VAT return preparation support (Making Tax Digital)

Registration starts at AED 375,000

VAT registration becomes mandatory once the value of taxable supplies and imports passes AED 375,000 over the preceding 12 months, or is expected to in the next 30 days. A business below that can register voluntarily from AED 187,500, which can make sense if it reclaims meaningful input VAT on costs. We track turnover against both thresholds through the monthly close so registration happens on time rather than after the fact.

What goes on the return

VAT runs at a standard 5% rate, and we build each period's return from sales, purchases and import records already reconciled in the ledger. Where a business also deals in excise goods, tobacco and energy drinks carry a 100% excise rate, and carbonated or sweetened drinks carry 50%, and we flag that exposure separately from the VAT return itself since it is a different tax with its own registration.

Free zones and designated zones

A company registered in DMCC, JAFZA, RAKEZ or another free zone still registers for VAT on the same national rules as a mainland business, though goods movements through a small number of designated zones get specific treatment. We check whether your zone and activity fall inside that treatment before assuming standard VAT rules apply to every transaction.

The wider Gulf picture

For a group with operations across the Gulf, the position is not uniform. Oman charges VAT at 5%, similar to the UAE; Bahrain charges 10%; Qatar and Kuwait have not introduced VAT. We prepare the UAE return on UAE rules and flag where a sister entity elsewhere in the Gulf needs its own separate treatment rather than assuming one VAT regime covers the whole region.

Who submits the return

We prepare the workpapers and the draft return. An FTA-approved tax agent reviews and submits it through EmaraTax. See bookkeeping for the reconciliation this starts from, or pricing for VAT preparation rates.