How to File a VAT Return in the UAE (EmaraTax Guide)

You file a UAE VAT return, form VAT 201, online in the Federal Tax Authority's (FTA) EmaraTax portal for each tax period, which is usually three months. The return and any VAT you owe must reach the FTA by the 28th day after the period ends. In EmaraTax you log in, open the VAT module, start the return for the period, enter your sales and purchases in boxes 1 to 11, check the totals in boxes 12 to 14, then submit and pay.

How we wrote this guide. The steps follow the FTA's EmaraTax user manual for the VAT 201 return, and the rules come from the UAE VAT law, its Executive Regulation as amended to September 2026, and Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 on penalties as amended in 2025. EmaraTax screens change from time to time, so follow the instructions shown in the portal. For your own figures, ask your accountant or tax adviser. Facts last verified: 3 November 2026.

When the VAT Return Is Due

Tax period: the standard tax period is three calendar months, ending on the date the FTA sets for you. The FTA can assign a shorter or longer period (Executive Regulation, Article 62).
Deadline: the FTA must receive the return no later than the 28th day after the end of the tax period (Article 64).
Payment: any VAT due must also reach the FTA by the same date.
Every period: a registered business files a return for every tax period (VAT law, Article 72), including periods with no sales.

Before You Start: Figures to Prepare

Pull these from your accounts for the period, after your month-end close:

Standard-rated sales and their VAT, split by emirate.
Zero-rated sales, such as exports, and exempt sales. Our guide to UAE VAT categories explains the difference.
Services and goods you bought under the reverse charge, such as services from abroad.
Goods you imported through UAE customs.
Standard-rated purchases and expenses on which you can recover the VAT, leaving out blocked VAT such as on client entertainment.
Any adjustments, such as credit notes issued or received during the period.

Reconcile the VAT accounts in your ledger to these figures before you open EmaraTax.

How to File Your VAT Return in EmaraTax, Step by Step

Log in to EmaraTax with your email and password or with UAE Pass. If you set up two-factor authentication, enter the code you receive.
Choose the taxable person. Select the user type, choose the Taxable Person tile, and click Proceed.
Open the VAT module from the taxable person dashboard, then open your VAT returns.
Start the return for the tax period from the VAT 201 Return dashboard.
Read the instructions and guidelines, tick the box to confirm, and click Start.
Enter your figures. Fill in the boxes online, or download the offline template, complete it and upload it.
Answer the profit margin question: select Yes if you've reported supplies under the profit margin scheme.
Review and declare. Check every section, tick the declaration and click Submit.
Save the acknowledgement. Note the reference number and download the acknowledgement.
Pay the VAT due using one of the FTA's payment methods, so the payment reaches the FTA by the deadline.

You can save the return as a draft at any point and come back to it.

What Goes in Each VAT 201 Box

Sales and other outputs:

Box 1, standard-rated supplies: the amount, VAT and any adjustment for each of the seven emirates. Report each sale under the right emirate.
Box 2, tax refunds provided to tourists: filled in automatically for businesses registered for the Tourist Refund Scheme.
Box 3, supplies subject to the reverse charge: the amount and VAT of services and goods you account for under the reverse charge.
Box 4, zero-rated supplies: the amount.
Box 5, exempt supplies: the amount.
Box 6, goods imported into the UAE: filled in from customs data.
Box 7, adjustments to goods imported into the UAE: use it if box 6 is incomplete or incorrect.
Box 8, totals: your total outputs for the period, calculated from boxes 1 to 7.

Purchases and other inputs:

Box 9, standard-rated expenses: the amount, recoverable VAT and any adjustment.
Box 10, supplies subject to the reverse charge: the amount and VAT you recover on reverse charge supplies.
Box 11, totals: your total inputs for the period.

Net VAT:

Box 12: total VAT due.
Box 13: total recoverable VAT.
Box 14: the VAT payable, or refundable, for the period.

