GOSI Contribution: Registration and Rates for Saudi Employers

GOSI contribution is a monthly payment on each employee's basic salary plus housing allowance, capped at SAR 45,000. For Saudi employees, the employer and the employee both pay. For non-Saudi employees, the employer pays 2% and the employee pays nothing. If you are a new Saudi employer, you register the establishment and every employee with the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) from your first hire.

A note on sources. The only gosi.gov.sa page we could verify is an older contributor FAQ that predates the July 2024 reform. The rates and steps below come from consulting and payroll guides that agree with each other. Confirm every figure on gosi.gov.sa before you run payroll.

Who must register with GOSI?

Every private-sector employer registers with GOSI from the first employee, whatever the headcount or nationality, according to Noble Core KSA. The establishment registers against its commercial registration (CR). Each employee, including the general manager, is then registered individually.

A workforce made up only of expats still needs registration. The employer still owes the 2% occupational hazards contribution for each of them.

How do you register an establishment and employees?

You need a CR and an establishment file with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) on Qiwa. With those, you open the GOSI account using the CR number and the MHRSD establishment ID, as Syneffo Solutions describes. Sign-in runs through Nafath, the national single sign-on.

The steps in most guides look like this:

1. Get the CR and open the Qiwa establishment file.
2. Sign in at gosi.gov.sa with Nafath.
3. Create the employer account.
4. Enter establishment data: CR number, activity and Saudi National Address.
5. Link the company IBAN.
6. Receive the establishment number.
7. Register each employee.

What documents and data do you need?

One guide says registration takes 1 to 3 business days. That figure is unverified, so register early. One 2026 guide also says there is no registration fee.

How is GOSI contribution calculated?

GOSI contribution is a percentage of the contributory wage. That wage is basic salary plus housing allowance, not the whole package. This is how Teamed and HLB HAMT describe it.

The monthly cap is SAR 45,000. If basic plus housing is above that, the excess is not contributed on. HLB HAMT is the source for the cap. One source mentions a lower bound as well, but we could not verify it. Check the current minimum on gosi.gov.sa.

The formula is simple:

Contribution = (basic salary + housing allowance, up to SAR 45,000) × rate

Transport allowance, bonuses and other extras usually sit outside the base. Adding them is a common payroll mistake, as Infura Group points out.

What are the GOSI rates for Saudi and expat employees in 2026?

Rates depend on nationality. For Saudis, they also depend on when the employee first registered. The table below follows secondary sources as of November 2026.

The 2% occupational hazards rate is paid by the employer. The older GOSI contributor FAQ states this and confirms the 9% annuities figure for the legacy system.

Why does the new-system rate change every July?

For Saudis on the new system, Teamed reports that the annuity rate rises by 0.5 percentage points per side each July. It reaches 11% per side in 2028. That is why the figure for July 2026 differs from the 2024 starting point. It will change again in July 2027.

Your payroll needs a rate that depends on both nationality and registration date. A single flat Saudi rate will be wrong for some staff.

What does a GOSI contribution look like in numbers?

These examples are hypothetical. They use the July 2026 rates in the table above.

Notice that the transport allowance does not change the first row. Notice too that the same Saudi wage costs the employer SAR 100 more a month under the new system.

What mistakes do new employers make?

• Using the total salary as the base. Only basic plus housing counts, up to SAR 45,000.
• Applying one Saudi rate to everyone. Old-system and new-system employees pay different rates.
• Skipping expats. The employer still pays 2% for every non-Saudi employee.
• Registering late. Register the establishment before the first employee starts. Penalty rules vary, so read the current schedule on gosi.gov.sa.
• Letting data drift. A wage change, a new housing allowance or a resignation must be reflected in the GOSI record. Otherwise the next payment will not match the payroll.
• Using a stale rate sheet. The annuity rate moves each July, so update your payroll settings every year.

Where can software help?

GOSI registration and payment happen on the GOSI portal. Software cannot replace that. What it can do is keep clean employee records so that you enter the right figures each month.

If you run a logistics, trading or e-commerce team in Saudi Arabia, the Quickship HR module tracks visa and document expiry, leave and payroll inputs in one place. That gives you the basic salary, housing allowance and joining date per employee when you prepare your GOSI figures.

A short monthly routine works well:

1. List new joiners and leavers, with dates.
2. Check each person's basic salary and housing allowance.
3. Confirm each Saudi employee's registration date to pick the right rate.
4. Apply the SAR 45,000 cap where it applies.
5. Compare your totals with the GOSI statement before you pay.