Reference · English / العربية

UAE tax terms, translated into plain language

The words that appear on EmaraTax, in FTA letters and in this site — each with its Arabic equivalent.

Corporate tax

• Taxable person (الخاضع للضريبة) — anyone required to register for and pay corporate tax: companies, and individuals with licensed business turnover over AED 1M.
• Taxable income (الدخل الخاضع للضريبة) — accounting profit adjusted per the law; the number the 0%/9% bands apply to.
• Small Business Relief (إعفاء الأعمال الصغيرة) — election for businesses with revenue ≤ AED 3M to be treated as having no taxable income; ends with periods ending 31 December 2026.
• QFZP — Qualifying Free Zone Person (الشخص المؤهل في المنطقة الحرة) — a free zone company meeting all conditions for 0% on qualifying income.
• Qualifying income (الدخل المؤهل) — free-zone income taxed at 0%: transactions with other free zone persons and listed qualifying activities.
• De minimis (الحد الأدنى المسموح) — tolerated non-qualifying revenue: the lower of AED 5M or 5% of total revenue.
• Tax period (الفترة الضريبية) — your financial year; the return is due 9 months after it ends.
• DMTT / Pillar Two (الضريبة التكميلية) — the 15% minimum top-up tax on multinational groups with global revenue over €750M, from 2025.

Administration

• FTA — Federal Tax Authority (الهيئة الاتحادية للضرائب) — the regulator that runs registration, returns and penalties.
• EmaraTax (منصة إمارات تاكس) — the FTA's online portal where everything happens.
• TRN — Tax Registration Number (رقم التسجيل الضريبي) — your VAT identity; corporate tax uses its own registration number.
• Tax agent (وكيل ضريبي) — an FTA-licensed professional who can represent you.
• Administrative penalty (غرامة إدارية) — fixed fines like the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty; see the penalty calculator.
• E-invoicing (الفوترة الإلكترونية) — the structured-invoice mandate phasing in from 2026–27; check your deadline.

VAT & other

• VAT (ضريبة القيمة المضافة) — the 5% tax on most goods and services since 2018.
• Zero-rated vs exempt (الخاضع للنسبة الصفرية / المعفى) — zero-rated supplies allow input VAT recovery; exempt supplies don't.
• Gratuity / end-of-service benefit (مكافأة نهاية الخدمة) — the statutory payment on leaving a job; see the final settlement calculator.
• Nisab (النصاب) — the wealth threshold (85g of gold) above which zakat is due; see the zakat calculator.