Accounting, VAT & Corporate Tax

UAE Corporate Tax was introduced by Federal Decree-Law 47/2022 and applies to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. The headline rates are simple: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on the portion above that. Registration for Corporate Tax is required, and a late-registration penalty of AED 10,000 applies, so this is one deadline you do not want to miss. Returns must be filed and the tax paid within nine months of the end of your tax period. We handle the registration, prepare the return from your books and make sure it is submitted on time.

Two reliefs can change the picture. Small Business Relief is available where your revenue is under AED 3,000,000 in a tax period, and is offered up to 31 December 2026, which can simplify filing for younger companies. If you operate in a free zone and meet the conditions of a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP), you can benefit from 0% on qualifying income and 9% on non-qualifying income, with no AED 375,000 band applied. The rules are detailed, so we assess your exact case and you can verify the figures on tax.gov.ae and mof.gov.ae. If you are still choosing a structure, compare free zone vs mainland before you commit.

VAT in the UAE is charged at a standard rate of 5%. Registration becomes mandatory once your taxable supplies reach AED 375,000, and you may register voluntarily from AED 187,500, which can suit a growing business that wants to recover input VAT early. We assess whether and when you should register, complete the application, and then run your periodic VAT returns from properly kept records, output VAT on sales, input VAT on purchases and the net position to pay or reclaim.

The key to painless VAT is the bookkeeping underneath it: tax invoices in the right format, correct treatment of zero-rated and exempt supplies, and reconciled bank records. We keep this in order throughout the year so each return is accurate and filed on time, and we flag anything that needs your attention before a deadline rather than after. You can confirm the current thresholds and rate on tax.gov.ae and u.ae. If you are setting up from scratch, we can run this alongside mainland company formation or free zone company formation.

Your tax position depends on how your company is structured, so it pays to plan it together with the rest of your setup. An offshore company, for example, is a holding and international-use vehicle and cannot trade inside the UAE, so it behaves very differently from a mainland or free zone trading entity for tax purposes. Since 2021 most mainland activities allow 100% foreign ownership under Federal Decree-Law 26/2020, though strategic or restricted sectors may still require an Emirati partner and some professional licences or foreign branches need a 0% equity Local Service Agent, all of which can shape your filings. We keep the accounting aligned with your trade licence activity so your records and returns tell a consistent story.

Indicative official fees give you a sense of scale, but they change often, so always request an exact quote. As published examples: a Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) trade-name reservation is about AED 620, and a Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MOET) foreign-branch initial approval is about AED 3,500. See det.gov.ae and moet.gov.ae for current schedules. We can also pair your accounting with a corporate bank account and ongoing PRO and government services, or estimate the wider picture with our cost estimator.