Registration, groups & deregistration
VAT registration at the right time, tax groups where they help, and clean deregistration when thresholds or entities change.
Direct & Indirect Tax
UAE VAT advisory & compliance
VAT touches every invoice you issue and most invoices you receive. The rate is only 5% — but the rules about what's standard-rated, zero-rated, exempt or reverse-charged decide your margins, your refunds and your penalty risk. We handle VAT end to end: registration, supply mapping, every return, input-tax recovery, disclosures and FTA audits — at a fixed fee agreed before we start.
5%
Standard rate on most supplies
AED 375k
Mandatory registration threshold
28 days
After each period to file & pay
Fixed fee
Agreed before we start
What it means
What is UAE VAT?
Value Added Tax has applied in the UAE since 1 January 2018 under Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 — a 5% tax on most goods and services, collected by businesses on behalf of the Federal Tax Authority. You charge VAT on your sales, recover the VAT on your costs, and pay the difference each period.
Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 a year (voluntary from AED 187,500), and returns are filed monthly or quarterly, due within 28 days of each period's end — together with payment. Our guide to VAT registration in UAE covers the thresholds, the 30-day deadline and the process in detail.
The complexity isn't the rate, it's the classification. Exports, international transport and certain education, healthcare and first-supply residential sales are zero-rated — you charge 0% but still recover input VAT. Local passenger transport, bare land, residential rent and many financial services are exempt — no VAT charged, and recovery restricted. Imports run through the reverse charge, and goods moving through designated zones can sit outside the scope entirely. Getting a classification wrong repeats itself on every single invoice.
That's why VAT compliance is really two disciplines: mapping your supplies correctly once, and then filing accurately every period — with documentation that survives an FTA audit and voluntary disclosures made properly when something slips. We do both.
What we handle
What our VAT service covers
One team owns your VAT position — from the day you register to every return, refund and audit after.
Supply mapping & advisory
Every product, service and flow classified — standard, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge, designated zone — before it hits an invoice.
Return preparation & filing
Each period's return prepared from reconciled books, reviewed, filed and paid inside the 28-day window — monthly or quarterly.
Input-tax recovery & refunds
Recovery maximised and documented — apportionment for mixed supplies, blocked-input rules applied, and refund claims that clear.
Voluntary disclosures & penalties
Past errors corrected the right way — disclosures filed, penalties mitigated, and reconsideration requests argued properly.
FTA audits & clarifications
Audit files prepared and defended, FTA queries answered, and private clarifications sought where the law is genuinely grey.
What's involved
What VAT compliance needs
A clean VAT position is built into your daily invoicing and bookkeeping — not assembled at the filing deadline. These are the essentials we put in place and keep current.
A timely, correct registration
Registered at the right threshold with accurate details — and a TRN on every document that needs one.
Compliant tax invoices
Invoices and credit notes carrying every mandatory field — the document the whole system runs on.
Correct tax codes per supply
Standard, zero-rated, exempt and out-of-scope treatments configured in your system — not decided invoice by invoice.
Reverse charge handled on imports
Imported goods and services self-accounted correctly, matched to customs declarations where they exist.
Documented input-tax recovery
Valid tax invoices behind every dirham recovered, with apportionment worked out for mixed and exempt activity.
Return-to-books reconciliation
Every return tied to the ledgers and bank — so box 1 to box 9 can be evidenced years later.
Payment inside the window
Filing and payment both completed within 28 days of period end — late payment penalties compound quickly.
Records kept for the long haul
Invoices, returns and workings retained and retrievable for the statutory record-keeping period.
The signals
When you need VAT support
VAT issues compound quietly — every period repeats the last one's mistakes. If any of these sound familiar, it's time to hand it over.
You're approaching the threshold
Taxable supplies are nearing AED 375,000 and you need to register at the right moment — not after a penalty letter.
Filings are late or shaky
Returns are being filed from unreconciled numbers, or a backlog has built up and needs correcting properly.
A refund is stuck
You're in a repayment position — exports, projects, start-up costs — and the refund needs documentation the FTA will accept.
The FTA has written to you
An audit notice, assessment or penalty needs a fast, well-documented response — and possibly a reconsideration.
Your supplies are complex
Exports, designated zones, mixed exempt activity or agency flows — classifications that deserve a specialist's eye.
E-invoicing is arriving
The e-invoicing mandate will report your VAT data in near real time — your classifications need to be right before it does.
How we help
From registration to every return, in five clear steps
One team owns the cycle — with a fixed fee agreed up front and a clear view of which step you're on.
1
Week 1
Review & register
We review your supplies and thresholds, register (or fix the registration), and set the filing calendar.
2
Week 1–2
Map supplies & codes
We classify every flow — standard, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge — and configure the tax codes in your system.
3
Each period
Prepare & file
We reconcile, prepare and file each return, and make sure payment lands inside the 28-day window.
4
Ongoing
Recover & reconcile
We maximise documented input-tax recovery, manage refunds, and keep returns tied to the books.
5
When needed
Defend & disclose
We handle FTA audits and queries, file voluntary disclosures correctly, and fight penalties worth fighting.
Get started
Get your VAT position clear.
Tell us about your business — what you sell, where, and how you file today — and we'll reply within one business day with a clear position and an all-inclusive price.
Thank you — we've got your details.
One of our VAT advisors will be in touch within one business day.
One of our VAT advisors will be in touch within one business day.