Year-End Closing Checklist Saudi Arabia: 2027 Deadlines Week by Week

A year-end closing checklist in Saudi Arabia, for a company whose year ends on 31 December 2026, revolves around five fixed dates: withholding tax by 10 January 2027, GOSI contributions in the first 15 days of January, the last VAT return by 31 January, the zakat return by 30 April and financial statements on Qawaem by 30 June 2027. Everything else on the list is there to get those filings right the first time.

Here is the plan, week by week through December and early January, then by deadline (dates as of October 2026):

• Week 1 (1–5 December): issue stock count instructions, flag slow-moving and damaged items, and request bank confirmation letters if your auditor needs them.
• Week 2 (6–12 December): send customer statements and agree balances with your largest debtors.
• Week 3 (13–19 December): register every asset bought this year and check that depreciation entries are posting.
• Week 4 (20–26 December): reconcile bank accounts to date and clear the suspense account.
• Week 5 (27–31 December): count stock on Thursday 31 December, count petty cash and close December payroll.
• Week 6 (3–9 January 2027): post count differences dated 31 December, finish bank reconciliations, and accrue end-of-service and leave.
• By Sunday 10 January: December withholding tax return and payment.
• By Thursday 14 January: December GOSI contributions, since the 15th is a Friday.
• By Sunday 31 January: December or fourth-quarter VAT return and payment.
• February: provisions, final adjustments and draft financial statements.
• March: external audit fieldwork, if your company needs one.
• By Thursday 29 April: zakat return and payment, because 30 April 2027 is a Friday.
• By Wednesday 30 June: financial statements filed on Qawaem.

Ramadan, expected from about 8 February to 8 March 2027, falls inside this window, so book your auditor and zakat adviser in December, not in March.

Closing the books means every balance-sheet line agrees with evidence from outside the system: a count sheet, a bank statement, a customer confirmation or an asset register. In Odoo 20 Enterprise, the year appears as an Annual Closing item on the Tax Returns screen, with checks that flag anomalies before you validate it (see Odoo's year-end closing documentation).

Inventory count and valuation. Count on 31 December and enter quantities in the Counted column under Inventory, Operations, Physical Inventory. When you click Apply All, set the Counting Date in the pop-up to 31 December so the stock moves are dated in 2026; for Perpetual (at invoicing) products, also set the Accounting Date that appears there. Then open Accounting, Review, Inventory Valuation and generate the stock closing entry as of 31 December. With the Periodic (at closing) method, the books only catch up with the warehouse at that entry. Our guide to Odoo inventory management in Saudi Arabia covers lots and multi-city stock.

Receivables aging and provisions. Run the Aged Receivable report as of 31 December. Odoo's closing checks ask you to review receivables more than 60 days overdue and decide whether you need an allowance for doubtful accounts or an IFRS 9 expected credit loss provision. Agree the method with your auditor and book it before the year is locked.

Bank and cash. Reconcile every bank account to 31 December so the book balance matches the statement, count petty cash and empty the suspense account. Odoo 20's bank reconciliation summary shows what is still unmatched at the period end; Odoo 20 accounting in Saudi Arabia explains its stricter bank controls.

Fixed-asset depreciation. Odoo creates each asset's depreciation entries as drafts and posts them on schedule. Check that December's entries are posted, that this year's purchases are registered as assets and that disposals are recorded.

The closing checks also include Earnings Allocation: Odoo 20 shows the year's result as a dynamic Result Brought Forward line in the next year's trial balance until you post it to a current year earnings account.

Payroll is where year-end figures are easiest to understate: end-of-service benefits build up quietly every month and only turn into cash when someone leaves. Book them at 31 December, not when a resignation letter arrives.

The Labor Law sets the award in Article 84: half a month's wage for each of the first five years and a month's wage for each year after that, based on the last wage, with part years counted pro rata. Under Article 85, an employee who resigns receives a third of the award after two to five years of service, two thirds after more than five and under ten years, and the full award after ten years.

A worked example:

• An employee with 7 years of service and a last wage of SAR 10,000 a month.
• First 5 years: 5 × SAR 5,000 = SAR 25,000.
• Years 6 and 7: 2 × SAR 10,000 = SAR 20,000.
• Full award: SAR 45,000. If the employee resigned instead, two thirds: SAR 30,000.

Ask your auditor which basis your provision should follow; some will ask for an actuarial valuation.

