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How to file the UAE VAT 201 return

Every VAT-registered business in the UAE files a VAT return, the VAT 201, for each tax period and pays the tax due by the same date. VAT is charged at 5%.

Who must file

• Every business registered for VAT, for every tax period, including a final return when the registration is cancelled.
• Registration is required when taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 in 12 months, and allowed from AED 187,500.

How often and by when

• The standard tax period is three calendar months. The FTA can give a business a different period, so check the one shown in your EmaraTax account.
• The return and the payment must reach the FTA by the 28th day after the end of the tax period, unless the FTA directs another date.
• You file in EmaraTax, signing in with UAE Pass, and pay by GIBAN bank transfer or card through EmaraTax.

What the return reports

1. Standard-rated supplies (5%) and the output tax on them.
2. Zero-rated supplies.
3. Exempt supplies.
4. Supplies and imports under the reverse charge.
5. Expenses on which input tax can be recovered, and that input tax.
6. The total tax due and the total tax recoverable.
7. The net tax payable, or the excess to carry forward or claim back.

Standard-rated sales are reported per emirate, so each tax invoice needs the place of supply. Use the FTA's own form guidance for the exact box layout.

Penalties (in force since 14 April 2026)

• Return filed late: AED 1,000 the first time, AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months.
• Tax paid late: 14% a year on the unpaid tax, charged monthly from the day after the due date.
• An incorrect return: AED 500, unless it is corrected before the filing deadline.
• Records not kept as required: AED 10,000, or AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months.
• Registering late: AED 10,000.

Records to keep

Keep invoices, credit notes, import documents and your accounts for at least five years after the end of the tax period (longer while an audit or dispute is open), and 15 years for real estate.

Doing it in BOSS ERP Mini

1. Issue your tax invoices and credit notes in ERP Mini; purchases and expenses carry their VAT codes.
2. At the end of the period, open the VAT 201 report: it totals the period's output and input tax by category and emirate from the posted documents.
3. Check each box against the documents behind it, then enter the figures in EmaraTax and pay by the 28th day. The VAT audit file report lists every taxable line with the other party's TRN.