Tax
Kuwait has no personal income tax. Foreign corporate bodies pay 15% on Kuwait-source profits, and large multinational groups pay a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax from 2025.
PIFSS social security for Kuwaitis
Contributions are due for Kuwaiti nationals on basic salary plus recurring contractual allowances, in two tiers:
| Employer | Employee | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary up to KWD 1,500 | 11.5% | 10.5% |
| Portion from KWD 1,500 to 2,750 | 11.5% | 8% |
Contributions are due at the start of the following month. After a 10-day grace period, a 1% monthly penalty applies, and new hires must be registered (Form 103) within 10 days. Expatriates are not PIFSS-insured. GCC nationals contribute at home-country rates, collected through PIFSS.
End-of-service indemnity
Labour Law 6/2010, Articles 51–55, for monthly-paid staff:
- 15 days’ remuneration per year for the first five years;
- one month per year after that;
- part years pro rata, with a cap of 1.5 years’ remuneration.
The base is the last full remuneration: basic pay plus contractual allowances and periodic bonuses, not basic alone. On resignation (Art. 53): nothing under 3 years, half for 3–5 years, two thirds for 5–10 years, and the full amount after 10 years. A woman who resigns within a year of marriage receives the full indemnity. Use the Kuwait indemnity calculator.
Salary payment
Employers with five or more workers must pay into the workers’ local bank accounts (Art. 57). Monthly-paid staff must be paid at least monthly, no later than 7 days after the due date. Deductions are limited: up to 10% of wage for employer loans, and 25% in total.
Working time and leave
- Hours: 8 a day, 48 a week; 36 a week in Ramadan.
- Overtime: +25% on normal days, +50% on the weekly rest day (plus a substitute day) and +100% on public holidays. Caps are 2 hours a day and 180 hours a year.
- Annual leave: 30 days a year after nine months’ service. Whether these are calendar or working days is unsettled, so state a policy in contracts.
- Maternity leave: 70 days at full pay, plus up to four months unpaid.
- Minimum wage: KWD 75 a month in the private sector.
Gotchas for foreign employers
- Indemnity uses full remuneration, not basic, so allowances raise end-of-service cost.
- The PIFSS base must be split correctly across the two salary tiers.
- Kuwaitisation quotas apply, and the new residence law (Decree-Law 114/2024) shifts deportation costs to employers.