GOSI contributions for December are paid within the first 15 days of January, so they belong in your 2026 accounts as a liability. The Social Insurance Law charges a fine of 2% of the contribution for each month of delay or part of a month. Accrue December salaries paid in January, unused leave and any bonuses earned in 2026 as well.

Odoo 20's Saudi payroll localization (the Payroll app, Enterprise) posts to these lines as you run payslips: End of Service Provision (202001), Leave Days Provision (201006) and GOSI Employee Payable (201022). If payroll runs there, year-end becomes a review: compare each provision with the employee's service and wage, and fix contracts missing a start date. Our Odoo HR and payroll guide for Saudi companies covers the setup.

The tax side of a 2026 close has three filings: December withholding tax by 10 January 2027, the last VAT return by 31 January, and the zakat return with payment by 30 April 2027.

VAT. A return and the net VAT due must reach ZATCA by the last day of the month after the tax period ends. Businesses with annual supplies above SAR 40 million file monthly, so their December return is due on 31 January; smaller ones file quarterly, and the October to December return has the same date. Late filing costs 5% to 25% of the tax that should have been declared. To tie the return to your sales figures, see matching POS, VAT and ZATCA figures in Odoo.

Withholding tax. If you paid non-resident suppliers in December (those with no permanent establishment in the Kingdom), file and pay by 10 January 2027. Late payment costs 1% of the unpaid tax for every 30 days.

Zakat. Article 102 of the Implementing Regulations of Zakat Collection allows 120 days from year-end to file and pay, which means 30 April 2027 for a 31 December year. The rule only extends a deadline that lands on an official holiday, and ZATCA's 2026 calendar left Saturday deadlines such as 31 January unchanged. 30 April 2027 is a Friday, so aim for Thursday 29 April. Income tax returns follow the same 120 days, as ZATCA's notice for the 2025 returns shows.

In Odoo 20, the Saudi localization includes a VAT Return and a Withholding Return. Validating a return on the Tax Returns screen posts the closing entry and sets the Tax Return Lock Date, so nobody edits a filed period by accident. The localization has no zakat return, only a Zakat journal and zakat provision and expense accounts, so your adviser works from Odoo's trial balance and statements.

Record retention. For VAT, keep invoices, including e-invoices, books and records for at least 6 years from the end of the tax period; capital-asset records for their adjustment period plus 5 years; and real-estate records for at least 15 years. The Commercial Books Law sets 10 years for books, correspondence and documents, so treat 10 years as the floor. If ZATCA has notified you for Wave 25, read our Wave 25 e-invoicing guide.

Once the accounts are final, one filing remains: every company deposits its financial statements on the Qawaem platform within six months of year-end, so by 30 June 2027 for a 31 December 2026 year. Article 17(2) of the Companies Law sets the rule, and it covers limited liability, joint-stock and simplified joint-stock companies and partnerships. The Ministry of Commerce's filing reminder (in Arabic) names who is responsible: the manager, board chair, company head or liquidator, depending on the company's form.

External audit. A micro or small company that meets two of three tests (annual revenue up to SAR 10 million, assets up to SAR 10 million, no more than 49 employees) is generally exempt from appointing an external auditor, though Article 19 of the Companies Law lists exceptions and lets partners holding at least 10% of the voting shares request one in writing. It still files on Qawaem, choosing the exempt report type. Ministerial Decision 236 sets direct fines on whoever fails to file, from SAR 2,000 for some small companies to SAR 20,000 for larger unlisted joint-stock companies.

When the books are final and the audit begins, set the Lock Everything date in Odoo to 31 December 2026, so no entry dated 2026 can be added or changed without an exception that Odoo logs. Odoo 20 can also assemble an annual report with the balance sheet and profit and loss and export it as a PDF.

10 costly year-end mistakes:

• Posting stock count differences with a January accounting date.
• Leaving draft invoices and bills dated 2026.
• Reconciling the bank but not petty cash or company cards.
• Carrying old receivables at full value with no provision.
• Booking end-of-service benefits only when someone leaves.
• Paying December GOSI contributions after 15 January.
• Forgetting December withholding tax on payments to foreign suppliers.
• Editing a period after its VAT return has been filed.
• Leaving zakat to the last week of April.
• Assuming an audit exemption also exempts you from Qawaem.

Your next step: put these five dates in your finance team's calendar today. To run your 2027 close in one system, request a free Odoo proposal from METCH.