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United Arab Emirates VAT Rates 2026

United Arab Emirates (الإمارات العربية المتحدة) levies Value Added Tax under the name TRN (Tax Registration Number). The standard rate is 5%, applied to most goods and services. Reduced rates of 0% apply to essential categories including food, medicines, and cultural services.

Access rates via API

The TaxID API returns current VAT rates for all 27 EU countries. Use the /api/v1/rates/AE endpoint to get United Arab Emirates rates programmatically. Responses are cached for 24 hours.

curl http://localhost:3000/api/v1/rates/AE
# No authentication required for rate lookups

# Response:
# { "country_code": "AE", "standard_rate": 5,
#   "reduced_rates": [0], "currency": "AED" }

Applying the correct rate in code

For B2B intra-EU sales, validate the customer's VAT number first. A valid registration means reverse charge applies — you charge 0% and the customer self-accounts. For B2C, charge the United Arab Emirates standard rate.

// 1. Validate the customer's United Arab Emirates VAT number
const vatCheck = await fetch(
  'http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/AE/CUSTOMER_VAT',
  { headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' } }
).then(r => r.json());

// 2. Fetch current United Arab Emirates VAT rates (no auth required)
const rates = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/v1/rates/AE').then(r => r.json());
// → { standard_rate: 5, reduced_rates: [0] }

// 3. Apply the correct VAT treatment
if (vatCheck.valid) {
  // B2B intra-EU: reverse charge — you invoice 0%, customer self-accounts
  applyRate(0, 'reverse_charge');
} else {
  // B2C: charge the United Arab Emirates standard rate
  applyRate(rates.standard_rate, 'standard');
}

About United Arab Emirates VAT

The UAE introduced VAT at 5% in January 2018. TRNs are 15-digit numbers issued by the Federal Tax Authority. The UAE is a major hub for B2B SaaS and fintech across the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region. Businesses with taxable turnover over AED 375,000 must register.

The United Arab Emirates TRN is administered by the national tax authority and validated through the EU VIES system. Before applying any VAT rate or zero-rate exemption to a United Arab Emirates business customer, validate their VAT registration number first.

VAT rates in other EU countries