UAE VAT returns: due dates, common errors and the penalties for each
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.
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- When is the UAE VAT return due?
- By the 28th day of the month after the tax period ends — for most businesses, quarterly. If the 28th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.
- What is the penalty for a late VAT return?
- AED 1,000 the first time and AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months. Since 14 April 2026, late payment attracts 14% a year on the unpaid tax, charged monthly.
- What is the VAT registration threshold in the UAE?
- Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 in the past 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days. Voluntary registration is possible above AED 187,500.
VAT registrants file a return for each tax period — usually a calendar quarter — and the return and payment are due by the 28th day of the month following the period end. If the 28th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.
Registration thresholds
| Mandatory registration | Taxable supplies and imports above AED 375,000 in the past 12 months, or expected in the next 30 days |
| Voluntary registration | Supplies or taxable expenses above AED 187,500 |
| Late registration penalty | AED 10,000 |
How we help: Quarterly VAT returns — prepared from your books, every figure traced to the ledger.
Filing and payment penalties
- Late return: AED 1,000 the first time, AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months.
- Late payment: 14% a year on the unpaid tax, charged monthly. This replaced the earlier 2% immediate and 4% monthly penalties from 14 April 2026.
- Incorrect return: fixed penalties plus a percentage of the tax difference, lower if you correct it yourself through a voluntary disclosure before the FTA raises it.
- Missing or invalid tax invoices: AED 2,500 per document.
The errors we see most
- Claiming input VAT on expenses that are blocked — staff entertainment, personal-use vehicles, and purchases without a valid tax invoice in the company's name.
- Forgetting the reverse charge on imported services (software subscriptions, overseas consultants, online advertising).
- Reporting all sales under Dubai when the goods were delivered in another emirate — the emirate-wise split matters.
- Zero-rating exports without the export evidence to support it.
Every return in our VAT packages is reconciled to the ledger and reviewed for these before it is filed, and corrections are handled through a voluntary disclosure rather than left for an audit to find.