Country guide · 6 min read · Updated October 2026
Payroll in Kuwait: the month, the calendar and a salary worked through
How a payroll month runs in Kuwait: the deadlines, social insurance branch by branch, a salary worked through to net pay and employer cost, overtime, the year's holidays and what changed this year.
How does payroll work in Kuwait?
Wages go into each employee's account at a local bank, at least once a month and never more than seven days late. PIFSS contributions for Kuwaiti nationals are due at the start of the next month. The employer pays 11.5% of the wage, up to KWD 2,750 a month. The employee pays 10.5% on the first KWD 1,500 and 8% above it. Expatriates are outside PIFSS. There is no income tax, and everyone builds up end-of-service pay.
Know the month's deadlines
Four deadlines shape a payroll in Kuwait. Each one sits with your own entity.
| Deadline | What is due |
|---|---|
| At least once a month, within seven days of the due date | Wages, into each employee's account at a local bank, with the payroll list sent to the Public Authority for Manpower |
| At the start of the next month | PIFSS contributions for each Kuwaiti, both shares, or on the first working day after a holiday |
| Within ten days of joining | Registering a Kuwaiti employee with PIFSS |
| Within ten days of leaving | Telling PIFSS that the employee's service has ended |
Contributions paid more than ten days late carry an additional 1% a month, counted from the due date. An employee not registered in time adds 10% to the contributions owed.
Work out contributions branch by branch
PIFSS covers Kuwaiti nationals working in the private sector. Contributions are worked out on the wage, in two bands: the first KWD 1,500 a month, and the part above it up to KWD 2,750. Nothing is due on pay above KWD 2,750.
| Branch | Employer | Employee | The part of the wage it is worked out on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic insurance, for pension, disability, sickness and death | 10% | 5% | The first KWD 1,500 |
| Supplementary insurance, for the same cover | 10% | 5% | From KWD 1,500 to KWD 2,750 |
| Pension increase fund | 1% | 2.5% | Up to KWD 2,750 |
| Financial reward fund | Nothing | 2.5% | The first KWD 1,500 |
| Unemployment insurance | 0.5% | 0.5% | Up to KWD 2,750 |
| On the first KWD 1,500 | 11.5% | 10.5% | |
| From KWD 1,500 to KWD 2,750 | 11.5% | 8% |
For a Kuwaiti national, the wage PIFSS counts also includes the allowances the state pays through labour support.
Expatriates are outside PIFSS. A national of another Gulf country is covered by their own country's scheme, under the Gulf extension of insurance protection.
Follow one salary through the month
Take a wage of KWD 2,000 a month. Here is the same wage for a Kuwaiti national and for an expatriate from outside the Gulf.
| A Kuwaiti national | An expatriate | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | KWD 2,000 | KWD 2,000 |
| PIFSS from the employee, on the first KWD 1,500 | KWD 157.50 | Nothing |
| PIFSS from the employee, on the KWD 500 above it | KWD 40 | Nothing |
| Net pay | KWD 1,802.50 | KWD 2,000 |
| PIFSS from the employer | KWD 230 | Nothing |
| The employer's cost for the month, before end of service | KWD 2,230 | KWD 2,000 |
The Kuwaiti national's figures leave out the labour support allowances, which the state pays and PIFSS also counts. Kuwait has no income tax, so nothing else is withheld.
End of service builds up on top for both. It is 15 days' pay for each of the first five years, then a month's pay for each year after, up to a year and a half's pay. It is worked out on the last wage, with the allowances paid regularly included. A day's pay is the month's wage divided by its working days, with rest days left out.
A Kuwaiti national receives end of service in full, with nothing deducted for the employer's PIFSS contributions.
Pay overtime at the right rate
| What it earns | |
|---|---|
| Overtime | The hour's wage plus 25% |
| Work on the weekly rest day | The day's wage plus at least 50%, and another day off |
| Work on an official holiday | Two times the day's wage, and another day off |
Normal hours are up to 48 a week, and 36 in Ramadan. Overtime needs the employer's written order, where the work requires it.
Overtime may not pass two hours a day or 180 hours a year. It may not fall on more than three days a week or 90 days a year. The employer keeps a record of each employee's overtime: the dates, the hours and the pay.
Mark the year's public holidays
Each official holiday is paid at the full wage.
| Holiday | Days |
|---|---|
| Islamic New Year | One |
| Isra and Mi'raj | One |
| Eid al-Fitr | Three |
| Arafat Day | One |
| Eid al-Adha | Three |
| The Prophet's Birthday | One |
| National Day | One, the 25th of February |
| Liberation Day | One, the 26th of February |
| New Year's Day | One |
The holidays of the Islamic calendar move with the moon, so their dates change each year. An official holiday that falls during annual leave does not count against it.
Keep pay within Kuwait's wage rules
Wages are paid in Kuwaiti dinars, on a working day. Monthly-paid staff are paid at least once a month.
No more than 10% of a wage may be deducted for a debt or loan owed to the employer, and it carries no interest. All deductions together, maintenance and the employer's own debts included, stop at 25% of the wage.
A wage may not be reduced during the employee's service, for any reason.
The Minister sets the minimum wage by profession and trade, in a decision issued at least every five years.
See what changed this year, and what is next
| When | What changes |
|---|---|
| September 2026 | The Central Bank of Kuwait launched the Kuwait Wage Payment System, for wage transfers through local banks. The Public Authority for Manpower monitors employers' compliance through it |
No change to PIFSS rates, its bands or end of service had been published by October 2026. When one is, it is in our engine before the run it affects. You are told what changed and what it does to your figures.
Run the month from one record
A month in Kuwait brings together the salary file for your bank, PIFSS on two bands for each Kuwaiti, an end-of-service balance for everyone and holidays that move with the moon. A payroll fed from several places struggles to keep them in step.
On our payroll, each comes from one record, on an engine we build and maintain for Kuwait's law. Your entity submits the files and pays its people.
Common questions.
When are PIFSS contributions due?
Do expatriates pay social insurance in Kuwait?
Is there income tax on salaries in Kuwait?
See how a payroll month runs with us.
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