NOVAWHT — KSA Withholding Tax addon
This page. Rate-aware AP posting, DTAA treaty engine, WHT Role Center, monthly ZATCA return, bilingual vendor certificate and annual reconciliation — embedded in Business Central.
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Add-ons · Localisation & Compliance · KSA Withholding Tax
KSA Withholding Tax in Business Central — automated, auditable, ZATCA-aligned.
WHT auto-calculation · Vendor-by-vendor rate tables · ZATCA-format reports · Certificate generation · Monthly filings · Double-taxation treaty handling — Microsoft Solutions Partner shipping KSA tax modules across the Kingdom.
50+KSA rollouts
ZATCAAligned
4Delivery centres
24/7NovaCare support
Filing calendar · six dates that matter
KSA Withholding Tax is a monthly meter. Plan against it.
Articles 68 and 69 of the Saudi Income Tax Law put the obligation on the payer, not the vendor. Every non-resident payment carries a deadline. NOVAWHT pins each one to a posted document so nothing slips between the AP run and the ZATCA filing.
Day of payment
WHT computed
Rate applied at posting from vendor card.
By the 10th
Monthly remittance
Pay ZATCA for the prior month’s deductions.
By the 10th
Monthly WHT return
Filed in the ZATCA portal for the same period.
On remittance
Vendor certificate
Arabic + English PDF sent from BC.
Year + 120 days
Annual reconciliation
Vendor-wise gross, withheld, treaty-relief totals.
Anytime audit
Five-year archive
Returns, certificates, journals retrievable on demand.
What NOVAWHT ships
Everything a KSA finance team needs to be withholding-tax ready in Business Central.
Six modules, one extension. Installs into your existing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central tenant — no separate WHT register, no spreadsheet, no parallel reconciliation.
Rate-aware AP posting
Hooks the standard Purchase Invoice, Purchase Credit Memo and Payment Journal posting routines. The WHT line is computed at the rate stamped on the vendor card and against the service code on the line. AP keeps clicking “Post” in the same screen.
DTAA treaty-rate engine
Each vendor card carries a country, a treaty flag and the expiry date of the tax residency certificate on file. When the treaty is in force, NOVAWHT applies the reduced rate automatically and writes the article reference into the journal — expired certificates surface as a cue before the next AP run.
WHT Role Center
A dedicated role centre for AP and tax. Cues show due-this-month, certificates-to-issue, treaty-expired vendors and ZATCA-acknowledged returns. One-click drill-through to the posted Purchase Invoice or Payment Journal behind every number.
Monthly ZATCA return
Produces the monthly WHT return in the ZATCA-prescribed layout — vendor-wise, service-wise, rate-wise totals. Download the return file ready to upload to the ZATCA portal or trigger the API submission from inside Business Central.
Vendor WHT certificates
After each remittance is matched to ZATCA, NOVAWHT issues an Arabic-and-English certificate from the Payment Journal — vendor name, country, service, gross, rate, withheld, period and ZATCA reference. Email it to the vendor straight from Business Central.
Annual reconciliation + audit log
Produces the year-end reconciliation pack (gross, withheld, treaty-relief, certificates issued) within 120 days of the fiscal year-end. Every transmit, acknowledgement and amendment is timestamped — ready for the statutory auditor or a ZATCA query.
KSA WHT rate map
Five rates, one decision tree — baked into the vendor card.
The Saudi Income Tax Law sets the headline rate by the nature of the payment and the relationship with the recipient. NOVAWHT ships the table pre-loaded, mapped to service codes, with DTAA overrides per vendor country. Below is the headline grid your finance team will see when they open the WHT setup.
| Rate | Payment type | Article reference |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | Rent paid to a non-resident | Article 68(a) |
| 5% | Dividends from a KSA company to a non-resident shareholder | Article 68(a) |
| 5% | Interest on financing from a non-resident | Article 68(b) |
| 5% | Insurance and re-insurance premiums | Article 68(c) |
| 5% | Tickets, freight or air, sea and land transport | Article 68(d) |
| 5% | International telecommunications services | Article 68(e) |
| 5% | Technical and consulting services from a non-related party | Article 68(f) |
| 15% | Royalties paid to a non-resident | Article 68(g) |
| 15% | Management fees and payments to a head office or related party | Article 68(h) |
| 20% | Services rendered by a related party | Article 68(i) |
DTAA overrides: where Saudi Arabia has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement in force and the vendor has filed a valid tax residency certificate, the treaty rate replaces the headline. NOVAWHT stamps the reduced rate plus the treaty article into the journal so the trail is preserved. Confirm the active treaty list on the ZATCA DTAA registry.
How it works
The KSA WHT lifecycle, from posted invoice to ZATCA-acknowledged return.
A withholding-tax obligation is not a tax on the vendor. It is a duty on you, the payer, to collect tax from the gross at source, remit it to ZATCA on a monthly cadence and prove every leg of the trail when asked. The five steps below run automatically inside Business Central — finance keeps posting AP, NOVAWHT keeps the meter.
- S1 · Purchase Invoice postedService code, gross and vendor country read from the document.
