🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · ISORA participant · ITTI survey participant
The United Arab Emirates employs artificial intelligence and machine learning for risk scoring in practice and has implemented statutory interest limitation rules and country-by-country reporting. The country does not have controlled foreign company rules. Tax revenue accounted for 0.6% of GDP in 2024 based on central government figures.Auto-generated summary of the verified data below; every fact traces to a source on this page.
0.6%
tax-to-GDP, central govt only (2024, World Bank)
5/11
enforcement powers assessed
Headline statutory rates
As stated in PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries’ territory overview (fetched 2026-08-20) — the wording is PwC’s; source.
| Tax | Headline rate as stated |
|---|---|
| Headline PIT rate | NA |
| Headline CIT rate | 9 |
| Standard VAT rate | 5 |
| Headline individual capital gains tax rate | NA |
| Headline corporate capital gains tax rate | No special CGT, gains are taxed as part of Corporate Tax regime (9% under standard regime or 0% under QFZP regime). Participation Exemption relief is available. |
| WHT rates (%) (Dividends/Interest/Royalties) | 0% WHT for certain categories of UAE sourced income to be specified by way of a Cabinet Decision. |
| Headline net wealth/worth tax rate | NA |
| Headline inheritance tax rate | NA |
| Headline gift tax rate | NA NA stands for Not Applicable (i.e. the territory does not have the indicated tax or requirement) NP stands for Not Provided (i.e. the information is not currently provided in this chart) |
Enforcement powers
AI & machine-learning risk scoring Yes — documented practice
Self-reported in the OECD Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives (2024 Global Survey on Digitalisation).
“Survey question "Administration uses artificial intelligence" — answer: Yes”
Source: OECD Inventory of Tax Technology InitiativesOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Crypto-asset reporting Partial / committed
Listed by the OECD Global Forum as committed to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework in time for first exchanges by 2028 (list updated 17 June 2025).
“Türkiye, United Arab Emirates and the United States”
Source: OECD Global Forum — Jurisdictions committed to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting FrameworkOfficial source · quote machine-verified 2026-08-25
Controlled foreign company (CFC) rules No — power absent
Recorded in the OECD Corporate Tax Statistics anti-avoidance rules dataset (2026).
“OECD Corporate Tax Statistics: "Is there a controlled foreign company rule in place? · Not applicable" — No”
Source: OECD Corporate Tax StatisticsOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Interest limitation rules Yes — statutory power
Recorded in the OECD Corporate Tax Statistics anti-avoidance rules dataset (2026).
“OECD Corporate Tax Statistics: "Is there an interest limitation rule in place? · Regime 1" — Yes”
Source: OECD Corporate Tax StatisticsOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Country-by-country reporting Yes — statutory power
Recorded in the OECD Corporate Tax Statistics anti-avoidance rules dataset (0).
“OECD Corporate Tax Statistics: "Is there a country-by-country reporting law in place?" — Yes”
Source: OECD Corporate Tax StatisticsOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Anti-avoidance regime detail (OECD Corporate Tax Statistics)
OECD-curated descriptions of this jurisdiction’s CFC, interest-limitation, CbCR and IP-regime rules.
CFC rules — 2 data points
| Is there a controlled foreign company rule in place? · Regime 1 | No |
| Is there a controlled foreign company rule in place? · Not applicable | No |
Interest limitation — 39 data points
| Number of years allowed under carry forward/back. · Regime 1 | carry forward for 10 years, no carry back |
| Number of years allowed under carry forward/back. · Rule 1 | carry forward for 10 years, no carry back |
| Do any loss carry-back or carry-forward provisions apply? · Regime 1 | Yes |
| Do any loss carry-back or carry-forward provisions apply? · Rule 1 | Yes |
| Is a de minimis threshold present? · Regime 1 | Yes - AED 12,000,000 |
| Is a de minimis threshold present? · Rule 1 | AED 12 million |
| Any other exclusions? · Regime 1 | Yes |
| Any other exclusions? · Rule 1 | Yes |
| Exclusions based on payer characteristics? · Regime 1 | No |
| Exclusions based on payer characteristics? · Rule 1 | No |
| Exclusions based on payment characteristics? · Regime 1 | No |
| Exclusions based on payment characteristics? · Rule 1 | No |
| Exclusions based on recipient characteristics? · Regime 1 | No |
| Exclusions based on recipient characteristics? · Rule 1 | No |
| Financial accounting measure applied to rule · Regime 1 | Net Interest Expenditure to tax EBITDA |
| Financial accounting measure applied to rule · Rule 1 | Net Interest Expenditure to tax EBITDA |
| Is there a group ratio rule or similar type of rule in place? · Regime 1 | No |
| Is there a group ratio rule or similar type of rule in place? · Rule 1 | No |
| Is there an interest limitation rule in place? · Regime 1 | Yes |
| Is there an interest limitation rule in place? · Rule 1 | Yes |
| Can interest be recharacterised as a dividend? · Regime 1 | No |
| Can interest be recharacterised as a dividend? · Rule 1 | No |
| Is the rule is applicable to net or gross interest expensing? · Regime 1 | Net Interest Expense |
| Is the rule is applicable to net or gross interest expensing? · Rule 1 | Net interest expense |
| Is the rule applicable to related party debt? · Regime 1 | Yes |
