Since 1 January 2026, owners of undeveloped land in designated parts of Riyadh have been receiving white land fee invoices under new rules (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing). This guide to the white land tax in Saudi Arabia covers who pays, the Riyadh tiers, how to estimate your bill, how to object within 60 days, and where the new vacant buildings fee stands. Every figure links to its source. Where we could not find an official answer, we say so.
The law calls it a fee (رسم), while the official platform’s English pages and most searches say “tax”. We use both.
White land tax in Saudi Arabia: what changed
The White Land Fees Law dates from 1437 AH (2015). In 1446 AH (2025) the Council of Ministers renamed it the White Land and Vacant Properties Fees Law, extending it to unused buildings. The amended law caps the annual fee on white land at 10% of the land’s value (Saudipedia, Arabic).
The implementing regulations for white land were approved by the Minister of Municipalities and Housing and published in the Umm Al-Qura gazette on 22 August 2025 (Al Eqtisadiah, Arabic). The first invoicing under these rules started in Riyadh on 1 January 2026, and on that day the ministry announced more than 60,000 invoices in the city (Okaz, Arabic).
Who has to pay
Three things decide whether an invoice reaches you:
- Area. Article 7 of the regulations says the land, or the total white land a single owner holds within the city, must be at least 5,000 m² (White Land platform FAQ).
- Location. The fee applies inside the zones announced for each city. In Riyadh these zones are split into five tiers by development priority (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing).
- The name on the deed. The invoice is issued to the person registered on the ownership document when the fee is issued. If you sold the land but the name on the document has not changed, the invoice can still come to you (White Land platform FAQ).
For jointly owned land, such as an undivided inheritance, each owner receives an invoice and pays in proportion to their share (White Land platform FAQ). If you are one of several heirs, our guide to inherited property in Saudi Arabia explains the wider picture.
How to check a plot
The official platform has a “Land Fee Applicability” service. You choose the city on the map, enter the title deed number or the real estate registration number, and see whether the land is subject to the fee and which tier applies. No sign-in is needed (White Land platform).
Riyadh tiers and rates
| Tier | Priority | Annual fee (share of land value) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximum priority | 10% |
| 2 | High priority | 7.5% |
| 3 | Medium priority | 5% |
| 4 | Low priority | 2.5% |
| 5 | Outside the priority zones | No fee, but the area counts toward the owner’s total land in the city |
Source: Ministry of Municipalities and Housing.
Tier 5 is easy to overlook. Land there is not charged, but its area still counts toward your total in Riyadh, so it can push you over the 5,000 m² threshold.
How to estimate your bill
The estimate follows one line:
Estimated annual fee = land value × tier rate × your share
- Land value. A technical committee of licensed valuers from the Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers values the land (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing). The platform’s “Land Valuation” service shows the approved value for your plot (White Land platform).
- Tier rate. From the table above, or from the result of the applicability check.
- Your share. Your ownership percentage on the deed, or 100% if you are the only owner.
Illustrative example with made-up round numbers: a plot with an approved value of SAR 10,000,000, in the medium-priority tier (5%), of which you own 25%.
- Fee for the whole plot per year: 10,000,000 × 5% = SAR 500,000.
- Your share: 500,000 × 25% = SAR 125,000.
This is only an estimate to help you plan. The binding amount is the one on your official invoice, and the platform has its own white land fee calculator (White Land platform). The platform FAQ also says there are no fee reductions: whoever receives an invoice must pay its full value (White Land platform FAQ).
Objecting: the 60-day window
An owner may appeal an invoice to the committee within sixty days of being notified of it. The committee must decide within 60 days of the appeal being filed (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing).
Three practical points:
- The clock starts at notification. Owners are notified according to the unified invoice issuance date for each city (White Land platform FAQ). It helps to note the notification date on the day you see it.
- Review may run in two stages. The Arabic invoice service page lists 90 days for review by the programme, then 60 days for the committee after referral (White Land platform, Arabic). Following your appeal’s status on the platform is safer than counting days.
