Do I have to register for VAT?

If your taxable supplies and imports have gone over AED 375,000 in the past 12 months, or you expect them to within the next 30 days, VAT registration is mandatory. Below that you may still register voluntarily from AED 187,500. Both figures come from the Federal Tax Authority.

Who this article is for

Owners of UAE businesses trying to work out whether the VAT threshold has caught them yet, and what happens the moment it does.

The two thresholds

• Mandatory — AED 375,000. For a business resident in the UAE, registration is mandatory once the total value of taxable supplies and imports exceeds AED 375,000 over the past 12 months, or is expected to exceed it within the next 30 days.
• Voluntary — AED 187,500. You may register voluntarily if taxable supplies, imports, or taxable expenses over the past 12 months, or expected in the next 30 days, exceed AED 187,500. Expenses count here, which is why a business that spends before it earns can register early.

The FTA also states that a non-resident business making taxable supplies in the UAE must register regardless of value, unless another party in the UAE is responsible for settling the VAT on those supplies.

You have 30 days once you are required to register

The Authority states that a person required to register must submit the application within 30 days of becoming required to. Missing that window brings a late registration penalty under the tax legislation. The threshold test is not an annual event: it looks back 12 months and forward 30 days, so it can be crossed in the middle of a quarter.

A trade licence is not what decides it

Registration provisions apply to any natural or legal person carrying on an economic activity in the UAE, even if they do not hold a trade licence. Not having a licence is not a reason to assume VAT does not reach you.

If you own several sole establishments

They do not register separately. The FTA states that all sole establishments owned by the same natural person are registered under a single Tax Registration Number, and the threshold is calculated on the combined value of all of them. Two small businesses that each look comfortably under the threshold can cross it together.

If your company has branches

Branches are not registered separately either: all branches sit under the parent company’s VAT registration, share one TRN, and are covered by a single VAT return.

What to have ready

The Authority’s document list varies with the legal form of the applicant, but commonly includes:

• Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association or Partnership Agreement, where applicable.
• Commercial registration certificate, or an official document from your licensing authority.
• Valid trade licence and any branch licences.
• Emirates ID and passport copies for owners and authorised signatories.
• Power of attorney for the authorised signatory, where the manager is not named in the Memorandum of Association.
• An official declaration letter of total taxable supplies and monthly sales from establishment to the application date, stamped and signed.
• Supporting evidence — invoices, purchase orders, contracts, ownership deeds, lease agreements — as the application type requires. For an expenses-based voluntary registration, at least five VAT invoices above the registration threshold.

PDF only, and no single file over 15 MB.

The steps

1. Sign up for an EmaraTax account through the FTA website and activate it.
2. Open the EmaraTax dashboard.
3. Create a new Taxable Person profile.
4. Click “View” to open the Taxable Person account.
5. Click “Register” under “Value Added Tax”.
6. Complete the registration.

The service is free, the FTA estimates 45 minutes to submit and 20 business days to process a completed application, and EmaraTax is open 24 hours a day. Once approved, your VAT registration certificate appears in your account dashboard.

What this article does not decide

• Whether a particular sale is a taxable supply. That is what the threshold is measured on, and it is a question about your activities, not about the threshold.
• Designated Zones. The FTA says whether a business in a Designated Zone must register depends on the nature of its activities and supplies, and that an applicant may be asked for a business flow showing the movement of goods. If that is you, expect to evidence it.

Next

If you are registering for VAT you may also need to be registered for Corporate Tax, which is a separate registration with its own deadline — see our guide to Corporate Tax registration.