| Is the rule applicable to related party debt? · Rule 1 | Yes |
| Description of interest limitation rule · Regime 1 | The UAE general interest deduction limitation rules are aligned with the recommendations of Action 4 |
| Description of interest limitation rule · Rule 1 | The UAE general interest deduction limitation rules are aligned with the recommendations of Action 4 |
| Type of interest limitation rule · Regime 1 | General/Safe Harbour |
| Type of interest limitation rule · Rule 1 | General/Safe Harbour |
| Financial ratio referenced · Regime 1 | Restricted to 30% of tax EBITDA (if over/above AED 12m de minimis in a taxable period) |
| Financial ratio referenced · Rule 1 | Restricted to 30% of tax EBITDA (if over/above AED 12m de minimis in a taxable period) |
| Is the rule is applicable to third party debt? · Regime 1 | Yes |
| Is the rule is applicable to third party debt? · Rule 1 | Yes |
| Description of targeted rules · Regime 1 | No deduction shall be allowed for interest expenditure incurred on a loan obtained, directly or indirectly, from a related party in respect of any of the following transactions if the main purpose of obtaining the loan and carrying out the transaction is to obtain a corporate tax advantage: a) A dividend or profit distribution to a related party. b) A redemption, repurchase, reduction or return … |
| Description of targeted rules · Rule 1 | No deduction shall be allowed for interest expenditure incurred on a loan obtained, directly or indirectly, from a related party in respect of any of the following transactions if the main purpose of obtaining the loan and carrying out the transaction is to obtain a corporate tax advantage: a) A dividend or profit distribution to a related party. b) A redemption, repurchase, reduction or return of… |
| Are there targeted rules to address specific risks not addressed by the general rule? · Regime 1 | Yes |
| Are there targeted rules to address specific risks not addressed by the general rule? · Rule 1 | Yes |
| Year of introduction of the interest limitation rule · Rule 1 | 2023 |
Country-by-country reporting — 4 data points
| Is there a country-by-country reporting law in place? | Yes |
| Deadline by which filings must be submitted | 12 months |
| Reports are required for MNEs with annual revenues above | AED 3 150 million |
| Headquarter jurisidiction filing required from | 01-Jan-19 |
Administration self-reported metrics (ISORA)
Reported by the administration itself to the IMF/OECD/CIAT/IOTA International Survey on Revenue Administration. 1 = yes, 0 = no for policy questions.
| Indicator | Year | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, not prefilled - VAT | 2024 | 100 |
| Population per FTE | 2024 | 16747.56097560976 |
| Labor force per FTE | 2024 | 10917.33993902439 |
| Corporate taxpayers per FTE in LTO/P | 2024 | 115 |
| Closing stock of collectable arrears as percentage of closing stock of arrears | 2024 | — |
| CIT arrears as percentage of CIT collected | 2024 | — |
| VAT arrears as percentage of VAT collected | 2024 | — |
| Additional assessments raised through all audits and verification actions as percentage of tax collections | 2024 | — |
| Audit hit rate | 2024 | 66.00284495021337 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled, modified by taxpayer - VAT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled not modified by taxpayer - VAT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled Total - VAT | 2024 | 0 |
| On-time filing rate % - VAT | 2024 | — |
| Employers withholding taxes on behalf of salaried employees | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of payments received electronically-By number of payments | 2024 | 100 |
| Percentage of payments received electronically-By value of payments | 2024 | 100 |
| Cooperative compliance approach exists for -Large taxpayers | 2024 | 0 |
| Cooperative compliance approach exists for -HNWI taxpayers | 2024 | 0 |
| Cooperative compliance approach exists for -Other taxpayers | 2024 | 0 |
| Administration receives data from devices that register transactions | 2024 | 0 |
| Administration uses electronic compliance checks as part of returns filing process | 2024 | 1 |
Tax technology survey answers (OECD ITTI)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Administration requires individuals to use an approved digital identity to access secure digital services | Yes |
| Administration requires businesses to use an approved digital identity to access secure digital services | No |
| Administration automatically prefills corporate income tax returns with data that it has collected | No |
| Administration automatically prefills value added tax returns with data that it has collected | No |
| Estimated percentage of the individual taxpayer population that uses an approved digital identity to access secure digital services offered by the administration | 81-100% |
| Administration has a comprehensive data management strategy | Yes |
| Administration assesses data quality of reported data | Yes |
| Administration has in place a data ethics framework | Yes |
| Administration controls user data access and security | Yes |
| Administration automatically detects unauthorised access | Yes |
| Administration employs a Data Privacy Officer | No |
| Administration has a cyber security unit | Yes |
| Administration hires external parties to test the security of its systems | Yes |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence as part of the data governance process | No |
| Administration has big data capabilities with the necessary people, skills and infrastructure | No |
| Administration uses an enterprise-wide Business Intelligence and Visualisation tool | Yes |
