Did you sell a property between 1 January 2018 and 4 October 2020 as an individual, and pay VAT on it to the Authority? Or did your company buy a property from an individual in that period and pay the VAT to the seller? If yes, this article is for you.
On 13 October 2026, Umm Al-Qura, the official gazette, published a decision that sets out how individuals can recover this VAT. According to a card published by the General Secretariat of Zakat, Tax and Customs Committees, the last date to file a claim is Wednesday, 11 November 2026. Time is short.
What happened?
A Royal Order, No. 54152, dated 5 Rajab 1447 AH, concerns VAT on sales of real estate by individuals. The Authority's board then approved the detailed procedures to carry it out, and they were published in Umm Al-Qura.
Here, "individual" means a natural person, that is, the person himself or herself, not a company.
Who benefits?
An individual who sold a property in this period and paid VAT on that sale to the Authority.
What can be refunded?
The VAT that was paid, and the fines linked to it, even if the committees have issued a final decision in the case. The committees for settling disputes are the bodies that hear disagreements between a taxpayer and the Authority.
The conditions
All four conditions must be met:
- Selling property is not the person's business. In other words, they do not sell property regularly and for profit.
- Their property sales in any 12 consecutive months did not exceed the mandatory VAT registration threshold: SAR 1 million up to 19 December 2018, and SAR 375,000 after that. This is the amount above which a person must register for VAT.
- They did not deduct input tax linked to the property. That means the VAT they paid on services or purchases related to the property, which they then deducted in their own return.
- They have not recovered the amount from any other government entity.
How to file
- File the claim directly through the Hayad portal, without having objected to the tax earlier.
- Attach proof that the tax was paid, and proof that they do not carry on property sales as a business.
- After a final decision, request the refund through the Authority's portal.
The deadline
According to the card, the last date to file a claim is Wednesday, 11 November 2026. Do not wait for the last day, as gathering documents takes time.
If your company is the buyer
If your company bought a property from an individual in the same period and paid the tax to the seller, the refund claim is made through the seller. The card says:
- You can contact the seller to check whether the conditions apply to his or her case.
- If a decision is issued in the seller's favour to refund the tax, you can ask the seller to repay the amount you paid.
- This does not remove your right to claim from the seller under the applicable laws.
Before you act
- The refund is not automatic. Each case is reviewed on its own, and the committees decide according to its facts and documents.
- Documents are the basis of the claim. Proof of payment and proof that the person does not carry on the activity. Gather both before the deadline.
- We do not promise a result. This is a general explanation of the conditions. The decision in each case rests with the competent authority.
If you are not sure whether the conditions apply to your case, speak to your adviser before the deadline. To learn about the fines and filing deadlines, read our article on filing returns correctly. And contact us if you would like your case reviewed.
This article is for general information and is not an opinion on any particular case. We based the information on the General Secretariat's card and on the Umm Al-Qura decision published on 13 October 2026. Dates may change, and further details may be issued.
Sources
- Royal Order No. 54152 dated 5 Rajab 1447 AH, and the decision of the Authority's board dated 3 Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH (16 August 2026) setting out the procedures to implement it, on the Authority's website (in Arabic).
- Publication of the decision in Umm Al-Qura, Issue No. 5189, on 13 October 2026, on the Umm Al-Qura website (in Arabic).
- A public information card from the General Secretariat of Zakat, Tax and Customs Committees on refunding VAT on real estate sold by individuals, which sets out the period, the conditions, how to file and the last filing date, on its website gstc.gov.sa (in Arabic).