Watching profit instead of turnover
The threshold is about taxable supplies. Plenty of businesses cross it while barely breaking even.
VAT registration, returns and penalty support in the UAE
Registration at the right time, returns filed from reconciled records, and a straight answer when something has already gone wrong.
- Registration
- Return filing
- Penalty & reconsideration
Dubai-based since 2015Office in Barsha Heights, Dubai
Formation to filingOne firm across the whole company lifecycle
Fees stated upfrontYou see the number before work starts
A named contactYou know who is handling your file
Verify Regulator-conferred credentials and a live Google review rating are the two highest-value additions to this strip. Neither is displayed until Aizaa supplies evidence.
What’s included
- Threshold monitoring against your actual taxable supplies
- VAT registration, de-registration and group registration where applicable
- Preparation and filing of VAT returns for each tax period
- Reconciliation of the VAT position to the general ledger and bank
- Input tax recovery review, including blocked items
- Review of tax invoices and credit notes against the required content
- Reverse-charge and import VAT treatment
- Voluntary disclosures where an earlier return needs correcting
- Penalty analysis and reconsideration requests
- A written position summary after each filing
Who this is for
- Companies approaching or past AED 375,000 in taxable supplies
- Companies already registered that want filing taken off their desk
- Companies that have received a penalty notice or an FTA query
- E-commerce and service businesses with cross-border supply questions
Who it is not for
We would rather say so now than three weeks in.
- Businesses wanting invoices issued without VAT where VAT is properly due
- Anyone looking to have a return filed without the underlying records being seen
Process
How it works
Each step says what we do and what we need from you, so nothing stalls on an unasked question.
Position review
We look at twelve months of revenue against the thresholds and tell you whether registration is mandatory, voluntary or not yet relevant.
Registration
We register you and confirm the TRN and your assigned tax period. You provide the licence, ownership documents and revenue evidence.
Records setup
We agree how sales and purchase data reaches us each period, so the return is not a month-end scramble.
Return preparation
We prepare the return, reconcile it to the ledger, and send it to you with the workings before anything is submitted.
Filing and payment
We file inside the window and tell you the payment amount and the date it must clear.
Afterwards
We keep the supporting file and handle any query, query letter or audit request that follows.
Ready to start? We can open the file this week.
The rules
Thresholds and rate
Two numbers decide whether you have to register.
| Item | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard VAT rate | 5% | UAE Government portal |
| Mandatory registration threshold | AED 375,000 | Federal Tax Authority |
| Voluntary registration threshold | AED 187,500 | Federal Tax Authority |
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
Mandatory registration is assessed on taxable supplies, not on profit and not on total invoices issued. Voluntary registration from AED 187,500 is worth considering where you incur recoverable input tax — for example a business investing ahead of revenue.
Return frequency and the filing window are set by the FTA when you register, and they are shown on your own portal record. Check yours rather than assuming quarterly.
Dates that carry consequences
Deadlines and penalties
VAT deadlines are set per taxpayer. Your tax period and filing window appear on your FTA portal record, and returns and payment are both due inside that window — a return filed on time with payment made late is still late.
Requires verification Penalty amounts
Administrative penalties for late registration, late filing and late payment are set by Cabinet Decision and have been amended since VAT began. We do not publish figures here that we have not re-checked on the review date. Send us the notice and you will get the actual number, what it relates to, and whether it is worth challenging.
What goes wrong
Common mistakes
These are the ones we are asked to unpick most often.
Issuing invoices that are not valid tax invoices
A missing TRN or incorrect content can cost your customer their input recovery and cost you the relationship.
Reclaiming input tax on blocked items
Entertainment and certain motor vehicle costs are the usual ones. They are easy to spot in a review.
Filing from an unreconciled ledger
If the return does not tie back to the bank, the first query becomes a reconstruction exercise.
Ignoring reverse charge on imported services
Common in software, marketing and consultancy spend — and commonly missed entirely.
Leaving a penalty notice in a drawer
Reconsideration has a window. Silence rarely improves the position.
Why Aizaa
Four reasons you can check
We reconcile before we file
Every return we submit ties back to the ledger and the bank, and you see the workings before it goes.
Fixed periodic fee
Quoted on volume, agreed in advance, and it does not move because a quarter was busy.
We handle the awkward conversations
Penalty notices, queries and voluntary disclosures are part of the service, not an upsell after the fact.
One firm, both taxes
VAT and corporate tax draw on the same records. Having them in one place removes an entire category of inconsistency.
Who handles this
Your named specialist
Assigned when your file opens
Every Aizaa engagement has one named person responsible for it. You get their direct line — not a shared inbox and not a ticket number. If they are away, you are told who is covering and when they are back.
Verify Photograph, credential and direct contact details to be supplied before this page is published. Nothing is asserted here that Aizaa has not confirmed.
Sources and review
Every figure on this page was checked against the issuing authority’s own publication:
Last reviewed 22 September 2026 by named reviewer required.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000, as published by the Federal Tax Authority. Voluntary registration is available from AED 187,500.
5%, as stated on the UAE Government portal. Some supplies are zero-rated or exempt, which is a different thing from being outside the scope of VAT and is worth getting right on your invoices.
It can be worth it if you incur significant recoverable input tax before revenue arrives — a business investing in stock, equipment or fit-out, for example. It also brings filing obligations, so it is a decision rather than a default.
The FTA assigns your tax period when you register, and it appears on your portal record. Do not assume quarterly — check yours.
Sometimes. There is a reconsideration process with its own window and evidential requirements. Whether it is worth using depends on the reason for the penalty. Send us the notice and you will get a straight answer rather than an engagement letter.
No. Certain costs are blocked from input recovery, entertainment and some motor vehicle expenses among them. Recovering on blocked items is one of the easiest errors to find in a review.
De-registration has conditions and a deadline of its own, and a final return is still required. It is also frequently the right move for a company that has stopped trading — doing it properly prevents penalties accruing on a dormant entity.
Yes. Place-of-supply questions and the reverse charge on imported services are the two areas that produce most of the errors we correct, so they get specific attention rather than a template answer.
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Page last reviewed 22 September 2026. Regulatory content on this page is reviewed at least quarterly and whenever the issuing authority publishes a change. Read our content disclaimer.