- If no decision arrives. According to Saudipedia, 60 days passing without a decision counts as a rejection, and committee decisions can be challenged before the administrative court (Saudipedia, Arabic). If the timing is unclear in your case, the programme answers on 920022440.
Step by step
Based on the platform’s Invoice Management and Appeal Management pages:
- Sign in to the White Land platform through the National Single Sign-On (Nafath).
- Open “Invoice Management” and select the invoice.
- View the invoice details and choose to submit an appeal.
- Attach any documents that support your appeal.
- Track it later under “Appeal Management”, which shows its status and details.
Landowners, their agents and authorised representatives can file. The service is free. The programme’s contacts are 920022440 and lands@momah.gov.sa.
Points worth checking before you appeal
The platform publishes no list of accepted grounds; the committee decides. Still, a few invoice details are easy to compare with your records:
- Area and share: do they match your deed?
- Tier: the applicability check shows the tier.
- Value: does the approved valuation fit what you know about the plot?
- Development: per the platform FAQ, if development is complete and a completion certificate is issued before the invoice date, the fee stops for that land.
Appeal or extra development time?
If you plan to build, an extension may suit you better. When an invoice is issued, an owner can request extra time to develop, granted if the committee approves. If development is not finished within that time, fees are due for the whole period (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing). The request needs a valid document such as a building permit or a plan approval (White Land platform, Arabic).
Paying, and paying late
- Deadline. Fees and any fines are due within one calendar year (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing). For invoices covering earlier years, the regulations set 90 days from notification (Al Eqtisadiah, Arabic).
- How. Through online banking, your bank’s app or an ATM: Government Payments, then Idle Lands, then the payment number on the invoice (White Land platform FAQ).
- Late payment. The law punishes violations with a fine that cannot exceed the fee due, and the fine does not cancel the fee itself (Saudipedia, Arabic). So paying after the deadline may cost up to the value of the fee again. The list of violations and fines is set by ministerial decision (Al Eqtisadiah, Arabic).
- Does an appeal pause payment? We found no published official answer. It is worth asking the programme well before your payment year ends.
Vacant buildings: rules approved, zones not yet announced
The ministry announced its approval of the implementing regulations for the vacant properties fee on 13 May 2026 (Okaz, Arabic; Ministry of Municipalities and Housing), and they were published in Umm Al-Qura on 28/11/1447 AH (Umm Al-Qura). The key points:
- The fee applies only to vacant buildings in zones the minister sets by decision, and each zone is announced with its city and a map (Umm Al-Qura).
- A building counts as vacant if unused for 6 months, consecutive or not, in the reference year.
- The fee is based on fair rental value and cannot exceed 5% of the building’s value per year.
- Payment is due within up to 6 months of the invoice date (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing).
As of writing, we have not found an official announcement of any vacant property zones. What is being invoiced today is white land.
How Sakudar helps
Sakudar is an independent app, not a government body. It does not file appeals for you, does not connect to the White Land platform and never asks for your Nafath login. What it does is keep your dates in order:
- Invoice tracker: enter the notification date and amount, and see your last day to appeal (60 days from notification) and your payment date.
- Estimate calculator: land value × tier rate × your share.
- Vacant property alert: a notice when fee zones are announced.
- Shared file for heirs: tasks with an assignee and a due date, such as “gather appeal documents”.
See features and pricing. If you also own property in areas announced for real estate registration, read about the registration deadline.
FAQ
When does the 60-day objection window start?
From the date you are notified of the invoice (Ministry of Municipalities and Housing), as shown on the platform.
Is the fee reduced for land shared between heirs?
No reduction applies. Each co-owner receives an invoice for their own share (White Land platform FAQ).
Has the vacant buildings fee started?
Not as far as we can find. The regulations are approved, but the fee waits for the minister to announce zones.
Can Sakudar file my objection?
No. Sakudar reminds you of dates; the appeal is filed on the White Land platform from your own account.
If you hold white land or inherited land in Riyadh, you can try Sakudar free for 14 days with no card, and log your notification date so the reminder reaches you in time. Sakudar is independent and not a government body.