Personal income tax in Oman: what we know so far

What has been issued, and when does it start?

The Personal Income Tax Law was issued by Royal Decree No. 56/2025 on 22 June 2025 and published in the Official Gazette, issue 1602, on 30 June 2025. Article 4 of the decree says it applies from 1 January 2028.

This means there is no personal income tax in 2026 or 2027. The first tax year is 2028, and the first return is filed in 2029.

The rest of the Gulf does not tax salaries as of 2026, as shown in the list of countries with no income tax.

What is the rate and who pays?

Rate: 5% of taxable income, under Article 8.

Threshold: the law defines net income as total income above 42,000 Omani rials a year. So the first 42,000 rials are not taxed, and tax applies only to the amount above that.

Who pays (Article 6):

• Residents: on income earned in Oman and abroad.
• Non-residents: on income earned in Oman only.

The law applies to Omanis and non-Omanis alike. A resident is someone who is in Oman for more than 183 days in the tax year, in one stretch or in total. To compare with residence rules in other countries, read the guide to tax residency and the 183-day rule.

Which types of income are taxed?

Article 7 lists the types of taxable income, including:

• Salaries, wages and similar pay.
• Self-employment and professional income.
• Rental income.
• Royalties and interest.
• Dividends, and capital gains on shares and sukuk.
• Gains on selling property.
• Pensions and end-of-service gratuities.
• Prizes, grants and gifts.
• Board membership fees.

The 42,000 rial threshold applies to total income from all these sources together, not to each source separately.

What deductions and exemptions are there?

Article 25 lists what is deducted from net income or exempt, including:

• Education costs for the taxpayer, their spouse, parents and children.
• Healthcare costs.
• Interest on a loan for your main home, once in a lifetime.
• Zakat and donations to approved bodies, up to 5% of total income.
• Inheritance and bequests, and gifts between spouses and first-degree relatives.
• Gains on selling a main or second home.

The limits on education and healthcare deductions are left to the executive regulations, and we have not found them published yet, so we give no figures for them. For rental and self-employment income, you can choose between a flat 15% deduction or actual costs.

Worked example: an expat manager in Muscat in 2028

An expat manager resident in Oman earns a gross salary of 5,000 rials a month, or 60,000 rials a year, with no other income and no deductions.

• Total income: 60,000 rials.
• The first 42,000 rials are excluded.
• Net taxable income: 18,000 rials.
• Tax: 18,000 × 5% = 900 rials a year, or about 75 rials a month.
• Effective rate on salary: 900 ÷ 60,000 = 1.5%.

Another employee earning 3,000 rials a month (36,000 a year) pays nothing, because their income is below the threshold.

The example is based on the text of the law, and the executive regulations may change details of the calculation before 2028. For 2026 salaries, use the Oman calculator.

Filing and payment

Article 33 requires anyone whose total income exceeds 42,000 rials to file an electronic return within 6 months of the end of the tax year. Article 42 sets the payment deadline as the same date as the return.

In practice: income for 2028 is declared and paid before the end of June 2029.

The authority in charge is the Oman Tax Authority. Procedural details, such as return forms and how tax would be withheld from salaries if that applies, are waiting on the executive regulations.

What is still undecided?

The law has been issued, but many details are waiting on the executive regulations and decisions of the Tax Authority. As of the date of this guide, we have not found any published text that settles the following:

• Limits on education and healthcare deductions: the law allows them and leaves the caps to the regulations.
• How tax is collected from salaries: will the employer withhold it each month, or will the employee pay it only when filing?
• Approved bodies for zakat and donations: to be set by decision of the head of the Tax Authority.
• Treatment of end-of-service gratuity: the law lists pensions and end-of-service gratuities as income, and exempts payments into up to two pension or gratuity schemes, with details in the regulations.

So any figure you see today for your 2028 tax is an estimate based on the text of the law alone. We will update this guide and the calculator when the regulations are issued.

What this means for people working in Oman today

• The threshold is high: a monthly salary of up to 3,500 rials does not exceed it if it is your only income.
• Total income is what counts: rent and investment returns are added to salary, so people with investments may go over the threshold.
• Non-residents are taxed on Omani income only, and residents on worldwide income.
• GCC nationals resident in Oman are subject to the law if they exceed the threshold, because the law does not distinguish by nationality.

Compare Oman with its neighbours in Oman or the UAE and Saudi Arabia or Oman, and read the Oman tax guide.

Sources

1. Royal Decree 56/2025 issuing the Personal Income Tax Law (Official Gazette, issue 1602)
2. Oman Tax Authority

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rules change; check with the authority or a qualified adviser before you act. How we work.