In addition with the official lunar calendar, Saudi Arabia also employs several Islamic solar calendars which are closely tied with the Western or Gregorian calendar.
The main Islamic solar calendar employed in Saudi Arabia is the zodiacal calendar in which each month corresponds with a zodiacal sign. The first day of the solar year corresponds with 23 September in the Gregorian calendar. Each month is 30 or 31 days in length, except for the sixth month which is 29 days in a common year and 30 days in a leap year. Years are counted from the year of the hijra (622 CE).
| Nr. | Solar month | First day | Month length |
Nr. | Solar month | First day | Month length |
|
| 1 | Libra [al-Mīzān] | 23 September | 30 | 7 | Aries [al-Ḥamal] | 21 March | 31 | |
| 2 | Scorpio [al-ʿAqrab] | 23 October | 30 | 8 | Taurus [al-Thawr] | 21 April | 31 | |
| 3 | Sagittarius [al-Qaws] | 22 November | 30 | 9 | Gemini [al-Jawzāʾ] | 22 May | 31 | |
| 4 | Capricorn [al-Jady] | 22 December | 30 | 10 | Cancer [al-Saraṭān] | 22 June | 31 | |
| 5 | Aquarius [al-Dalw] | 21 January | 30 | 11 | Leo [al-Asad] | 23 July | 31 | |
| 6 | Pisces [al-Ḥūt] | 20 February | 29 (30*) | 12 | Virgo [al-Sunbula] | 23 August | 31 |
* in a Gregorian leap year
This calendar is commonly used in Saudi Arabia for fiscal reckoning. Before 1987, the fiscal year in Saudi Arabia was based on the lunar calendar and was reckoned from the first day of Rajab until the last day of Jumādā ʾl-Ākhira in the next year. After 1987, the fiscal year began on 10 Capricorn (i.e. 31 December) and, since 2004, on 11 Capricorn (i.e. 1 January).
From 1 Muḥarram 1438 AH (2 October 2016) to 31 December 2017, salaries for workers in the public sector were paid on the 5th day of each solar month. Since 1 January 2018, salaries for workers in the public sector are to be paid on the 27th day of each Gregorian month.