UAE tax, VAT, bookkeeping & CFO insights — practical guides for business owners.
One late payroll in the UAE can end with a travel ban on the person in charge. The WPS ladder runs Day 2 to Day 21 — here is every rung, and how to stay off it.
Mainland LLCs in the UAE can now issue Class A and Class B shares with different voting and dividend rights. Check your memorandum before you raise money.
Black Friday emails promise 'tax deductible'. In the UAE a deduction saves 9% at most — and nothing under AED 375,000 of taxable income. Do the maths first.
The FTA collected AED 46.52 billion in corporate tax, up 33.9%, and 91% of returns were filed on time. The other 9% paid for being late — here is the scoreboard.
Earn AED 50,000 more revenue, pay AED 195,750 more corporate tax. Small Business Relief UAE has a real cliff — measured in revenue, not profit. Know the line.
Your FY2026 audit is decided in November, not March. The hard close falls on 30 November — run it now, or start fieldwork on a compressed timeline in January.
A UAE audit guide says no audit-free free zone is left in 2026. A small IFZA company can still file simplified statements. Here is the test that decides it.
A RAK ICC formation page says no corporate tax registration is required. Decree-Law 47 of 2022 says every UAE-incorporated company is a Resident Person.
Cabinet Decision No. 173 of 2026 repealed the old e-invoicing fines on 30 October, yet a major penalties page still prices the dead AED 1,000-a-day fines.
A popular audit guide gives DMCC 90 days and JAFZA four months. The careful accounts say the opposite: DMCC 180 days, JAFZA 90. Check your zone clock.
A free-zone guide still charges AED 3,000 for ESR filings and fines a missing report AED 25k+. Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024 ended ESR for years after 2022.
Free zone audit in the UAE has no general four-month rule. JAFZA, DMCC, DIFC and RAKEZ run four different clocks. Check your zone's real deadline today.
Audit requirements in the UAE: mainland LLCs have no revenue threshold under Article 27. Separate company law, tax and zone tests before you plan today.
Corporate tax registration in the UAE: AED 375,000 sets the 0% band, not who must register. Every company registers. Check the three tests today here now.
Bookkeeping services in Dubai: one desk headlines AED 299 a month, yet its AED 499 plan buys 50 transactions a year. Do the maths before you sign today.
WPS payroll in the UAE: Day 2 brings warnings, Day 5 freezes new work permits, Day 11 brings fines. Check your ladder before you plan cash around it today.
Company liquidation in the UAE: the 20 business day clock belongs to VAT. Corporate tax deregistration allows three months, and the fine meters up. Read why.
Emiratisation in the UAE: one guide prints the June 2026 checkpoint at 8%, careful guides put it at 9%. Rebuild your December plan before 31 December.
E-invoicing in the UAE: consumer sales are out of the system but still count toward the AED 50m phase test. Check your gross income before you sign today.
UAE VAT bad debt relief: the careful accounts start the six-month clock at the supply date, not the due date. Check your ledger before relief slips away.
Free zone corporate tax UAE de minimis explained: inside the limit the slice is taxed at 0%, outside it you lose 0% for five years. Check your buckets.
Free zone corporate tax in the UAE: inside the de minimis limit the slice is 0%, not 9%. Breach it and status goes for five periods. Check your buckets.
Corporate tax penalties in the UAE never merged with VAT in April 2026. Decision 129 covers VAT and excise only; corporate tax stays under Decision 75.
Emiratisation in the UAE for 20-49 staff: one guide bills AED 108,000 for both missed hires, another bills it per hire. Provision for the right bill.
WPS payroll in the UAE: one guide kept a 10-day grace period. Every other guide says it was abolished in June. Check your payday before permits freeze.
Old VAT credit in the UAE: 2018-2020 credits die on 31 December, but guides disagree on 2021. Check your period-by-period position before it lapses for good.
Dubai Humanitarian audit in the UAE: one approved auditor says 90 days, the regulations account says six months, one setup page says optional. Check yours.
DSO audit in the UAE: one seller says 90 days, approved auditors say four months, one guide says six months. Check your deadline before licence renewal.
UAE company liquidation: one 2026 guide opens on the bankruptcy law, pays staff first then third, and budgets AED 13,000 its table cannot explain. Check yours.