VAT on UAE invoices: 5%, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge
Most invoice errors are not maths. They are the wrong VAT category on a line, and a validator will not let that through.
Standard 5 %
The standard VAT rate is 5 %. On a tax invoice that is a line with category standard and rate 5. The tax amount is calculated from the line, not typed from memory. If you are VAT-registered and the supply is standard-rated, this is the usual case. E-invoicing does not change the rate. It does insist that the rate on the line matches the category.
Zero-rated
Zero-rated is still a VAT line, at 0. The supply is taxable; the rate is zero. That matters for input-VAT recovery and for the shape of the file. Do not hide a zero-rated export as “no VAT column”. Put the category and the zero rate on the line. Which supplies are zero-rated is a question for the VAT law and your adviser, not for a format guide.
Exempt
Exempt supplies are not the same as zero-rated. Both can show no VAT charged. Zero-rated supplies still count as taxable and keep input-VAT recovery in the usual way; exempt supplies do not. Mixing the two on a product card because “the customer pays no VAT either way” is how a later return and an e-invoice check both fail. If the supply is exempt, store it as exempt.
Reverse charge
Reverse charge means the buyer accounts for the VAT. The line shows the reverse-charge treatment — the buyer-accounts case. You do not add 5 % on top as if it were a domestic standard sale. Getting this wrong is a category error, not a rounding error. When it applies to your supply is for your adviser.
Per line, not per invoice
One invoice can carry more than one treatment. A delivery of standard-rated goods plus a zero-rated line is two categories, not an average. PINT-AE stores VAT on the line. A header that says “5 %” while a line says exempt will not survive a check. Price lists that share one rate for every SKU will hurt you the first time you add an export or an exempt fee.
Rounding and totals
Totals follow the lines. Do not type a grand total that ignores the sum of the VAT columns. Small rounding differences are a known pain on any invoice; inventing a balancing line to hide them is worse. Let the software add. If a total disagrees with the lines, fix the lines.
This is not tax advice
Which treatment applies to your supply is for your accountant. This page tells you what each treatment looks like on a line and why a validator cares. Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 (as amended) is the VAT law; the FTA legislation page is the place to open it. An e-invoice that is perfectly shaped and wrongly categorised is still a wrong VAT invoice.
Questions owners ask
Zero-rated vs exempt?
Both can show no VAT charged. Zero-rated supplies still count as taxable and keep input-VAT recovery; exempt supplies do not. Store the one that is true for the supply, not the one that looks the same on a receipt.
Which rate for a customer abroad?
Exports are generally zero-rated subject to the VAT law's conditions. Say “generally”, then take the specific case to your adviser — evidence, place of supply, and the law's tests are not a format question.
Do I show VAT if I am not registered?
No. A commercial invoice carries no VAT lines. Do not print a 5 % column at zero to look official.
How Fatura Sahla helps
Products carry their VAT category once. An invoice whose lines contradict the seller's VAT status can still be saved as a draft, but it is held back from compliant status and XML export until fixed.
We meet you where you are, and get you e-invoice-ready with near-zero overhead.
Your sales live in notebooks, spreadsheets and sales people in the field
Photograph the paper, import the sheet, or type it in. Every path ends in one complete record, checked in plain words.
A computer, a smartphone, a tablet, or a simple phone with WhatsApp
Works in the browser and on Android and iPhone. Send an invoice photo to WhatsApp and get the finished PDF back in the chat.
A team that reads English, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, or a mix of them
The app, the WhatsApp replies and every check speak all four. Invoices print in English or Arabic, whatever the team uses.
Fatura Sahla helps you get ready. It is not an Accredited Service Provider and does not send invoices to the Federal Tax Authority. This article is general information, not tax advice.
Last reviewed September 14, 2026