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How to prepare your VAT return in Saudi Arabia

Filing frequency, deadlines and the figures that go into a Saudi VAT return — and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

Published · 5 min read

VAT in Saudi Arabia has been charged at 15% since 1 July 2020. Every VAT-registered business files a return with ZATCA that shows the VAT it charged on sales and the VAT it paid on purchases.

Monthly or quarterly?

  • Monthly, if your taxable supplies in the last 12 months exceeded SAR 40 million.
  • Quarterly, for everyone else.
  • The return and the payment are due by the last day of the month after the period ends.

What goes into the return

  • Standard-rated sales and the 15% VAT on them
  • Zero-rated sales, exports and exempt sales
  • Standard-rated purchases and the VAT you can recover
  • Imports, including VAT paid at customs
  • Corrections from earlier periods

Common mistakes

  • Claiming input VAT on a purchase invoice without a valid VAT number on it
  • Recording credit notes in the wrong period
  • Mixing up zero-rated and exempt sales
  • Filing figures that don't match the books — the return should come from the ledger, not a spreadsheet

When every invoice and bill is posted in one system, the return is a report, not a project. Valeurx prepares it box by box from your posted documents, and you can drill into any figure to see the invoices behind it.

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