VAT registration cost in the UAE: what you pay, and to whom
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.
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- How much does VAT registration cost in the UAE?
- The FTA charges nothing: it lists VAT registration on EmaraTax as free. Our fee for preparing and submitting the application is AED 499*, one-off.
- How long does the FTA take to process a VAT registration?
- The FTA's published processing time is 20 business days from receipt of a completed application. It may ask questions before issuing the Tax Registration Number.
- What does late VAT registration cost?
- A fixed AED 10,000 penalty, plus VAT due on taxable supplies from the effective registration date even if your invoices did not show VAT.
Registering a business for VAT in the UAE can involve two costs: a government fee and an adviser's fee. In practice only one of them applies — and the larger financial risk is not either fee but registering late.
The FTA fee: none
The Federal Tax Authority does not charge for VAT registration. The application is made online on EmaraTax, and the FTA lists the service as free. The FTA's published processing time is 20 business days from receipt of a completed application; it may ask questions before issuing the Tax Registration Number (TRN).
How we help: VAT registration — the right date and route, filed on EmaraTax.
Our fee
| VAT registration (mandatory or voluntary) | AED 499*, one-off |
| Quarterly VAT returns after registration | AED 499* a quarter (Starter, up to 40 transactions a month); AED 899* (Growth, up to 120); AED 1,499* (Premium, up to 350) |
These are our published introductory fees at the date of this article. Your fee is confirmed in a written proposal before any work starts.
What the AED 499* covers
- A month-by-month review of your sales to find the date the threshold was crossed and your effective registration date.
- Advice on the route: mandatory registration, voluntary registration, or — where all your supplies are zero-rated — an exception from registration.
- Preparing and submitting the application on EmaraTax, and answering FTA questions until your TRN is issued.
What you provide: your trade licence, owners' passports and Emirates IDs, bank account details, and your sales invoices or a sales summary for the last 12 months.
The cost that matters more: registering late
| Mandatory threshold | Taxable supplies and imports above AED 375,000 in the past 12 months, or expected to exceed it in the next 30 days |
| Deadline to apply | Within 30 days of crossing the threshold |
| Late-registration penalty | AED 10,000 |
| VAT on past sales | Due from the effective registration date, even if your invoices did not show VAT |
Zero-rated sales — for example services to clients outside the UAE — count towards the threshold, which is how many consultancies and IT businesses cross it without noticing. See VAT registration for exporters of services and what to do if you missed the deadline.
After registration: the running cost
Once registered, you issue tax invoices and file a VAT return for each tax period — usually quarterly, by the 28th day after the period ends. Our VAT return packages cover this. If you also need bookkeeping and the Corporate Tax return, our All-in-One packages combine bookkeeping, four VAT returns and the Corporate Tax return in one annual fee; registrations are charged separately where needed. Compare them on our packages page.
Not sure whether you need to register yet? Send us your sales summary and we will confirm your position.
* 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.