VAT registration in the UAE

Do you need to register for VAT?

The test looks at your taxable supplies (sales charged at 5% or 0%) plus taxable imports, over a rolling 12 months. Check it every month, not only at year end.

Example: a consultancy invoices AED 35,000 a month. After 11 months its rolling total is AED 385,000, so it crossed the line in month 11 and has 30 days to apply. Many owners only notice at year end, months too late.

Mandatory or voluntary registration?

Voluntary registration means charging 5% VAT on your sales earlier, but it also lets you reclaim the VAT you pay on costs: office rent, equipment, software, professional fees. It usually makes sense when:

• your clients are VAT-registered businesses, who reclaim the VAT you charge them anyway
• you are spending a lot to start up, so you have VAT to reclaim
• you will pass AED 375,000 soon and want to be set up before you have to

If you sell mainly to private customers, charging 5% earlier can make you more expensive. We work out which way leaves you better off.

Documents you need

How to register for VAT on EmaraTax

1. Check the threshold

   Add up your taxable sales and imports for the last 12 months and the next 30 days.

2. Create or open the EmaraTax account

   One account for the company, used for corporate tax too.

3. Fill in the VAT application

   Business activities, turnover, expected imports and exports, bank details and the people behind the company.

4. Upload the documents and submit

   The FTA reviews the application and may ask for more information. Answer quickly so it isn't rejected.

5. Receive your TRN

   Your 15-digit Tax Registration Number and VAT certificate. Put the TRN on every tax invoice from the effective date.

After registration: invoices and VAT returns

• Tax invoices must show your TRN, the VAT amount and the other details the law requires. A wrong invoice can cost AED 2,500 per case.
• VAT returns are usually filed every quarter, within 28 days of the end of each quarter. Businesses with supplies above AED 150 million file monthly.
• Payment of the VAT due has the same 28-day deadline.
• Records: keep invoices, receipts, contracts and import documents for at least 5 years (longer for real estate).

Clean monthly books make the quarterly return a formality. See accounting services in Dubai.

VAT penalties in 2026

A new penalty regime started on 14 April 2026 (Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025). The main fines:

What changed for VAT in 2026

Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2025 changed several VAT rules from 1 January 2026:

• Reverse charge: you no longer have to issue yourself an invoice. Keep the supplier's invoice or the import documents as proof.
• Reclaiming VAT: excess input VAT must be claimed within 5 years of the end of the tax period. Older balances can still be requested until 31 December 2026.
• Supplier checks: the FTA can refuse your VAT reclaim on purchases linked to tax evasion if you knew, or should have known. Check new suppliers' TRNs.

VAT deregistration

If you stop making taxable sales, or your taxable sales over the last 12 months fall below AED 187,500, you must apply to cancel your VAT registration. You file a final return and pay any VAT due. Applying late costs a penalty, so tell us as soon as your business changes or closes.

Free Zone companies and VAT

Free Zone companies follow the same VAT rules as mainland companies: same threshold, same returns. Some Free Zones are designated zones, where certain movements of goods between them are outside the scope of VAT. Services are taxed normally everywhere. If you trade goods in a designated zone, we check each flow with you.

Corporate tax is separate from VAT: see corporate tax in the UAE.

How we handle VAT for you

Most VAT fines come from a threshold nobody was watching, or a quarter that slipped. With us, both are on our calendar. Our VAT services in Dubai cover the whole cycle, and because we are your accountants as well as your VAT consultants, the numbers come from books we already keep.