the Authority to coordinate with government bodies, and bars anyone authorized to notarize from notarizing a real estate transaction whose tax was unpaid at the date of notarization, without prejudice to Article 5(2).
- Article 20The article requires the Board to issue the Implementing Regulations within 180 days of the Law's issuance to apply from its entry into force, and provides that the Law takes effect 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette and repeals conflicting provisions.