SOCPA VAT Specialist Exam Content: The 8 Topics and Their Weights

Last verified: 21 October 2026. Exam details and topics can change, so check the VAT Specialist exam page on the SOCPA website and the exam topics page before you start studying. This is an independent study guide and is not affiliated with the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA), the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) or any government body.

SOCPA says the exam measures candidates' theoretical knowledge and whether they have the practical skills to apply it. Memorising the law is not enough: many questions are cases that ask you to calculate the tax, work out when it is due, or pick the right treatment in the VAT return.

Exam format at a glance

That is about two and a half minutes per question, and you will need it, because part of the paper is calculations and cases with tables of figures. Eligibility, registration steps and fees are in the registration guide.

The eight topics and their weights

In its VAT Specialist exam topics document (2024 edition), SOCPA publishes a minimum and maximum share for each topic. Here is the number of questions in each:

Our mock exams follow this split. Topics 4, 5 and 7 alone make up 36 questions, 60% of the exam.

Topic 1: Principles of financial accounting (about 6 questions)

The general accounting framework, the accounting cycle, and year-end adjustments and financial statements: the definitions of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, the accounting equation and how transactions affect it, journal entries and the trial balance, depreciation, prepaid and accrued expenses, the allowance for doubtful debts and cost of goods sold.

Topic 2: The general tax framework in Saudi Arabia (about 3 questions)

A theory topic: the concept, features, canons and objectives of taxation, types of taxes, international agreements, double taxation, the difference between tax evasion (breaking the law) and tax avoidance (lawfully using its provisions), the structure of indirect taxes in the Kingdom and the role of VAT in public finance.

Topic 3: The theoretical and practical framework of VAT (about 3 questions)

The features of VAT and how it differs from a sales tax, its objectives and effects, terminology, the legislative framework (the GCC Unified Agreement, then the Law, then the Implementing Regulations, then the guidelines), the types of supply by rate (the standard 15% since 1 July 2020, zero-rated and exempt), and how the mechanism works: each registered person charges output tax and deducts input tax, so the burden falls on the final consumer.

Topic 4: VAT policies and scope (about 15 questions)

The largest topic, with 13 subtopics, most of them specific articles of the Implementing Regulations:

• Scope and deemed supplies: promotional gifts and samples are not a deemed supply if they do not exceed SAR 200 per recipient per year, with an annual cap of SAR 50,000 (Article 15).
• Tax point: the earliest of the date of supply, the date of the invoice and the date payment is received, to the extent of the amount received (Article 23 of the Unified Agreement).
• Registration and deregistration: the mandatory threshold of SAR 375,000 and the voluntary threshold of SAR 187,500, applying within 30 days (Articles 3 to 7), and VAT groups.
• Place of supply: the general rule and special rules such as real estate, transport and telecoms.
• Exempt and zero-rated supplies: exempt supplies include financial services with an implicit margin and life insurance (Article 29) and real estate supplies and residential leases (Article 30); zero-rated supplies include exports, services to non-GCC residents, international transport, qualifying medicines and investment metals (Articles 31 to 36).
• Value of supply and imports: fair market value between related parties (Article 38), adjusting the value of a supply (Article 40), import VAT and the reverse charge.
• Input tax deduction: its conditions (Article 49), proportional deduction (Article 51) and capital asset adjustments over 6 years for movable and 10 years for immovable assets (Article 52), then payment, refunds and transitional provisions.

Topic 5: Accounting and tax treatment (about 11 questions)

• Tax invoices (Article 53): issued by the fifteenth day of the month after the supply; simplified invoices, credit and debit notes (Article 54) and e-invoicing.
• Books and records (Article 66): at least 6 years, longer for capital assets, in Arabic and kept in the Kingdom.
• Accounting entries: output tax is a liability, non-deductible input tax is added to cost, and the treatment of bad debts and returns.
• Tax period: monthly for businesses with supplies above SAR 40 million, quarterly for others (Article 58); the cash basis for businesses with supplies of no more than SAR 5 million (Article 46).
• The return: filed and the net tax paid by the last day of the month after the period (Articles 59 and 62), completing its boxes, and correcting it (Article 63).

