Tax Compliance Diagnostic
UAE 2026

In the UAE, VAT compliance centers around registering for VAT when the mandatory registration threshold is crossed, classifying expenses based on whether they were used to produce taxable or exempt supplies, apportioning expenses used to produce taxable as well as exempt supplies, and filing VAT returns and paying related dues on time.

Legal entities as well as natural persons can use our compliance diagnostics tool to identify exposure to tax-related risks in the UAE. By sharing some non-sensitive details and going through our questionnaire, you can identify risks like months or quarters where VAT returns were not filed.

Penalties for late filing of Corporate Tax apply at AED 500 per month for the first 12 months and at AED 1,000 per month from the 13th month onwards. Late filing leads to late payments, which attract an interest rate of 14% per annum on any outstanding tax amount. If you miss the Corporate Tax registration deadline, the FTA will impose a penalty of AED 10,000.

Freelancers and sole proprietors with an annual turnover exceeding AED 1 million within a calendar year must register for Corporate Tax.

To register for Corporate Tax, you will need business formation documents (MoA, AoA, or CoI), valid trade licenses (and branch licenses), proof of authorization for the signatory (if they haven't been authorized via business formation documents), and Emirates IDs, passports, and contact details of all shareholders and authorized signatories. You may also need to submit prior TRNs of shareholders, if they have any.

You can check for outstanding dues and pending tasks in the Dues Dates, Account Balance, and My Filings sections of EmaraTax to check your company's tax compliance status. However, the information in these sections is generated based on your prior filings and communications with the FTA. So, typically, unless you consult a tax expert, you cannot uncover all tax risks. Alternatively, you can use our Tax Compliance Diagnostic tool that requires some non-sensitive information and answers to 7-10 questions and identifies tax risks relevant to your business.

goAML is a system for reporting suspicious transaction reports to ultimately combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

Certain businesses are required to maintain audited financial statements for transparent investor reporting and tax reporting.

The Wage Protection System (WPS) ensures that private sector employees are paid accurately and on time. All employers are required to use it.

Incorrect tax returns attract a fixed penalty of AED 1,000 for first offences and AED 2,000 in case of repeat offences. However, this penalty is reduced to the tax difference, or at least AED 500, when the tax difference resulting from incorrect filing is less than the otherwise applicable fixed penalties.

Skrooge's Tax Compliance Diagnostic tool checks your business's exposure to the most common UAE tax compliance risks such as CT/VAT registration status, filing obligations, audit deadlines, invoice compliance, expense categorization, and AM requirements. Each question in this tool maps to a real compliance area.

Your data is not stored in our databases. All calculations will happen in your browser itself. Nothing is sent to a server, stored, or shared with anyone. You can verify this by using the tool offline.

This tool (Tax Compliance Diagnostic) is built primarily to identify tax compliance risk areas. You can use our FTA Penalty Calculator to find your exact penalty amount.

High risk scores reflect multiple compliance gaps. In such cases, we recommend booking a free 15-minute review with our team to prioritize the issues to be fixed first. Most problems are straightforward to resolve once identified.

Yes, all Legal Entities (LLCs, FZEs, FZCOs, PJSCs, etc.) must register regardless of revenue. Natural Persons (individuals, sole establishments, freelancers) must register if their annual revenue exceeds AED 1 million. Late registration carries a fixed penalty.