VAT returns filed, from your records to the FTA portal.

VAT return filing in the UAE

UAE VAT is charged at a standard rate of 5 percent. Registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 over the preceding twelve months, and voluntary registration is available from AED 187,500. Once registered, returns are filed for each tax period, generally within 28 days of the period ending, with payment due on the same timeline.

Most VAT problems are not caused by the return itself. They are caused by the twelve weeks before it: input VAT claimed on invoices that do not meet the requirements of a valid tax invoice, supplies coded to the wrong treatment, imports handled through the reverse charge incorrectly, or credit notes never posted. By the time the deadline arrives, the return is a reconstruction rather than a summary.

What is included

• VAT registration, or assessment of whether registration is required or worthwhile
• Review of how your supplies are treated: standard-rated, zero-rated, exempt or out of scope
• Monthly reconciliation of input and output VAT against your ledgers and bank
• Checking that input VAT claims are supported by valid tax invoices
• Reverse charge treatment on imported goods and services
• Preparation, review and submission of each return through the FTA portal
• Support with VAT deregistration where a business no longer meets the criteria

Getting the treatment right

Zero-rated and exempt are not the same thing, and the difference affects whether you can recover input VAT. Exports, certain healthcare and education supplies, and some transport fall into specific categories with their own conditions. Property is its own subject entirely, with different treatment for residential and commercial, and for first supply versus subsequent supply. We look at what your business actually sells rather than applying a default.

How the engagement works

1. Review

We check your registration status, tax period, current treatment of supplies and the state of your records. Anything overdue is identified straight away.

2. Reconcile

Each month we reconcile VAT to your ledgers so nothing accumulates. The filing routine is built before the deadline, not at it.

3. File

The return is prepared, shared with you for approval, and submitted. Supporting schedules are retained.

Records worth keeping ready

• Sales invoices and credit notes for the period
• Purchase invoices supporting every input VAT claim
• Customs documentation for imports
• Bank statements covering the full tax period

UAE law sets minimum retention periods for VAT records, and they are longer for real estate. Keeping them properly is part of the engagement, not an afterthought.

If a return has been missed

Late filing and late payment both carry administrative penalties, and the amounts increase the longer a position stays open. We bring the records current, file what is outstanding and set up a monthly routine so it does not recur.

You can work out VAT on any amount with the calculator on our homepage. VAT sits most comfortably alongside monthly bookkeeping and Corporate Tax filing, since all three draw on the same records. Tell us your situation and we will confirm what applies.