Topic 6: Rights, obligations and penalties (about 7 questions)

The taxpayer's obligations and rights (deduction, refunds, objections and confidentiality), and VAT administration: audits and assessments (Article 64 of the Regulations) and instalments (Article 60). The penalties in Articles 40 to 47 of the Law: evasion is fined no less than the tax due and no more than three times the value of the goods or services involved; failing to register, SAR 10,000; an incorrect return, 50% of the difference; late filing, 5% to 25%; late payment, 5% for each month or part of a month; an unregistered person issuing a tax invoice, up to SAR 100,000; other breaches, up to SAR 50,000; and fines may be doubled for a repeat offence within three years.

Topic 7: Key sectors (about 10 questions)

Applies everything above to sectors: commercial, manufacturing, real estate, contracting, healthcare, education and food, telecoms and IT, and transport, gold and oil. The best references are ZATCA's guidelines. Examples:

• Sales of real estate are exempt from VAT and subject to RETT; residential leases are exempt and commercial leases are taxable.
• The tax point for contracting progress claims when the claim date, the client's approval and the invoice date differ.
• Private healthcare and education are standard-rated, with the state bearing the VAT for citizens under set conditions; qualifying medicines and medical equipment are zero-rated.
• An implicit margin on financial services is exempt while explicit fees are taxable; investment metals of 99% purity or more are zero-rated.

Topic 8: Real estate transaction tax (about 5 questions)

The concept of RETT and how it differs from VAT, taxable and exempt transactions, who pays, when it is due, payment and fines. Since 10 April 2025, the RETT Law issued by Royal Decree M/84 and its new Implementing Regulations have applied in place of the previous regulations:

• 5% of the agreed value of the transaction, as long as it is within fair market value (Article 2).
• 21 exemptions (Article 3), including dividing an estate, a documented gift to relatives up to the third degree, a temporary transfer as security for financing, and an in-kind contribution to a company's capital under conditions.
• Due on the date the transaction is documented (Article 4); the transferor is liable, and the transferee is jointly liable if it caused the non-payment (Article 7).
• Evasion up to three times the tax; late payment 2% a month, up to 50% (Article 15).

The laws and guidelines behind the questions

The GCC Unified VAT Agreement (2016), the VAT Law (M/113) as amended, its Implementing Regulations in their 10th edition (April 2025), which includes the November 2024 amendments, the E-Invoicing Regulations, the RETT Law and its Regulations, and the guidelines and notices that explain how the rules apply but do not replace them. Our questions are based on the rules in force.

What do the questions look like?

In September 2025 SOCPA published practice questions for the VAT Specialist exam with answers, each with four options, in three types:

• Short concept questions: for example, the definition of assets, or when deregistration takes effect.
• Calculations: cost of goods sold, the output tax reduction for bad debts, or net VAT on the cash basis. The options are close figures that come from common mistakes.
• Cases "as a VAT specialist": facts, dates and amounts, and you must give the tax point or the correct action, such as correcting an earlier return.

SOCPA notes that they are for learning only, are not guaranteed to match the real questions and do not reflect the topic weights.

Study tips

• Start with topics 4, 5 and 7, which account for 36 of the 60 questions.
• Read the articles of the Regulations themselves, not summaries, and practise the calculations: VAT from a VAT-inclusive price (price × 15 ÷ 115) and proportional deduction.
• Make sure your notes are current: anything written before the November 2024 amendments or the new RETT law may no longer be correct.
• SOCPA offers a preparatory programme and the VAT Specialist study kit. A timetable and the common traps are in the study plan.

To see where you stand, try the free practice test: 10 free questions covering the main topics, with an explanation for every answer.