Salary Seizure in Saudi Arabia: How Much Can Be Deducted?

Your gross salary is SAR 9,000, and this month it arrived SAR 3,000 short, without anyone telling you. After asking, you find out the reason is an enforcement request for an old debt. The natural question is whether this amount is within the legal limit.

The short answer: for ordinary debts, no more than one third of your gross salary can be seized; for family maintenance (nafaqa), up to one half. The calculation starts from the type of debt and the gross salary, not from the net amount that reached your account.

The new Enforcement Law comes into force 180 days after its publication in the Official Gazette on 14/11/1447H (1 May 2026), around the end of October 2026, and replaces the Enforcement Law of 1433H (Article 65). This guide is based on the law in force today. A separate section explains what changes.

What percentage of salary does the law allow to be seized?

Article 21 of the Enforcement Law prohibits seizure and enforcement against wages and salaries except within two limits:

• One half of the gross wage or salary for a maintenance (nafaqa) debt.
• One third of the gross wage or salary for other debts.

When debts compete, meaning a maintenance debt exists together with other debts, half the gross salary goes to maintenance, and one third of the other half goes to the other debts. If there are several of these other debts, that one third of the half is shared between them according to Sharia and the law. So a new ordinary creditor does not open another third of your salary. He shares the same portion with the earlier creditors.

The Implementing Regulations clarify that wages and salaries include related allowances, incentives and bonuses (paragraph 21/4). So the calculation is on the gross amount including allowances, not on the basic salary alone.

Example: a salary of SAR 9,000

These are ceilings, not required amounts. The actual seizure may be lower if the remaining debt is below the ceiling. If the SAR 3,000 in the table is split between two ordinary creditors, it is divided between them. It does not double.

When can more than this percentage be seized?

The regulations mention two cases. First, if the debtor agrees to a larger amount, the court seizes the amount he decides and records his agreement (paragraph 21/6). Second, salary that built up before the seizure order and exceeds the maintenance needs of the debtor and his dependants is not protected (paragraph 21/5). So savings from earlier salaries may be seized in full, unlike salary paid after the order.

After the seizure, the debtor may not move his salary deposit to another bank without the court's permission. This obligation is on the employer and the bank (paragraph 60/1 of the regulations).

How do you tell enforcement seizure apart from other deductions?

A shortfall in salary may come from more than one source: an enforcement seizure, a finance instalment, or a deduction linked to the employment relationship. The Article 21 limits apply to enforcement seizure. Ask your employer for a statement of the gross salary and every deduction and its reason, and compare it with your bank statement. Remember that enforcement seizure may be directed to the employer itself, seizing what it will owe you in future (Article 63), or to your bank account. Ask both.

If your salary changes or your employment ends, provide proof to the court. A stop in salary does not cancel the debt, but it changes the source of payment, and the calculation should not continue on an old salary figure.

What changes under the new Enforcement Law?

Article 26 of the new law keeps the salary percentages the same: one half for maintenance, one third for other debts, and half plus one third of the other half when they compete. It adds rules that had no separate provision in current Article 21:

• Civil and military retirement pensions: may be seized up to one half for maintenance, and only one quarter for other debts. When they compete, half goes to maintenance and one quarter of the other half to other debts.
• Government benefits paid to the debtor: cannot be seized.
• Anything specified by a Council of Ministers resolution: added to the assets that cannot be seized.

So, for example, from a retirement pension of SAR 8,000, no more than SAR 2,000 can be seized for an ordinary debt under the new law. The new regulations will set the procedures.

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.

Practical solutions for both sides

If you are the employee whose salary is seized:

• Ask for a salary certificate showing the gross amount and allowances. It is the basis of the calculation.
• Collect three months of statements showing every deduction and its source.
• If the seizure exceeds the limit, apply to the enforcement judge with the period, the excess amount and your documents.
• If you have several requests, ask the court to confirm the portion is shared between them, not repeated.
• If you want to finish the debt faster, you may agree to a higher percentage, but calculate your living costs first.

If you are the creditor:

• If your debt is maintenance, say so clearly in the request. Its limit is one half, not one third, and maintenance that is due comes before other debts (paragraph 73/4 of the regulations).
• Follow what is actually deducted each month and what is paid to you, and update the balance at each payment.
• If the debtor's employment ends, look for other sources of his assets instead of waiting for a salary that has stopped.
• Offer the debtor an agreement at a higher percentage if he can afford it. This is allowed with his agreement.

If you suspect the deduction from your salary is above the limit, send your salary certificate and bank statement on WhatsApp and we will calculate the percentage with you and decide what to ask for.