VAT return due dates in the UAE: filing and payment

A UAE VAT return and the payment that goes with it are both due by the 28th day after the end of the tax period. Whether you file monthly or quarterly, and which quarterly cycle you are on, is set by the FTA when you register. This guide gives the calendar, the filing steps and the penalty for getting it wrong.

The 28th-day rule

VAT is filed on Form VAT201 through EmaraTax. The return and the payment of any tax due must both reach the FTA by the 28th day following the end of the tax period. A period ending on 31 March therefore has a due date of 28 April. The due date is a legal deadline, not a target, so plan to file several days earlier in case of portal queues or a bank holiday.

Monthly or quarterly

The FTA assigns your tax period when you register, and it states the period on your registration certificate. Most small and medium businesses file quarterly. Businesses with large turnover can be assigned monthly returns. If your period is shown in EmaraTax, use it; do not assume.

The three quarterly cycles

Quarterly filers are spread across three cycles so the FTA does not receive every return at once.

A monthly filer has a due date on the 28th of every month, for the month before. Check the cycle on your registration certificate before you use the table.

Your first return

The first tax period can be longer or shorter than a standard quarter. The FTA sets it from your registration date, so the first return may cover a slightly irregular span. File it on the same 28th-day rule. A first return filed late carries the same penalty as any other. If you registered recently, the steps in documents required for VAT registration and the TRN guide explain the registration side.

How to file the VAT201

1. Close the period. Reconcile sales and purchases to the ledger and the bank.
2. Log in to EmaraTax and open the VAT return for the period. The portal is covered in the EmaraTax guide.
3. Complete the boxes. Standard-rated sales, zero-rated, exempt, imports, reverse-charge items and input tax each go in their own place.
4. Check the net figure. Output tax less recoverable input tax is the amount payable, or the refund position.
5. Submit and pay. Pay by the same date. See how to pay VAT in the UAE.
6. Save the acknowledgement and the working papers for your records.

What a late return costs

A late VAT201 carries AED 1,000 the first time and AED 2,000 if repeated within 24 months, whether or not any tax is due. Late payment accrues at 14% a year on the unpaid amount from 14 April 2026. The full position is in VAT penalties in the UAE.

Where businesses go wrong

• Filing without paying. A filed return is not a paid return.
• Assuming the cycle. A quarterly filer on cycle 2 who files to cycle 1 dates is late every time.
• Nil returns forgotten. A period with no activity still needs a return.
• Errors found after filing. Correct them through voluntary disclosure, not by hiding them in the next return.

If preparing returns is a recurring burden, our VAT return filing service works to a calendar agreed in advance, and a VAT health check shows whether past returns are sound.

A worked example

A business is on Cycle 2, so its quarters end in April, July, October and January. Its VAT201 for the quarter ended 31 October is due on 28 November.

Working back from the deadline in this way turns a single stressful day into a routine. The two-day buffer for payment is the part most often dropped.

What goes into the return

• Standard-rated sales by emirate, with the output VAT.
• Zero-rated and exempt sales, reported separately.
• Imports and the VAT paid on them. See import tax in the UAE.
• Reverse-charge items. See the reverse charge mechanism.
• Recoverable input VAT on purchases and expenses.

Differences between the ledger and the return are the first thing a reviewer tests. The posting side is in VAT accounting entries.

If your cycle or period changes

The FTA can change a business's tax period, for example because turnover has grown. When it does, there is usually a transitional period of a different length. Read the notification in EmaraTax, not just the calendar, and update your internal deadlines the same day.

A simple monthly or quarterly routine

1. Close the period in your books and reconcile the bank.
2. Review sales and purchase invoices for the correct VAT treatment.
3. Prepare the return figures from the ledger, not from memory.
4. Have a second person review the return before it is submitted.
5. Pay the balance and keep the payment evidence with the return.

Know your tax period

Your tax period and your filing frequency are set at registration. Check the registration record on the FTA portal rather than assuming a standard quarter, because a different period can move every due date. If the FTA changes your period, update your calendar the same day.

Related reading

If you have already missed a date, read VAT penalties in the UAE. For payment mechanics, see how to pay VAT.

A worked example

Take a company with a quarterly tax period. In one quarter it issues invoices with AED 200,000 of taxable sales and receives supplier invoices with AED 120,000 of purchases, both before VAT at 5%. Output tax is AED 10,000 and recoverable input tax is AED 6,000, so the net payable is AED 4,000. That amount, with the return, is due by the date for that period. The figures are illustrative only and assume all purchases are fully recoverable.

Weekends and public holidays

Do not plan to file on the last day. Portal slowness, a bank cut-off or a public holiday can turn a same-day payment into a late one. A safe habit is to file and pay several working days early, and to confirm the payment has been received by the FTA.

Frequently asked questions