UAE finance guides

Plain-English guides to UAE VAT, corporate tax, free zone tax, e-invoicing 2027 and WPS payroll, with key dates and law references. Updated October 2026.

UAE e-invoicing 2027: phases, deadlines and PINT-AE

From 2027, most UAE business-to-business invoices must travel as structured PINT-AE data through an accredited service provider, not as PDFs. Here is who is affected, when, and what to prepare this quarter.

Every business in the UAE is in scope for B2B and B2G invoices, VAT-registered or not. B2C is out for now.

Revenue under AED 50m (Phase 2): appoint an accredited service provider by 31 Mar 2027, go live 1 Jul 2027.

A PDF is no longer the legal invoice. The legal invoice is the PINT-AE XML file exchanged over Peppol.

Tax invoices carry 51 mandatory fields; commercial invoices from non-registrants carry 49.

Issue within 14 days. Late e-invoices cost AED 100 each, capped at AED 5,000 a month.

Missing the ASP deadline costs AED 5,000 for each month or part month of delay.

UAE VAT guide for SMEs (2026)

Everything a UAE small business needs to run VAT properly in 2026: when to register, how to invoice, what you can recover, how to fill Form 201, and what the new penalty rules cost if you get it wrong.

Standard rate is 5%. Some supplies are zero-rated (0%), some exempt, some outside the scope of VAT.

Registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports in 12 months; voluntary from AED 187,500.

Returns and payment are due by the 28th day after each tax period ends (usually quarterly).

Since 14 April 2026, late payment costs 14% a year (charged monthly) and a voluntary disclosure costs 1% a month.

From 1 January 2026, no self-invoice is needed for reverse charge, and unused VAT credits lapse after 5 years.

UAE corporate tax guide for SMEs

Corporate tax now applies to almost every UAE business, including many that will owe nothing. This guide explains who must register, how the 0% and 9% rates work, when Small Business Relief helps, and how to get from accounting profit to the figure on your return.

0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income, 9% on the rest.

Small Business Relief (revenue up to AED 3m) now runs to tax periods ending by 31 Dec 2029 (MD 131/2026).

New companies register within 3 months of incorporation; late registration costs AED 10,000.

File the return and pay within 9 months of your financial year end: 30 Sep 2027 for FY2026.

Individuals are taxable only if business turnover exceeds AED 1m in a calendar year.

Keep corporate tax records for 7 years after the end of each tax period.

WPS & UAE payroll guide: SIF files, deadlines and gratuity

Since 1 June 2026, salaries for the previous month are due through WPS on the 1st, with no grace period. This guide covers the new rule, the SIF file, pay and leave rules, end-of-service gratuity and pension contributions for Emirati staff.

MOHRE-registered employers must pay wages through WPS via a bank, exchange house or approved agent.

MR 340/2026: salaries are due on the 1st of each month, no grace period, and at least 85% of wages due must be paid.

WPS fine: AED 1,000 per unpaid worker, capped at AED 20,000 (Cabinet Resolution 21/2020).

Gratuity: 21 days of basic wage per year for the first 5 years, then 30 days per year, after at least 1 year of service.

GPSSA for UAE nationals: 11% employee, 15% employer (12.5% in the private sector below AED 20,000), due by the 15th.

Final settlement, including gratuity and unused leave, is due within 14 days of the contract ending.

Free zone corporate tax: QFZP, qualifying income and the 0% rate

Being licensed in a free zone does not make your profits tax-free. The 0% rate applies only to a Qualifying Free Zone Person, only on qualifying income, and only while every condition holds for the whole year.

Free zone companies are taxable persons. Only a QFZP gets 0% on Qualifying Income; everything else is taxed at 9%.

Non-qualifying revenue must stay at or below 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000, whichever is lower (MD 229/2025 Art 3).

Fail one condition and you lose QFZP status from the start of that tax period and for the next 4 periods.

A QFZP must prepare audited financial statements whatever its revenue, and cannot use Small Business Relief.

For VAT, most free zones are inside the State. Only Cabinet-listed Designated Zones get special treatment for goods.

E-invoicing applies to free zone businesses too, with a free-zone flag on the invoice.