SOCPA VAT specialist exam: a three-week study plan | Hespah Academy [Skip to main content](#main-content)[![Hespah Academy](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/home_logolight_file2png.webp)](/en)Search More [Home](/en) [Learning Hub](/en/courses) [About us](https://hespah.com/who-we-are) [Blog](/en/blog) [Contact Us](/en/contact) Login[New Account](/en/register) 1. [Home](/en) / 2. [Blog](/en/blog) / 3. Studying for the SOCPA VAT specialist exam in three weeks Studying for the SOCPA VAT specialist exam in three weeks ========================================================= 2026-10-31 / 4 minutes ago The exam falls on Monday 23 November 2026, from half past eight to eleven in the morning. Sixty multiple-choice questions in 150 minutes, with a pass mark of 60% out of 100. Studying for the SOCPA VAT specialist exam in three weeks does not mean reading the syllabus from page one, because time will not stretch that far. It means splitting those weeks across two documents the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants publishes itself: the exam topics document with its weights, and the report on low-performing topics, which names the very items earlier candidates lost marks on. What a three-week study plan for the SOCPA VAT specialist exam must cover ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Start with area four, tax policies and their scope, because it alone carries between 20% and 30% of the questions, which is 12 to 18 out of sixty. Then add accounting and tax treatment, then the sectors. Consequently these three areas secure 50% of the paper as a floor, meaning 30 questions. The format dictates the method ------------------------------ The SOCPA VAT specialist exam gives you sixty questions in 150 minutes, so two and a half minutes per question. The sample paper on the Organization's site shows what that really means: one question hands you an aged receivables table, a provision rate and a certificate from a chartered accountant, then asks for the output tax the business may reduce. In fact it carries a full paragraph of data, and figures that never enter the answer. Therefore what you need is calculation under time pressure, not recall. The Organization holds the exam in Arabic only, so every term you memorised in English will reach you in Arabic on the paper. And if postponement crossed your mind, that door has closed: the Organization accepts a request at least 25 days before the exam date, which made 29 October 2026 the last day to defer the November sitting. Failing is not the end of the road, since a candidate may repeat the exam four times. However, whoever misses it on the fifth attempt has to attend the preparatory programme for VAT specialists (and the professional exams guide then treats them as a new entrant). Topic weights in the SOCPA VAT specialist exam ---------------------------------------------- The topics document gives every area a lower and an upper share of the questions. More useful still, you can map both low-performance reports onto the same table, since they name the items exactly as the topics document does. Area Share of questions Appearance in low-performance reports 1\. Financial accounting principles 6% - 13% 2024 and 2025: the accounting cycle, closing adjustments 2\. The general tax framework in the Kingdom 3% - 8% Did not appear 3\. VAT in theory and application 3% - 8% 2024: how VAT works 4\. Tax policies and their scope 20% - 30% 2024: six items · 2025: seven items 5\. Accounting and tax treatment and its requirements 15% - 21% 2024: treatment requirements, accounting treatment 6\. Rights, obligations, penalties and administration 8% - 15% 2024 and 2025: evasion, penalties and fines 7\. A close look at the main sectors 15% - 20% 2025: contracting, healthcare and education and food, transport and gold and oil 8\. Real estate transaction tax 5% - 10% 2024 and 2025: taxable property transactions ![The eight exam areas with their lower and upper question weights](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17934678540.jpg "The eight exam areas with their lower and upper question weights") Read the table upwards as well: [real estate transaction tax](https://hespah.com/en/blog/real-estate-transaction-tax-saudi) is a full area worth 5% to 10%, meaning 3 to 6 questions, while its rules stand apart from VAT. Therefore anyone who leaves it to the final night throws away cheap marks. Eight topics that appeared in both the 2024 and 2025 reports ------------------------------------------------------------ Each year the Organization publishes a list of low-performing topics for candidates of the SOCPA VAT specialist exam and two other exams. The 2024 list holds 13 topics, whereas the 2025 list holds 15, and eight of them appear in both years. Accordingly those eight are the first files you open: 1. The accounting cycle. 2. Closing adjustments and the preparation of financial statements. 3. [Exempt supplies](https://hespah.com/en/blog/zero-rated-vs-exempt-vat) for VAT purposes. 4. Zero-rated supplies. 5. Methods of calculating the tax due and their rules. 6. Input tax deduction rules. 