The current Saudi VAT rate
The standard rate in Saudi Arabia is 15%, in force since 1 July 2020. VAT was introduced on 1 January 2018 at 5% and raised to 15%. The authority responsible is the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).
Not every transaction is standard-rated. Some supplies are zero-rated — exports and international transport among them — others are exempt, and some are outside the scope of VAT entirely. 15% is the default assumption, not an absolute rule.
How to remove 15% VAT from an inclusive amount
Divide the inclusive total by 1.15 to get the amount before VAT, then subtract it from the total to get the VAT. Directly: VAT = total × 15 ÷ 115.
Example: a supplier invoice for SAR 1,150 including VAT. 1,150 ÷ 1.15 = SAR 1,000 before VAT, so the VAT is SAR 150. Multiplying 1,150 by 15% would give 172.50 — an amount nobody paid.
A less tidy example: SAR 999.99 inclusive gives SAR 130.43 of VAT and SAR 869.56 before VAT. Note that 130.43 + 869.56 is exactly 999.99.
How to add 15% VAT to a price before tax
VAT = amount before VAT × 15%, and total = amount + VAT. In short: total = amount × 1.15.
Example: a service priced at SAR 4,000 before VAT carries SAR 600 of VAT for a total of SAR 4,600. Those are the three figures a tax invoice has to show: the total before VAT, the VAT amount, and the total including VAT.
Rounding: what ZATCA actually specifies
ZATCA’s Electronic Invoice XML Implementation Standard states that rounding shall be performed using half-up rounding, that half-way values are always rounded up, that document-level totals are rounded to two decimals, and that rounding shall be done on the final calculation results and not on intermediate results.
This calculator follows the same rule: exact decimal arithmetic all the way through, then a single rounding step to the halala. That is why a value like 1.005 rounds up to 1.01 as it should, rather than slipping to 1.00 the way floating-point code does.
One caveat: the rules about how a full invoice aggregates — how multiple lines are summed, and where the VAT total is rounded — belong to invoicing, not to calculating a single amount. This tool calculates one amount and does not claim to reproduce a whole invoice workflow.
The official source
The 15% standard rate and the e-invoicing rules are published by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority. Fatorli is an independent tool: it is not a government service and is not certified by ZATCA. Every rate on this site carries the date we last checked it.
The calculator for each country
Each country has its own page, because the rate, the currency and the number of decimal places differ: the Bahraini dinar and the Omani rial carry three decimals, not two.
Frequently asked questions
What is the VAT rate in Saudi Arabia?
The standard rate is 15%, in force since 1 July 2020. It was 5% from 1 January 2018 until then. Zero-rated and exempt supplies also exist.
How do I calculate VAT from a total invoice amount?
VAT = total × 15 ÷ 115. SAR 2,000 including VAT contains SAR 260.87 of VAT, leaving SAR 1,739.13 before VAT. Beware the widely repeated advice to multiply the total by 0.13 — the correct factor is 0.130434…
How do I work out 15% VAT on a phone?
Open this page on your phone and type the amount; the calculator is built for a small screen and works offline once loaded. On a plain handheld calculator: multiply by 1.15 to add, divide by 1.15 to remove.
Does VAT apply to salaries?
No. VAT is charged on supplies of goods and services; salaries and wages are not a taxable supply.
Is this calculator run by ZATCA?
No. Fatorli is an independent tool, not a government service and not certified by any tax authority. For official information consult ZATCA’s own site.