GCC VAT calculator

How the GCC VAT calculator works

Choose whether you are adding VAT to a price or removing it from a price that already includes it. Pick a country, or enter a custom rate, and type the amount. The calculator shows the net amount, the VAT and the VAT-inclusive total, formatted in the country's currency. Bahraini and Omani amounts are shown to three decimals, because the dinar and the rial divide into 1,000 fils and baisa.

The country rates are the standard rates, the ones that apply to most goods and services. Each GCC VAT law also has zero-rated supplies (exports and some international services, for example) and exempt supplies (some financial services and residential property, for example). Whether a particular supply is standard-rated, zero-rated or exempt depends on the law and the facts. Check the tax authority's guidance or ask an adviser if you are unsure, then use the custom rate for anything that is not standard-rated.

Standard VAT rates in the GCC

Each figure is linked to its official source, with the date we checked it, in the "Where these rates come from" panel next to the calculator. Saudi Arabia raised its standard rate from 5% to 15% in 2020, and Bahrain from 5% to 10% in 2022. Both changes caught out businesses using old invoice templates, so always check the date on any rate you copy.

The formulas for adding and removing VAT

Removing VAT is where most mistakes happen. The VAT inside a VAT-inclusive price is not the price multiplied by the rate. On a SAR 115 price that includes 15% VAT, the VAT is 115 − 115 ÷ 1.15 = SAR 15, not 115 × 15% = SAR 17.25. The shortcut for the VAT share of a gross price is rate ÷ (1 + rate): 15 ÷ 115 = 13.04% in Saudi Arabia, 5 ÷ 105 = 4.76% in the UAE and Oman, and 10 ÷ 110 = 9.09% in Bahrain.

Worked examples

Common VAT mistakes for freelancers in the Gulf

1. Multiplying a VAT-inclusive price by the rate to "find" the VAT. Divide instead, as shown above.
2. Charging VAT before you are registered. Only a VAT-registered business may charge VAT. Each country sets its own registration threshold, so check yours with the tax authority.
3. Using the old rate. Saudi Arabia went from 5% to 15% and Bahrain from 5% to 10%. Templates from before the change are still in circulation.
4. Rounding Bahraini and Omani amounts to two decimals. The dinar and the rial have three, and the rounding difference adds up over a year of invoices.
5. Assuming every supply is standard-rated. Exports of services to clients outside the GCC are often zero-rated, but the conditions are specific. Do not assume.
6. Leaving the VAT number off the invoice. If you are registered, your VAT registration number belongs on every tax invoice you issue.

Putting VAT on your invoices

Show the net amount, the VAT rate, the VAT amount and the total as separate lines. Our free invoice generator does this and handles SAR, AED, BHD and OMR at the right number of decimals. For a fuller layout see the freelance invoice template . For clients in several countries, the multi-currency invoice template shows how to keep each invoice in a single currency. If you are pricing a quote, work out your rate first with the freelance rate calculator , then add VAT on top.

This calculator is for working out amounts. It does not issue tax invoices and is not an e-invoicing system, so it does not replace the invoicing software your tax authority may require. For year-round bookkeeping, COLO finance keeps paid and outstanding invoices in one place, and the freelance taxes and finance guide covers setting money aside for tax.