A Worked Example

A Dubai trading company's quarter, with figures in AED:

Box 1, Dubai: sales of 300,000, VAT of 15,000.
Box 1, Abu Dhabi: sales of 100,000, VAT of 5,000.
Box 3: consulting services bought from abroad for 10,000, reverse charge VAT of 500.
Box 4: exports of 50,000, zero-rated.
Box 9: purchases and expenses of 250,000 carrying VAT of 12,500. That includes 20,000 of client entertainment with 1,000 of VAT that can't be recovered, so the box shows 230,000 and VAT of 11,500.
Box 10: the same consulting services, 10,000 with recoverable VAT of 500.
Box 12, VAT due: 15,000 + 5,000 + 500 = 20,500.
Box 13, recoverable VAT: 11,500 + 500 = 12,000.
Box 14, payable: 20,500 − 12,000 = 8,500, due by the 28th day after the quarter ends.

Our guide to calculating UAE VAT explains the arithmetic and the blocked categories.

Refunds

If box 14 shows that your recoverable VAT is more than the VAT due, you have excess recoverable tax. Under Article 74 of the VAT law, the FTA first offsets it against any tax or penalties you owe. You can apply to recover the rest, and if you don't, it's carried forward to later tax periods.

Correcting Mistakes

Before the deadline: you can correct the return, and the AED 500 penalty for an incorrect return doesn't apply if you correct it within the filing deadline.
After the deadline: errors in a submitted return are corrected through a voluntary disclosure under the Tax Procedures Law. The FTA's user guides say an underpayment of AED 10,000 or less can instead be corrected in the return for the period in which you found the error. Check the FTA's current guidance for your case.

Penalties Since 14 April 2026

Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 from 14 April 2026, sets these penalties:

Late VAT return: AED 1,000 the first time, and AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months.
Late payment: 14% a year on the unpaid VAT, charged monthly for each month or part of a month after the due date.
Incorrect return: AED 500, unless you correct it within the filing deadline or submit a voluntary disclosure that doesn't change the VAT due.
Voluntary disclosure of an error: 1% of the tax difference for each month or part of a month, from the day after the return was due until you submit the disclosure.
No disclosure before the FTA notifies an audit: a fixed 15% of the tax difference, plus 1% a month.

Common Mistakes

Reporting sales under the wrong emirate in box 1.
Claiming blocked VAT, such as on client entertainment or cars available for personal use.
Leaving out the reverse charge on services bought from abroad, in boxes 3 and 10.
Mixing up zero-rated and exempt sales in boxes 4 and 5.
Ignoring differences in box 6, the imports filled in from customs data, instead of adjusting them in box 7.
Submitting on time but paying late, which still triggers the late payment penalty.
Not keeping working papers that tie each box to your ledger.

Where Octate Fits

Octate applies VAT to every sale, purchase and expense, keeps a full audit trail and gives you the figures for your VAT return, from the same ledger as your invoices and stock. See accounting and VAT.

Quick Answers

How do I file a VAT return in the UAE? Online in the FTA's EmaraTax portal: log in, open the VAT module, start the VAT 201 return for the period, enter your figures, review, declare and submit, then pay any VAT due.

When is the UAE VAT return due? By the 28th day after the end of the tax period. Any VAT due must be paid by the same date.

How often do you file a VAT return in the UAE? Usually every three months. The FTA can assign a shorter or longer tax period.

What is VAT 201? The name of the UAE VAT return form you file in EmaraTax.

Can I file the VAT return offline? You can download the offline template from EmaraTax, fill it in and upload it, then submit the return in the portal.

Do I file a VAT return if I had no sales? Yes. A registered business files a return for every tax period.

What is the penalty for filing a VAT return late? AED 1,000 the first time, and AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months, under the rules in force since 14 April 2026.

What is the penalty for paying VAT late? 14% a year on the unpaid VAT, charged monthly.

How do I correct a VAT return? Before the deadline, correct the return itself. After it, file a voluntary disclosure, unless the FTA's guidance lets you correct a small underpayment in your next return.

Sources

Federal Tax Authority: VAT 201 VAT Returns form, EmaraTax user manual, the VAT Returns User Guide and the Voluntary Disclosure User Guide
Federal Tax Authority: Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on VAT and its amendments, Articles 72 and 74, and the Executive Regulation, as amended to Cabinet Decision No. 149 of 2026, Articles 62 and 64
Federal Tax Authority: Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 on administrative penalties, as amended to Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025
Octate: accounting and VAT

Checked on 3 November 2026.