VAT return filing in the UAE. Filed by the 28th, every period.

The VAT return deadline is the 28th day of the month following the end of your assigned tax period. Businesses with annual taxable supplies below AED 150 million are generally assigned quarterly VAT returns, and quarterly VAT returns are due within 28 days of the tax period ending. Businesses above AED 150 million are typically assigned monthly filing, so monthly VAT returns are due by the 28th of the following month. Separately, for registration, businesses above the mandatory registration threshold of AED 375,000 must register, while those from AED 187,500 may opt in through voluntary registration. If the 28th falls on a weekend or public holiday the deadline moves to the next working day — but relying on that is a thin margin.

AED 1,000 for a first late return, rising to AED 2,000 for a repeat offence within 24 months. It applies even to a nil VAT return, which catches out dormant companies regularly. Late payment is penalised separately: since 14 April 2026, unpaid tax accrues interest at a flat 14% per annum, calculated monthly on the outstanding balance, under Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025. Filing late and paying late therefore costs you on both counts at once.

Yes. All businesses registered for VAT must file returns, even if there were no transactions during the period or the business was inactive, in which case you submit a nil VAT return. A nil return is still a return, and the AED 1,000 penalty applies just the same if it is late. Dormant and seasonal businesses are the most common victims of this one.

It depends on the size of the error and the timing. Some errors can be corrected in the next VAT return; larger ones need a voluntary disclosure. Under the penalty regime in force from April 2026, a voluntary disclosure made before the FTA notifies you of an audit carries 1% per month on the tax difference, running from the original due date to the date you disclose. If the Federal Tax Authority finds the error first, a fixed 15% applies on top. Disclosing early is therefore substantially cheaper than being found, which is the practical argument for reviewing old returns now rather than waiting.

Certain entertainment costs, some motor vehicle expenses where there is personal use, and anything relating to exempt supplies are the usual blocked categories. Tax invoices are required to support input VAT claims, and unsupported claims may be disallowed. From 1 October 2026, input VAT recovery also depends on documented supplier verification and, above a threshold still to be confirmed by the Ministry of Finance, on not having paid in cash.

Yes, and it is worth doing promptly. Late filing incurs AED 1,000 for the first offence and the penalty is fixed per return, but interest on unpaid tax keeps accruing at 14% per annum, so the cost of waiting compounds. We work through missed periods in order, submit VAT returns on EmaraTax in sequence, and bring you current — raising voluntary disclosures where the figures need correcting.

Yes. Maintaining complete records of transactions is essential for VAT compliance, and VAT records must be retained and produced to the Federal Tax Authority on request. Filing a VAT return is not the end of the obligation; being able to evidence every figure on it is. This is exactly what the new supplier verification rules formalise from October 2026.