Free tool
GOSI and payroll cost calculatorwhat a salary really costs you
Gross salary is not what an employee costs. Put the pay elements and your own current contribution rates in, and this works out the contribution base, what is deducted from the employee, what the employer adds on top, and the true monthly and annual cost — for one person and for a team of them. The rates are yours to set: see the note below on why.
GOSI and payroll cost calculator
The rates below are inputs, not advice — contribution rates differ by nationality, scheme and join date, and they change. Put your own current rates in before you trust the answer, and confirm them with GOSI.
Usually part of the contribution base. Check your own scheme.
Usually outside the contribution base. Check your own scheme.
Confirm the current rate with GOSI before relying on this.
Includes occupational hazards and unemployment insurance where they apply.
Most schemes cap the base. Set 0 for no cap.
Read this first
Why this GOSI and payroll cost calculator asks for your rates
Because a rate table is the part of a tool like this that goes stale silently, and a stale rate is worse than no rate.
Rates are inputs, not advice
Contribution rates in the Kingdom differ by nationality, by scheme and by when the employee joined, and they have changed more than once. This page does not know which applies to you, so it does not pretend to — the fields are pre-filled with a common starting point and are yours to overwrite. Confirm the current rate with GOSI before you rely on the answer.
- Pre-filled, not asserted
- Fully editable
- Confirm with GOSI
What the GOSI and payroll cost calculator treats as the base
Contributions are calculated on a contribution base rather than on total pay. Basic plus housing is the common treatment, with other allowances outside it and a monthly ceiling on the base. All three are settings here, because all three vary.
- Basic plus housing by default
- Other allowances excluded
- Ceiling as an input, 0 for none
Cost to company, not salary
The number a budget needs is gross pay plus the employer contribution — per month, per year, and multiplied across the headcount on that profile. That last figure is usually the one that changes a hiring decision.
- Monthly and annual
- Whole-team total
- The figure a budget actually needs
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this GOSI and payroll cost calculator accurate?
The arithmetic is exact; the rates are yours. We deliberately do not publish a rate table, because contribution rates differ by nationality, scheme and join date and have changed more than once — a stale rate baked into a tool is worse than no rate at all. Put your current figures in, confirm them with GOSI, and the answer will be right for your case.
What counts towards the contribution base?
The common treatment is basic salary plus housing allowance, with other allowances outside the base and a monthly ceiling applied to it. That is how this calculator is pre-set, and all three parts are editable because schemes and contracts vary. If your payroll treats an allowance differently, move it between the fields rather than adjusting the rate to compensate.
Do the rates differ for Saudi and non-Saudi employees?
Yes — the schemes are different, and typically far less is deducted for non-Saudi staff because the branches that apply differ. The nationality toggle here is a reminder to change the rates, not a rate table: switch it, then enter the rates that actually apply to that group in your organisation.
What is the difference between gross salary and cost to company?
Gross salary is what the employee is contractually paid. Cost to company is that plus the employer's contribution — and it is the figure a budget, a tender rate or a hiring decision actually needs. On a team of any size the gap between the two is large enough to change what you can afford, which is why the annual and whole-team totals are shown here.
Where do I confirm the current contribution rate?
With GOSI directly, or with whoever runs your payroll — and get it in writing rather than from memory, because it is the one input here that decides everything downstream. Once you have it, put it in the field and the rest of the calculation follows. We would rather send you to the source than publish a number this page would have to keep true.
How does payroll cost reach a project cost code?
That is the part a calculator cannot do. Timesheets have to allocate each person's hours to a project and a cost code, so the loaded cost — pay plus employer contribution — lands on the job rather than in an overhead pool. Until that happens, your job costing reports are arithmetic rather than information, however accurate the payroll run itself is.