| Administration uses analytics for real-time tax fraud detection and prevention | No |
| Underlying digital identity solution for individuals is built upon an existing domestic identity system or completely new | Existing domestic identity system |
| Cloud storage | Yes |
| Robotic process automation | Yes |
| Artificial intelligence | Yes |
| Machine learning | No |
| Network analysis | Yes |
| DataOps approach | Yes |
| Automated provision of personalised information to stakeholders | No |
| Virtual assistants | Yes |
| Risk assessment processes | No |
| Detection of tax evasion and fraud | No |
| Assistance of tax officials in making administrative decisions | No |
| Making recommendations for actions | Yes |
| Making of final administrative decisions | No |
| Dispute resolution | No |
| To ensure the integrity of tax administration systems / processes | No |
| Other use cases | Yes |
| Administration reviews artificial intelligence source code | Yes |
| Administration reviews artificial intelligence input information | Yes |
| Administration probes and tests artificial intelligence responses | Yes |
| Administration monitors artificial intelligence outputs | Yes |
| Administration takes other approaches | No |
| Third party reviews artificial intelligence source code | No |
| Third party reviews artificial intelligence input information | No |
| Third party probes and tests artificial intelligence responses | No |
| Third party monitors artificial intelligence outputs | No |
| Third party takes other approaches | No |
| Industry, international or other framework was adopted for the development of the digital identity solution for individuals | Yes, for the whole digital identity solution |
| Digital identity solution for individuals can connect with foreign identity systems | No |
| Digital identity for individuals created automatically or on request | On request |
| Meeting needed to finalise the process of receiving a digital identity for individuals | No |
| Individuals without ID-documents or birth certificates can receive a digital identity for the use of tax purpose | No |
| Authentication method applied to verify the digital identity when used online | Yes |
| Use of emerging and innovative technologies or solutions with respect to the main digital identity used by taxpayers | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for registering for tax (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for registering for tax (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax returns (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax returns (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for making tax payments (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for making tax payments (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for requesting extensions of deadlines (filing and payment) (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for requesting extensions of deadlines (filing and payment) (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking for tax payment arrangements (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking for tax payment arrangements (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking confidential enquiries in a secure environment (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for asking confidential enquiries in a secure environment (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax related objections (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax related objections (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for dealing with correspondence (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for dealing with correspondence (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for uploading data into the tax administration's system (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for uploading data into the tax administration's system (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers specific approaches to those that do not have online access | Yes |
| Administration offers facility for taxpayers to interact with virtual assistants, such as chatbots | Yes |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence during interactions with taxpayers (other than virtual assistants) | No |
| Administration offers services that follow a set of pre-programmed and automated service responses during interactions with taxpayers (other than virtual assistants) | Yes |
| Administration makes a library of APIs publicly available for third party use | Yes |
| Administration has an enterprise data management (governance) system that allows taxpayer information be viewed across the administration | Yes |
| Administration uses big data for analytical purposes | Yes |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence / machine learning as part of the big data analysis | No |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence | Yes |
| Limitations exist on the use of artificial intelligence | Yes |
| Administration has an ethical framework for the application of artifical intelligence | Yes |
| Administration uses Distributed Ledger Technology, e.g. blockchain, in its taxation processes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes |
| Types of technologies or solutions used: Digital identity wallet solution | Yes |
| Virtual assistant(s) follows a set of pre-programmed rules during interactions with taxpayers | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Improve compliance | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Identify trends | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Revenue forecasting | Yes |