United Arab Emirates

Invoicing under the UAE's VAT rules

The rate, the thresholds, the twelve items Article 59 requires on a tax invoice, and the eInvoicing dates the Ministry of Finance has actually published.

  • 5% standard rate
  • AED 375,000 to register
  • eInvoicing phased from 2027

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The figures

VAT in United Arab Emirates, at a glance

VAT in United Arab Emirates, at a glance
Item Value Detail and source
Standard VAT rate 5% Article 3 of Federal Decree-Law 8 of 2017 imposes a standard rate of 5% on any supply or import. In force since 1 January 2018. [1]
Mandatory registration threshold AED 375,000 Article 7(1) of the Executive Regulation. [2]
Voluntary registration threshold AED 187,500 Article 8(1) of the Executive Regulation. [2]
Simplified invoice ceiling AED 10,000 A simplified tax invoice is permitted where the recipient is not registered, or is registered and the consideration does not exceed this amount. [2]
Currency on the invoice AED Tax amounts are shown in dirhams, and where the invoice is in another currency the exchange rate applied must appear. [2]

What a United Arab Emirates tax invoice must show

Article 59(1) of the Executive Regulation lists what a full tax invoice must contain. [2]

  1. 01 The words "Tax Invoice", clearly displayed
  2. 02 Name, address and Tax Registration Number of the supplier
  3. 03 Name, address and TRN of the recipient, where the recipient is registered
  4. 04 A sequential or unique number that allows the invoice to be identified and ordered
  5. 05 The date of issue
  6. 06 The date of supply, where it differs from the date of issue
  7. 07 A description of the goods or services
  8. 08 For each item: unit price, quantity or volume, tax rate and amount payable in AED
  9. 09 The amount of any discount offered
  10. 10 The gross amount payable in AED
  11. 11 The tax amount charged in AED, with the exchange rate where converted from another currency
  12. 12 For a reverse-charge supply, a statement that the recipient must account for tax, and the provision relied on

This is the Federal Tax Authority's consolidated publication of the Executive Regulation dated 4 October 2024. Commentators refer to a later amendment; we have not found it in an FTA-published text, so confirm the current wording with the FTA before relying on it.

E-invoicing

Mandatory and phased, pilot open

The UAE eInvoicing System is a decentralised five-corner model in which invoices pass through Accredited Service Providers. The Ministry of Finance's own guidelines set the timetable: a pilot programme and voluntary adoption from 1 July 2026; businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more implement from 1 January 2027; businesses below that threshold from 1 July 2027; government entities from 1 October 2027. The Ministry extended the first appointment deadline for an Accredited Service Provider from 31 July 2026 to 30 October 2026, leaving the January 2027 go-live unchanged, so the published guidelines PDF and the Ministry's news release disagree on that one date and the news release is the later word. [3]

Getting it right

What Article 59 catches people on

The per-line requirement is the one most invoice templates fail. Article 59(1)(h) asks for unit price, quantity, tax rate and amount payable for each good or service, which means a single blended tax figure at the foot of the invoice is not enough when lines carry different treatments. The second is the recipient's TRN, required whenever the recipient is registered, and the third is the exchange rate: bill in dollars and you still have to show the tax in dirhams and the rate you used.

  • Tax rate and amount per line, not just a total
  • Recipient's TRN whenever they are registered
  • Exchange rate shown on any non-AED invoice
  • Reverse-charge wording where it applies
Paper & Pen

الفواتير

4 فواتير · مايو 2026

فاتورة جديدة
العميل التاريخ المبلغ الحالة
Northwind Trading Co. 12 مايو 2026 $4,820.50 مدفوعة
Harbour Point Ltd 09 مايو 2026 $12,500.75 متأخرة
Cedar Clinic Group 05 مايو 2026 $2,140.25 مدفوعة
Studio Meridian 02 مايو 2026 $863.40 مسودة
الإجمالي $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

Invoices

4 invoices · May 2026

New invoice
Customer Date Amount Status
Northwind Trading Co. 12 May 2026 $4,820.50 Paid
Harbour Point Ltd 09 May 2026 $12,500.75 Overdue
Cedar Clinic Group 05 May 2026 $2,140.25 Paid
Studio Meridian 02 May 2026 $863.40 Draft
Total $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

चालान

4 चालान · मई 2026

नया चालान
ग्राहक तारीख राशि स्थिति
Northwind Trading Co. 12 मई 2026 $4,820.50 भुगतान हुआ
Harbour Point Ltd 09 मई 2026 $12,500.75 बकाया
Cedar Clinic Group 05 मई 2026 $2,140.25 भुगतान हुआ
Studio Meridian 02 मई 2026 $863.40 ड्राफ़्ट
कुल $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

চালান

4 চালান · মে 2026

নতুন চালান
ক্রেতা তারিখ পরিমাণ অবস্থা
Northwind Trading Co. 12 মে 2026 $4,820.50 পরিশোধিত
Harbour Point Ltd 09 মে 2026 $12,500.75 বকেয়া
Cedar Clinic Group 05 মে 2026 $2,140.25 পরিশোধিত
Studio Meridian 02 মে 2026 $863.40 খসড়া
সর্বমোট $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

انوائسز

4 انوائسز · مئی 2026

نئی انوائس
کسٹمر تاریخ رقم حالت
Northwind Trading Co. 12 مئی 2026 $4,820.50 ادا شدہ
Harbour Point Ltd 09 مئی 2026 $12,500.75 واجب الادا
Cedar Clinic Group 05 مئی 2026 $2,140.25 ادا شدہ
Studio Meridian 02 مئی 2026 $863.40 مسودہ
کل $20,324.90

Preparing

What the 2027 dates actually ask of you

The obligation is not to buy software with a logo on it, it is to be able to issue a structured invoice through an Accredited Service Provider on the date that applies to your revenue band. Work backwards from your band's implementation date rather than from the pilot: the appointment deadline for a service provider falls months before go-live, and it is the appointment, not the go-live, that most businesses miss. In the meantime the data you will need is the same data Article 59 already requires, which is a good reason to fix invoice quality now rather than during a migration.