7. [Tax evasion, penalties and fines](https://hespah.com/en/blog/vat-penalties-saudi-arabia) under the VAT law. 8. Property transactions subject to real estate transaction tax. Four of those eight sit inside area four alone: exempt supplies, zero rating, calculation methods and input tax deduction. In other words, the heaviest area in the SOCPA VAT specialist exam is the same area candidates stumble in year after year. The first two items are pure accounting rather than tax, which is the oddest thing on the list: candidates who work in tax every day keep losing the accounting cycle and closing adjustment questions. ![Eight repeated low-performance topics grouped by their exam areas](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17934678551.jpg "Eight repeated low-performance topics grouped by their exam areas") The 2025 report also named three sectors specifically: contracting, construction and engineering; healthcare, education and food; and transport, gold and oil. Besides [registration types, rules and deregistration](https://hespah.com/en/blog/vat-registration-saudi-arabia), the taxable value and the rules on paying and refunding tax. The gap between the two lists changes your order of priorities: the 2024 weakness sat in the concepts, while the 2025 weakness moved to sector application. The three-week plan ------------------- The table below spreads study for the SOCPA VAT specialist exam across three weeks, each with something concrete to show at the end: Week What you study What you must produce First The whole of area four, plus the two accounting items from the low-performance list One page per rule: scope of application, date of supply, deduction conditions Second Accounting treatment, invoicing and the return, then the seven sectors, then real estate transaction tax A complete journal entry for each case, and a table of what sets each sector apart Third The sample questions, and a review of your mistakes only Two sittings on the real clock: 60 questions in 150 minutes Week one is the expensive one, therefore do not open it with area one however easy that looks. Begin with input tax deduction rules and the methods of calculating tax due; both turn up in every low-performance report published so far. In week two, move from the rule to the entry. For example, the sample paper never asks you to define an exempt supply; instead it hands you an insurance contract, its fees and a tax-deductible share, then asks for the total tax deducted in the return. Memorising the rule without the arithmetic fails here. Week three belongs to the clock. Sit one full paper on real timing, then review nothing except what you got wrong, because a sweeping final-week review burns hours re-fixing what you already know. The sample questions, and the limits the Organization sets on them ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Organization has published a set of sample questions for the SOCPA VAT specialist exam, with model answers and an explanation for some of them. The introduction to that file draws two explicit lines: the questions are «not an official reference for exam content», and likewise they «do not reflect the relative weights adopted in the exams». That second line matters most to anyone building a plan on the sample paper, because the weights come from the topics document alone. Use it to learn the shape of a question, its length and where surplus figures hide in it. And for questions in the same style worked through step by step, we at Hespah Academy offer a [solved SOCPA VAT specialist exam paper](https://hespah.com/en/course/SOCPA-VAT-Sample-Solved) with a lesson for every question. Dates you cannot move --------------------- 1. **The exam:** Monday 23 November 2026, from 8:30 to 11:00 in the morning. 2. **Results:** 17 December 2026 through the Organization's e-services. 3. **The next sitting:** Thursday 4 February 2027, with registration opening 27 December 2026 and closing 31 December 2026. Registration for the November sitting ran from 15 to 19 October 2026 and has closed. Therefore anyone who missed it has a five-day window at the end of December, and any slip there pushes the SOCPA VAT specialist exam to May 2027. Frequently asked questions -------------------------- ### How many questions are in the SOCPA VAT specialist exam? Sixty multiple-choice questions over 150 minutes, with a pass mark of 60% out of 100. Consequently you have two and a half minutes per question. ### Is the exam available in English? No. The Organization holds it in Arabic only, per its exam page. ### Where do I start with only two weeks left? With area four, then the eight topics named in both low-performance reports. Area four alone runs from 12 to 18 questions, while area two never exceeds 8% of the paper. ### How many times may I repeat the SOCPA VAT specialist exam? Four times. However, a candidate who misses it on the fifth attempt has to attend the preparatory programme the Organization runs. ### Is studying the law and the regulations enough? Not enough, because two whole areas sit outside the text of the VAT law: financial accounting principles at 6% to 13%, and likewise real estate transaction tax at 5% to 10%. Three to six questions on property transactions can be the pass margin. Sources ------- 1. Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants, the [VAT specialist exam page](https://socpa.org.sa/Socpa/Technical-Resources/Professional-Tests/Professional-Examinations/932.aspx): question count, duration, pass mark, language, postponement, repetition and the 2026 and 2027 schedules. 2. SOCPA, [exam topics and their weights](https://socpa.org.sa/getattachment/Socpa/Technical-Resources/Professional-Tests/932/Tabs/347/mawdo3at-vat2024.pdf.aspx?lang=ar-SA): the eight areas, their lower and upper limits and their sub-items. 3. SOCPA, [report on low-performing topics](https://socpa.org.sa/Socpa/Technical-Resources/Professional-Tests/3015.aspx) for 2024 and 2025. 4. SOCPA, the page of sample questions for professional exams, with the VAT specialist file and its introduction. 5. SOCPA, Professional Exams Guide 2026, second edition: repeating the exam and treating the candidate as a new entrant. This article is for general information only, and it does not replace reviewing the official sources or consulting a specialist before taking any action. 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