MULKIYA · GUIDES
Off-Plan Costs in Saudi Arabia: Every Line on the Price
Reviewed against the official register · Updated 2026-07-30
An off-plan price is more than the sticker: the 5% transfer tax, a capped brokerage line if you engage one, a payment schedule to fund, and exit costs to plan now.
The sticker price is not the cost
The advertised price of an off-plan unit is the base, not the total. On top sit the 5% Real Estate Transaction Tax, a brokerage line that exists only if you engage a broker, and the cost of funding the payment schedule itself. Later, when you sell, the tax returns and a 2% disposal fee applies in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. Budget the full map before you reserve a unit, not after. Inside the 100+ designated zones endorsed by Council of Ministers Decision 43, these lines are the same for Saudis and foreigners at purchase.
The 5% transfer tax on an off-plan unit
Every property transfer carries the 5% Real Estate Transaction Tax on the price, whether the unit is finished or still under construction. In law the tax is the seller's liability. In practice developers commonly price it into the deal, so read the contract for who actually funds it. The tax is collected through the official settlement flow at registration, so it falls due at the end of the build, not at booking, and there is nothing separate to arrange. Ask the developer in writing whether the advertised price includes the tax before you compare two projects.
Brokerage: a capped line, often zero
Buying direct from a developer's sales office is the norm in off-plan sales, and then there is no brokerage line at all. If you do engage a broker, the commission is capped by law at 2.5% of the price, plus 15% VAT on the commission itself, payable by whichever side engaged the broker. Mulkiya is not a broker and never the seller, and it takes no commission or success fee, so your cost list does not change because you found the project through the platform.
The payment plan is a schedule, not credit
An off-plan price usually arrives as staged payments: a booking amount, instalments tied to construction milestones, and a final sum at handover or registration. That is a payment schedule inside the sale contract, not financing. No lender sits behind it and no lending protection covers it. Saudi bank lending is structurally closed to non-residents today, so the schedule is how most foreign buyers phase their own cash. Total every instalment and add the tax, then set the sum against your liquidity with a reserve left over.
What stands between your money and the build
Two protections carry the risk between payment and delivery. The project must hold its own off-plan sales licence, and the licence runs per project, not per company. Your instalments go into a dedicated escrow account for the project at a bank, and the developer draws from it only as construction progress is certified. Verify both before any payment: the licence in the public database, and the escrow account in the project's name at a bank. Also confirm the parcel itself sits inside a designated zone on the official register.
The exit costs to plan on day one
An off-plan buyer eventually becomes a seller. When you sell, the 5% transfer tax returns with you as the transferor, plus a 2% disposal fee for a non-Saudi seller in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, and 0% elsewhere. The market you will exit into is cooling: the official residential price index recorded -3.6% year on year in Q1 2026, so make delivery quality and entry price the two levers you control. Mulkiya's eligibility check asks seven questions and returns an answer from a deterministic rules engine cited to Royal Decree M/14. Run it before you reserve a unit.
Does the 5% transfer tax apply to off-plan purchases?
Yes. The tax applies to the property transfer itself, whether the unit is finished or under construction. It is legally the seller's liability, commonly priced into the deal, and collected through the official settlement flow at registration.
Do I pay brokerage when buying from a developer?
Not if you buy direct, which is the norm in off-plan sales. The 2.5% cap and the 15% VAT on the commission apply only when a broker is actually engaged, by the side that engaged them.
Is a developer payment plan cheaper than a mortgage?
It is not a loan at all. It is a schedule of your own cash, paid in stages, with no lender behind it. Compare plans on total outlay: instalments plus the 5% tax plus any commission within the cap.
What will it cost me to sell an off-plan unit later?
The 5% transfer tax returns with you as the transferor. On top, a 2% disposal fee applies to a non-Saudi seller in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, and 0% elsewhere.
What should I verify before paying anything?
The project's off-plan sales licence, the escrow account in the project's name at a bank, and the parcel's place inside a designated zone on the official register. Pay nothing outside the escrow account.