Details of tax rules for regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia

Umm Al-Qura newspaper published on Feb. 16 the tax rules for regional headquarters (RHQ), which include the provisions related to the tax incentives granted to RHQ.

The rules will be effective as of their publication date.

Under the rules, the RHQ that meet the qualification criteria issued by the competent authorities are granted zero percent income tax on qualifying income, as well as zero percent withholding tax on payments made by the RHQ to non-resident persons. This includes cash dividends, payments to related persons, and payments to unrelated persons in exchange for services necessary for the activity of the RHQ.

Tax incentives are granted to the RHQ for activities qualified by the competent authorities for a period of 30 years, subject to renewal.

The period of granting tax incentives begins from the date of obtaining the RHQ license to implement qualified activities until the expiry of the 30-year period or the cease of entity to be a RHQ for any reason.

Saudi Arabia set the deadline for international companies to move their RHQ to Riyadh by January 2024, according to data available with Argaam.

In December 2023, the Kingdom announced offering a new package of tax incentives for 30 years to attract RHQ of global firms.