Deadlines, penalties and practical answers for business owners — written by the team that files the returns.
January 2027 brings the first e-invoicing go-live, VAT returns for October–December quarters and Corporate Tax for 30 April year ends, which moves to 1 February. Dates and what to prepare.
Read →Three FTA deadlines in December 2026, none moved by National Day. Plus a year-end checklist and the 1 January 2027 e-invoicing start.
Read →Missed the nine-month deadline? How the late-filing penalty builds month by month, what late payment adds, and the order in which to put things right — including when a penalty can be challenged.
Read →Cancelling the licence does not close the tax file. The steps for a company that is closing — final books, final returns, VAT and Corporate Tax deregistration — and the penalties that keep running if one is missed.
Read →VAT-registered importers can usually account for import VAT in their VAT return instead of paying at customs — but only if the conditions are met. How import VAT is worked out, paid, deferred and recovered.
Read →Many UAE consultants set up a company to invoice a single client. Where that client is, who it is, and how the owner takes money out decide the VAT and Corporate Tax position. The points to check before the first invoice.
Read →VAT on brokerage commission follows the property, not the client. How VAT applies to commission on UAE and overseas property, commission splits and refunds, and how Corporate Tax applies to brokerages and individual brokers.
Read →Changing accountants works best at a clean break — a year end or the end of a VAT quarter. What to ask your current accountant for, what to check you control yourself, and how to avoid a gap in filings.
Read →A UAE travel company selling holidays abroad does not charge 5% on everything. How VAT applies to hotels abroad, outbound tour packages, flights and local tours — and why acting as agent or principal changes the amount taxed.
Read →For a UAE company holding or mining crypto, one choice in the first Corporate Tax return shapes the tax on every later price movement. What the realisation election does, why the first return matters, and how closing valuations drive it.
Read →The FTA charges nothing to register a business for VAT. What you pay for is the preparation — and what costs most is getting the date wrong. Our fixed fee and what it covers.
Read →What preparing a UAE Corporate Tax return costs, what changes the price — free zone status, the state of your books, related parties, the audit — and our published fixed fees.
Read →A free zone company's yearly compliance bill: bookkeeping, VAT returns, the Corporate Tax return with the 0% analysis, and the audit. Our published fees and a worked example.
Read →Not sure whether your company was registered for Corporate Tax or VAT, or whether the last return was actually filed? How to find out, bring the account back under your control and fix any gaps.
Read →A licence with only a few invoices — or none yet — still has tax obligations. What a quiet UAE company must file, what it can scale down, and the costs of getting it wrong.
Read →Comparing accounting firms in the UAE? Twelve questions that show what a quote really covers — scope, limits, the audit, data ownership, extra fees and handover — with our own answers.
Read →A new UAE company that has paid VAT on set-up costs may be able to register voluntarily and reclaim it. Who qualifies, what can be recovered, and the obligations that come with registration.
Read →Teaching students abroad from a UAE company? The VAT questions founders ask us, and the complications we came across on a recent online education file.
Read →What monthly bookkeeping covers, what drives the price, and our published fixed fees — from AED 399* a month.
Read →Two free zone companies, one owner? The related-party rules, Tax Groups, the 0% conditions and audits, explained.
Read →Paid by booking sites, marketplaces or app stores abroad? How UAE VAT applies to each type of income, platform fees and Corporate Tax.
Read →Wider reverse charge, supplier checks, new penalties and the October 2026 rule changes: every recent VAT change for gold and diamond traders.
Read →UK-based founders can usually run the UAE filings remotely — but where the company is managed, dividends and the UK–UAE treaty need attention.
Read →Hong Kong owners can keep the UAE side compliant remotely — the questions are Hong Kong source rules and the foreign-sourced income exemption for holding companies.
Read →Owners in mainland China can usually run the UAE filings remotely — but where the company is managed, controlled-company rules and foreign-income declarations need attention.
Read →Singapore owners can keep the UAE side compliant remotely — where the company is controlled and the 15% foreign dividend test are the key Singapore points.
Read →The new UAE–Russia tax agreement applies from 2026. Owners in Russia can usually run the UAE side remotely, but residence and CFC notices need attention.
Read →Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint an e-invoicing provider by Friday 30 October 2026. What to check now and what missing it costs.
Read →Three FTA deadlines fall in November 2026, and two of them move because the statutory date is a weekend. Who files what, and what to prepare.
Read →Crossed AED 375,000 without registering for VAT? Your registration date, VAT on past sales, penalties and the steps that limit the damage.
Read →Bank and payment app invoices are handy, but are they valid tax invoices? The FTA checklist, the penalties and what e-invoicing changes.
Read →How UAE companies classify, measure and record cryptocurrency under IFRS — intangible asset or inventory, swaps, staking rewards and stablecoins, wallet reconciliations — and what auditors and the FTA expect to see.
Read →How UAE Corporate Tax and VAT apply to companies that hold, trade, accept or mine crypto — taxable income, the realisation election, the free zone 0% rate, the virtual asset VAT exemption and the FTA's AED conversion method.
Read →Consultancies and IT firms that bill only overseas clients often assume VAT does not apply. Zero-rated exports count towards the AED 375,000 threshold, the 30-day deadline applies, and a late application costs AED 10,000. Here is how to work out your date and choose between registration and an exception.
Read →Corporate Tax and VAT both require records to be kept for years after the period ends. A plain list of what to keep, in what form, and the penalties for not having it.
Read →Choosing between a mainland, free zone and offshore company decides where you can trade — and the Corporate Tax clock starts on incorporation. How to choose, and what to file in the first three months.
Read →Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint an accredited provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027. Other businesses must appoint one by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027. Here are the dates, the penalties and how to prepare.
Read →Every FTA deadline falling between October and December 2026 — VAT, Corporate Tax, excise and the rolling obligations — with add-to-calendar buttons. Updated monthly.
Read →Three FTA deadlines fall in October 2026. Here is who they apply to, what to prepare now, and the penalties if the date is missed.
Read →Since 26 February 2025 the reverse charge covers gold, silver, platinum, palladium, precious stones and most jewellery traded between VAT-registered businesses. Here is how it works, when gold is zero-rated, and the mistakes that cost traders money.
Read →Most businesses file VAT quarterly, 28 days after the period ends. A practical rundown of what the FTA fines, and the errors that trigger them.
Read →The 0% rate applies only to a Qualifying Free Zone Person that meets every condition — substance, qualifying income, audited accounts and the de minimis test. Miss one and you pay 9% for five years.
Read →Companies with a 31 December 2025 year end must file their UAE Corporate Tax return and pay any tax by 30 September 2026. Here is the checklist and the penalties.
Read →Registered late for Corporate Tax? The AED 10,000 penalty can be waived if the first return is filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period. What that means in practice.
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* Our fixed fees apply to businesses with annual revenue up to AED 3 million; above that, we prepare a custom quote. They do not apply to businesses dealing in digital currencies (crypto or other virtual assets), which are quoted separately.
Our startup package supports new businesses through their first year — we register you for Corporate Tax (and VAT once eligible), keep your books and file every return on time. One fee, no surprises.
