GOSI Deduction Rate: How Much GOSI Takes From Your Salary

For a Saudi employee in the private sector under the long-standing rates, GOSI deducts 9.75% of the wage each month: 9% for the annuities branch (retirement, disability and death pensions) and 0.75% for unemployment insurance, known as SANED. The employer pays its own share on top of that: 9% for annuities, 0.75% for SANED and 2% for occupational hazards. For a non-Saudi employee (other than GCC nationals, whose contributions follow separate rules) nothing is deducted from the salary; the employer alone pays 2% for occupational hazards. All of these percentages apply to the basic wage plus the housing allowance, not to the full salary package. Saudis who joined social insurance for the first time after the new Social Insurance Law took effect in 2024 follow different annuity rates, which GOSI publishes.

What GOSI deducts from a Saudi employee’s salary

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) runs three insurance branches for private-sector employees. Each branch has its own contribution, and only two of them touch the employee’s pay.

• Annuities: 9% from the employee and 9% from the employer. This branch funds retirement pensions and pensions for disability and death that are not caused by work.
• Unemployment insurance (SANED): 0.75% from the employee and 0.75% from the employer. It pays a temporary benefit to Saudi workers who lose their job, under the conditions of the program.
• Occupational hazards: 2% paid by the employer only. It covers work injuries and occupational diseases, and it is never deducted from the salary.

So the employee’s total deduction is 9.75% of the contribution wage. On most payslips it appears as a single line called social insurance or GOSI. The employer’s share is paid separately and does not reduce the net salary.

Non-Saudi employees: no deduction from the salary

Expatriate employees (other than GCC nationals, whose contributions follow separate rules) are registered with GOSI too, but only in the occupational hazards branch. The employer pays 2% of their contribution wage every month, and nothing is taken from the employee’s pay. If the payslip of a non-Saudi worker shows a social insurance deduction, the employee is right to ask payroll why, because under the general rule there should be none.

The coverage still matters to the worker. If they are injured at work or develop an occupational disease, the occupational hazards branch pays for treatment and compensation. Registering every expatriate employee is therefore part of the employer’s duties, not an optional step.

The wage the percentages apply to

GOSI does not calculate contributions on the gross salary. The contribution wage is the basic wage plus the housing allowance. Transport and the other allowances on the payslip are not added under the general rule.

A few practical points follow from this:

• If the company provides housing in kind instead of a cash allowance, GOSI still counts a value for the housing, according to its own rules.
• GOSI sets a minimum and a maximum contribution wage. The current limits are published on its website, and they decide the deduction for very low and very high salaries.
• The wage registered with GOSI should match the employment contract on Qiwa and the salary actually paid through the wage protection system on Mudad. When the salary changes, the employer has to update the registered wage.

Saudis who joined after the 2024 Social Insurance Law

A new Social Insurance Law took effect in 2024. It changes the annuity contribution rates for Saudi employees who register in social insurance for the first time after the law came into force. For employees who were already registered before it, the rates described above remain the reference.

This article does not list the new rates, because they depend on when the employee first joined and on the schedule set in the law. GOSI publishes the rates that apply on its website, and its contribution calculator shows the result for any wage. Payroll teams that have both long-serving and newly registered Saudi employees should check each person’s status instead of applying one rate to everyone.

How to work out your monthly deduction

1. Take your basic wage from your contract or payslip.
2. Add your housing allowance. If housing is provided in kind, use the value GOSI counts for it.
3. Check that the total falls between GOSI’s minimum and maximum contribution wage.
4. If you are a Saudi employee registered before the new law, multiply the total by 9.75%. That is the amount deducted from your salary.
5. If you are a Saudi employee who joined after the new law, use GOSI’s calculator to find the annuity rate that applies to you, then add 0.75% for SANED.
6. If you are a non-Saudi employee (other than a GCC national), the deduction is zero. Your employer pays the 2% itself.

An example in words: a Saudi employee registered before the new law, whose basic wage and housing allowance together make up the contribution wage, has 9.75% of that combined figure deducted, and nothing more. Transport and other allowances on the payslip do not change the result. You can confirm your registered wage and the contributions paid in your name through GOSI’s services for individuals on its website and app.

What the employer has to do

• Register every new employee with GOSI, Saudi and non-Saudi alike, within the period GOSI sets after they start work.
• Deduct the employee’s share from the salary each month and pay it to GOSI together with the employer’s share.
• Pay the monthly GOSI invoice on time. Late payment leads to fines that GOSI sets.
• Update the registered wage when the basic wage or the housing allowance changes, and record the end of service when an employee leaves.
• Keep the wage on GOSI, the contract on Qiwa and the payroll on Mudad consistent, because a mismatch between them causes problems later, for the company and for the employee’s record.

Common mistakes

• Deducting from the gross salary. Applying 9.75% to the full package overcharges the employee. The base is the basic wage plus housing.
• Deducting from expatriates. Non-Saudi employees (other than GCC nationals, whose contributions follow separate rules) pay nothing. The 2% is the employer’s cost.
• Taking the occupational hazards share from the employee. That contribution is never deducted from any salary.
• Using one rate for all Saudis. Employees who first joined after the 2024 law may have different annuity rates.
• Not updating the wage. A raise in the basic wage or housing allowance that is not reported to GOSI leaves contributions, and later the pension, calculated on the old figure.
• Registering a lower wage than the real one. It lowers the monthly cost, but it also lowers the employee’s future pension and breaks the match with the contract and the payroll records.

Frequently asked questions

If you run payroll and want the GOSI side checked against your contracts and Mudad records, Innovant’s HR and payroll team can review it with you.

Related reading: Work Injury in Saudi Arabia: GOSI Coverage and Employer Duties · Gosi

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