  • Know which revenue band you fall into
  • Diarise the service-provider appointment, not just go-live
  • Clean customer TRNs before the deadline, not during
  • Keep line-level tax detail from today
Paper & Pen

الفواتير

4 فواتير · مايو 2026

فاتورة جديدة
العميل التاريخ المبلغ الحالة
Northwind Trading Co. 12 مايو 2026 $4,820.50 مدفوعة
Harbour Point Ltd 09 مايو 2026 $12,500.75 متأخرة
Cedar Clinic Group 05 مايو 2026 $2,140.25 مدفوعة
Studio Meridian 02 مايو 2026 $863.40 مسودة
الإجمالي $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

Invoices

4 invoices · May 2026

New invoice
Customer Date Amount Status
Northwind Trading Co. 12 May 2026 $4,820.50 Paid
Harbour Point Ltd 09 May 2026 $12,500.75 Overdue
Cedar Clinic Group 05 May 2026 $2,140.25 Paid
Studio Meridian 02 May 2026 $863.40 Draft
Total $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

चालान

4 चालान · मई 2026

नया चालान
ग्राहक तारीख राशि स्थिति
Northwind Trading Co. 12 मई 2026 $4,820.50 भुगतान हुआ
Harbour Point Ltd 09 मई 2026 $12,500.75 बकाया
Cedar Clinic Group 05 मई 2026 $2,140.25 भुगतान हुआ
Studio Meridian 02 मई 2026 $863.40 ड्राफ़्ट
कुल $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

চালান

4 চালান · মে 2026

নতুন চালান
ক্রেতা তারিখ পরিমাণ অবস্থা
Northwind Trading Co. 12 মে 2026 $4,820.50 পরিশোধিত
Harbour Point Ltd 09 মে 2026 $12,500.75 বকেয়া
Cedar Clinic Group 05 মে 2026 $2,140.25 পরিশোধিত
Studio Meridian 02 মে 2026 $863.40 খসড়া
সর্বমোট $20,324.90
Paper & Pen

انوائسز

4 انوائسز · مئی 2026

نئی انوائس
کسٹمر تاریخ رقم حالت
Northwind Trading Co. 12 مئی 2026 $4,820.50 ادا شدہ
Harbour Point Ltd 09 مئی 2026 $12,500.75 واجب الادا
Cedar Clinic Group 05 مئی 2026 $2,140.25 ادا شدہ
Studio Meridian 02 مئی 2026 $863.40 مسودہ
کل $20,324.90

Questions

Everything you need to know

What is the VAT rate in the UAE?
Five percent. Article 3 of Federal Decree-Law 8 of 2017 imposes a standard rate of 5% on any taxable supply or import, in force since 1 January 2018. Certain supplies are zero-rated or exempt, and the difference matters: a zero-rated supplier can still recover input tax, an exempt one cannot.
When is e-invoicing mandatory in the UAE?
It depends on your revenue. Under the Ministry of Finance's published guidelines, businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more implement from 1 January 2027, businesses below that from 1 July 2027, and government entities from 1 October 2027. A pilot and voluntary adoption opened on 1 July 2026. Check the Ministry's pages before you plan around any date, because it has already amended one deadline.
When can I issue a simplified tax invoice in the UAE?
Where the recipient is not registered for VAT, or is registered and the consideration does not exceed AED 10,000. A simplified invoice still needs the words "Tax Invoice", your name, address and TRN, the date of issue, a description of what was supplied, and the total consideration and tax amount in dirhams.
Do I need the customer's TRN on a UAE invoice?
Yes, whenever the customer is registered for VAT. Article 59(1)(c) requires the recipient's name, address and Tax Registration Number in that case. Without it your customer may struggle to recover the input tax, which usually comes back to you as a request to reissue.

Sources

Every figure and field list on this page is taken from the document linked below, published by the tax authority itself. We do not publish a rate, a threshold or a deadline that we cannot point at.

  1. [1] Federal Decree-Law 8 of 2017 on VAT, Article 3 (consolidated, with amendments) , Federal Tax Authority, 2024. https://tax.gov.ae/DataFolder/Files/Legislation/Federal%20Decree-Law%20No.%208%20of%202017%20and%20amendments%20-%20For%20Publishing.pdf
  2. [2] Cabinet Decision 52 of 2017, Executive Regulation, Articles 7, 8 and 59 , Federal Tax Authority, 2024. https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Legislation/Executive%20Regulation%20of%20Federal%20Decree%20Law%20No%208%20of%202017%20-%20Publish%20-%2004%2010%202024.pdf
  3. [3] UAE Electronic Invoicing Guidelines v1.1, and the Ministry's amendment news release , UAE Ministry of Finance, 2026. https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/UAE-Electronic-Invoicing-Guidelines_V-1.1-01June2026.pdf

Tax rules change. Before you rely on anything here, check the current position with Federal Tax Authority (FTA).

Invoice correctly in the UAE, free

Line-level tax, any currency with the rate on the document, and an Arabic and English invoice from one record.

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