- S2 · WHT computedHeadline rate or DTAA treaty rate applied; article reference stamped.
- S3 · Net payment to vendorVendor receives gross minus withheld; liability sits on the WHT control account.
- S4 · Monthly remittance to ZATCAWithheld amount remitted by the 10th of the following month.
- S5 · Certificate to vendorArabic + English PDF issued from BC — vendor uses it for treaty claims back home.
From posted invoice to ZATCA acknowledgement
Seven steps, all inside Business Central.
AP keeps posting purchase documents. Everything below the line happens automatically — computed, logged, archived and visible inside the same Purchase Invoice and Payment Journal they already use today.
Document posted
Purchase Invoice, Credit Memo or Payment — same BC screen.
Rate resolved
Vendor country + service code + treaty flag drives the rate.
WHT line written
Withholding posted to a dedicated G/L control account.
Net payment
Payment Journal pays the vendor gross minus withheld.
Monthly return
ZATCA return file produced by the 5th, submitted by the 10th.
Certificate issued
Arabic + English PDF emailed to the vendor on remittance.
Logged
Audit-grade entry retained for the statutory five-year window.
Inside Business Central
What your finance team actually sees.
Two screens carry most of the work — the WHT Role Center on the dashboard side, and the vendor certificate on the document side. Both are part of the NOVAWHT extension, both look and behave like native Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Why Novasoft for KSA Withholding Tax
The obligation sits on the payer. Your partner should carry it with you.
Novasoft is a Microsoft Solutions Partner with the Business Applications designation and has shipped Business Central in the Kingdom since 2014. Our KSA bench is staffed with Arabic-speaking consultants who walk the ZATCA portal as part of every WHT engagement — verifiable today on the partner directories below.
100+
Business Central rolloutsDelivered across the UAE, KSA, India and the USA on Microsoft Dynamics 365.5 yrs
LS Retail Diamond PartnerFive consecutive years — 2022 through 2026 — verifiable on the LS Retail partner directory.157
Countries via LS CentralThe platform Novasoft delivers also powers 110,000+ retail sites globally.Verify — Microsoft Solutions Partner directory · Novasoft KSA BC apps · AppSource publisher profile. See also adjacent Novasoft products we ship alongside NOVAWHT, and the readiness checklist below to score your starting position.
What’s new · 2026 launches
Adjacent Novasoft products that pair with this one.
KSA Withholding Tax is one of six finance and compliance products Novasoft has shipped or refreshed in 2026. Pair as your roadmap permits — ZATCA Phase 2, UAE e-invoicing and Purchase Co-Pilot are common neighbours on a KSA finance roadmap.
KSA ZATCA Phase 2 (Fatoora)
Sibling KSA compliance addon. ZATCA Phase 2 integration with cryptographic stamp, QR-coded invoices and clearance flow for Saudi Arabia — the e-invoicing leg, while NOVAWHT handles WHT.
Explore ZATCA Phase 2UAE VAT & e-Invoicing
Sibling Gulf compliance app. UAE FTA e-Invoicing addon for Business Central — PINT AE over Peppol, Phase 1 from January 2027.
Explore UAE e-invoicingPurchase Co-Pilot
AI procurement assistant for Business Central — vendor analysis, AP automation, PO matching. Cyan-gold sibling that pairs with NOVAWHT on the AP side.
Explore Purchase Co-PilotNOVAHUB Partner Portal
Self-service partner / vendor portal — KYC refresh, AR aging, document upload, two-way messaging on Business Central. Vendors upload their tax residency certificate here.
Open NOVAHUBNovacare 360° managed support
Application + functional + infrastructure SLA for Business Central with single accountability. Underpins NOVAWHT post-go-live — we run the monthly cadence with you.
Explore NovacareThe finance teams that take WHT seriously in the Kingdom aren’t the ones with the lowest rates. They are the ones whose vendor certificate is in the supplier’s inbox the same day the remittance is sent.Amit SobtiPractice Director · Business Central, Novasoft From the field · read our notes →
How Novasoft delivers
Four stages, 6 to 10 weeks from kickoff to first signed ZATCA return.
No big-bang cutover. Every stage ends in a checkpoint you sign off — if the answer at the end of Assessment is “not ready”, we say so before contracts move.
01 Assessment
1 weekAudit your vendor master for country flags, treaty certificates and service-code coverage. Review the last three months of non-resident AP for hidden WHT exposure.
02 Design
1–2 weeksMap your service codes to the Article 68 rate table, design the WHT control accounts, agree the treaty-certificate workflow with AP and tax.
03 Implementation
3–5 weeksInstall the BC extension, load the DTAA matrix, configure vendor cards, build the WHT Role Center, run end-to-end on a sandbox against a sample ZATCA return.
04 Go-Live
1–2 weeksPilot on one entity first, then cutover. Novacare 360° covers the first monthly return and the first three vendor certificates in shadow mode.
Pre-flight
Your KSA Withholding Tax readiness checklist — ten items.
If your finance lead can tick eight of these in 30 minutes, you are ahead of most of the Kingdom. Below five, start the Assessment now — the next monthly meter is never more than 30 days away.
