How to File a VAT 201 Return in the UAE

VAT 201 is the VAT return that every VAT-registered business in the UAE files with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) through the EmaraTax portal. It reports the VAT you charged on sales (output tax), the VAT you can recover on purchases (input tax) and the net amount payable or refundable for the tax period.

Most businesses file quarterly. Some are assigned monthly periods. Your tax periods and their end dates are shown in your EmaraTax account and on your VAT registration certificate.

The return must reach the FTA, and the payment must be made, by the 28th day after the end of the tax period. If that day is a weekend or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

A nil return is still required if you had no transactions in the period.

• All sales invoices and credit notes for the period are posted, with the correct VAT treatment (standard, zero-rated, exempt or out of scope).
• Standard-rated sales are split by Emirate, following the FTA's allocation rules.
• Every input VAT claim is backed by a valid tax invoice in your name, or by customs documents for imports.
• Reverse-charge purchases (imported services, and goods such as gold, electronics or scrap metal bought for resale) are recorded on both the output and input side. See our reverse charge guide.
• Import VAT shown by customs matches your import records.
• Blocked input tax (for example, entertainment for non-employees and some employee benefits) has been excluded.
• Your VAT control accounts in the ledger agree with the figures you will enter.

1. Log in to EmaraTax with your username and password or UAE PASS.
2. Select the taxable person (if you manage more than one) and open the VAT section.
3. Go to VAT Returns and choose File against the tax period that is due.
4. Complete the output section (Boxes 1 to 7). Box 2 and Box 6 are pre-filled where they apply.
5. Complete the input section (Boxes 9 and 10). Totals in Boxes 8, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are calculated for you.
6. If you are in a refund position, choose whether to request a refund.
7. Review the summary, tick the declaration and submit. Save the acknowledgement.
8. Pay any VAT due by the same deadline using the payment options shown in EmaraTax.

Most boxes have columns for the amount (excluding VAT) and the VAT. Box 1 and Box 9 also have an adjustments column.

The Box 1 adjustment column is for bad debt relief claimed by the supplier. The Box 9 adjustment column is for input tax repaid on suppliers unpaid more than 6 months after the due date, the annual input tax apportionment adjustment and Capital Assets Scheme adjustments. The errors we see most often are:

• putting all standard-rated sales in one Emirate instead of splitting them;
• reporting imported services in Box 9 with the foreign supplier's invoice, instead of in Box 3 and Box 10;
• entering total purchases in Box 9, including items with no VAT or blocked VAT;
• missing credit notes, which overstates Box 1.

If Box 14 is negative, you can ask for a refund or carry the excess forward against future VAT. Since 1 January 2026, Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2025 sets a five-year time limit for requesting the return of excess refundable tax. Track old credit balances and claim them before they lapse. Credit balances that were already more than five years old, or that reach five years during 2026, can still be claimed if you apply by 31 December 2026.

If you find an error before the deadline, you can correct the return. Once the deadline has passed, errors in the VAT payable are corrected through a voluntary disclosure in EmaraTax. Since 14 April 2026, the penalty on a voluntary disclosure is 1% of the tax difference for each month or part of a month, counted from the original due date until you submit the disclosure. Correcting quickly keeps the cost down.

The penalties below come from Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 as amended, most recently by Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, which took effect on 14 April 2026.

The earlier late-payment regime (2% the day after the due date, then 4% a month, capped at 300%) was replaced from 14 April 2026. Older FTA guides still show it, so check the date of any guidance you rely on. As a rough example, AED 20,000 paid three months late now attracts about AED 700 (AED 20,000 × 14% ÷ 12 × 3).

• No self-invoices for reverse charge (from 1 January 2026). You still account for the VAT in Boxes 3 and 10, and keep the supporting documents.
• Input tax and tax evasion (from 1 January 2026). The FTA can deny input tax where a supply is connected to tax evasion and you knew, or should have known. Check your suppliers' TRNs.
• Cabinet Decision No. 149 of 2026 (mostly from 1 October 2026). It amends the VAT Executive Regulation. It adds a rule restricting input tax on supplies paid in cash above a threshold, which the Minister has yet to set. It also clarifies employee accommodation rules. A new apportionment method applies from the first tax year starting after 1 October 2027.