Do you need to register for VAT?

The two thresholds, plainly

Both tests look backwards over a rolling twelve months and forwards over thirty days. The rolling part is what catches people out: a business that was comfortably under the line in January can be over it by August without any single month feeling unusual.

What actually counts

• Standard-rated supplies — everything you sell at 5%.
• Zero-rated supplies — exports, certain healthcare and education, and qualifying international transport. They are taxable at 0%, which is not the same as exempt, and they do count toward the threshold.
• Imports of goods and services where you account for the tax yourself under the reverse charge.
• Exempt supplies do not count — including certain financial services, bare land, local passenger transport, and residential property after its first supply.

The distinction between zero-rated and exempt is where most self-assessments go wrong, and it goes wrong in both directions. If a meaningful part of your revenue sits in either bucket, the calculator above gives you a shape rather than an answer, and it is worth half an hour with someone who will look at your actual invoices.

Once you are liable, the clock is short

A business that becomes required to register has 30 days to submit its application through EmaraTax. The obligation starts on the day you cross the threshold, not the day you notice you crossed it, and the Federal Tax Authority will backdate your registration accordingly. That matters, because you are treated as having been registered from that date — so supplies you made in the meantime were taxable supplies, whether or not you charged VAT on them.

Late registration carries an administrative penalty of AED 10,000. The bigger cost is usually the VAT you should have charged and did not, which you will still owe even though your customer has long since paid the invoice.

Common questions