- Confirm the ZATCA registration covers withholding-tax filings (not only VAT and Zakat).
- Inventory every non-resident vendor paid in the last twelve months — service, country, gross.
- Classify each spend into one of the Article 68 rate bands (5%, 15% or 20%).
- List active DTAA countries relevant to your vendor list and the article number that grants relief.
- Collect tax residency certificates from treaty-country vendors; record the issue and expiry dates.
- Provision the BC extension into a sandbox; load the WHT setup table and service-code map.
- Reconcile the last three months of AP to identify any payment where WHT should have been deducted.
- Decide your WHT control accounts in the chart of accounts and the posting groups.
- Train AP, treasury and tax on the WHT Role Center, the certificate flow and the monthly return.
- Schedule the first parallel run — one month, BC output vs. the spreadsheet you file today.
Free 30-minute readiness assessment
The next monthly WHT cut-off is never more than 30 days away.
Book a working session with a Novasoft Business Central consultant. We’ll walk your vendor master, your DTAA exposure and your last three months of non-resident AP — and tell you honestly whether NOVAWHT is the right step now or whether to start with a clean-up sprint first.
Talk to a consultant
Book a Free KSA Withholding Tax Readiness Assessment.
A Novasoft Business Central consultant will respond within one business day with a working-session slot and a short questionnaire to make the call useful.
- Reply within one business day
- 30-minute session, tailored to your vendor mix
- No pitch — an honest read on whether you start now or clean up first
Prefer email?
contact@novasoft.globalRequest your assessment
Six required fields — under a minute to send.
Common questions
KSA Withholding Tax — the FAQ KSA finance teams keep asking.
Every answer below is reflected verbatim in the FAQPage JSON-LD so it can win a snippet on the SERP.
Who is required to withhold tax in Saudi Arabia?
Articles 68 and 69 of the Saudi Income Tax Law require any resident person — a company, a permanent establishment, or a government body — to withhold tax on payments made to non-residents for income that arises in the Kingdom. The withholding agent is fully liable to ZATCA whether or not the tax was deducted at source.
What are the KSA withholding tax rates?
Five rates apply. 5% on rent, dividends, interest, technical and consulting services from a non-related party, insurance premiums, and tickets, freight or air transport. 15% on royalties and payments to a head office or related party for management fees. 20% on services rendered by a related party. 5% on international telecommunications services. Treaty rates can reduce these where a tax residency certificate is on file.
How often must we file and remit WHT to ZATCA?
Withheld tax must be remitted to ZATCA within the first ten days of the month following the payment. A monthly return is filed in the ZATCA portal for the same period. An annual reconciliation return is then due within 120 days of the fiscal year-end. Late payment attracts a delay penalty of 1% for every thirty days the amount remains unpaid.
Do we need to change our Business Central environment to comply?
No. The Novasoft NOVAWHT extension installs into your existing Business Central tenant. It hooks the standard Purchase Invoice, Purchase Credit Memo and Payment Journal posting routines, computes the WHT line at the rate stamped on the vendor card, posts the liability and prints a vendor certificate. Finance keeps posting AP the same way they do today.
How does the addon handle DTAA treaty rates?
Each vendor card carries a country, a treaty flag and an expiry date for the tax residency certificate on file. When a treaty is in force and the certificate is current, NOVAWHT applies the reduced rate automatically and writes the article reference into the journal so the audit trail is preserved. Expired certificates trigger a cue on the WHT Role Center before the next AP run.
Can we generate the WHT certificate the vendor needs?
Yes. After each remittance is matched to ZATCA, NOVAWHT generates an Arabic-and-English WHT certificate from the posted Payment Journal. The certificate carries the vendor name, country, service description, gross, rate, withheld amount, period and ZATCA reference. Send it to the vendor straight from BC by email or PDF download.
What happens at year-end?
NOVAWHT produces the annual WHT reconciliation in the ZATCA prescribed format — vendor-wise totals of gross, withheld and treaty-relief amounts — together with a register of certificates issued in the year. Both files are uploaded to the ZATCA portal within 120 days of the fiscal year-end. The same pack is what your statutory auditor will ask for.
How long does a typical rollout take with Novasoft?
A standard rollout runs 6 to 10 weeks across our four-stage method — Assessment, Design, Implementation, Go-Live. The pace depends mostly on how clean your vendor master, your service-code-to-rate mapping and your treaty-certificate archive are at the start.
Sources & further reading
- ZATCA — Withholding Tax (regulator)
- ZATCA — Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (treaty registry)
- ZATCA — Help Center & user guides (filing manuals)
- UAE Federal Tax Authority — tax.gov.ae (Gulf regulator reference)
- Microsoft Learn — Business Central VAT & tax setup (vendor docs)
- Microsoft Learn India — Business Central overview (India locale)
- Microsoft AppSource — Novasoft publisher profile
Related Novasoft references: About Novasoft · Business Applications · Analytics Solutions · Business Central practice · KSA ZATCA Phase 2 · UAE e-invoicing · Contact Novasoft.