How to File a VAT Return on EmaraTax: Steps & Deadlines

Key takeaways

• A UAE VAT return is filed online through your EmaraTax account on the FTA portal: you open the VAT201 return for your period, complete every box (using 0 where nothing applies), review, declare and submit.
• Your VAT return and any VAT payment must reach the FTA by the 28th day after the end of your tax period; a period ending 31 March, for example, is due by 28 April.
• A VAT return is not submitted until you click Submit and receive the confirmation email; saving a draft in EmaraTax does not file anything.
• A VAT-registered business with no transactions in the period still has to file a nil return by the same deadline.
• The FTA's administrative penalty schedule for tax procedures changed under Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, in force from 14 April 2026, so any late filing or late payment figure published before that date is out of date.

How do you file a VAT return on EmaraTax?

You file a VAT return by logging in to your EmaraTax account, opening the VAT201 return for the period, completing the boxes, and submitting it with the declaration. The steps below follow the FTA's VAT Returns User Guide; menu labels on the live portal can differ slightly from the guide, which was written when the portal was still called e-Services.

1. Log in to your account on the FTA portal (EmaraTax) with the credentials linked to your VAT registration.
2. Open the VAT tab and select VAT201, the VAT return. Businesses in a tax group use the separate VAT201 option for tax groups.
3. Start a new VAT return for the period you're reporting.
4. Complete every box on the form in AED, to two decimal places, entering 0 where no amount applies.
5. Save as a draft if you need to stop; the FTA guide states the form "will not be submitted at this point".
6. Review each figure, confirm the declaration and click Submit at the bottom right.
7. Pay any VAT due through the portal's payment section and keep the confirmation email the FTA sends after submission.

If you'd rather not track these dates by hand, the UAE compliance calendar is a free calendar of your company's UAE tax and compliance deadlines, personalised from a few questions, as a PDF and calendar file.

What do you need ready before you start?

You need a complete, reconciled set of sales and purchase records for the whole tax period, because every box on the VAT201 is built from them. The return reports standard-rated, zero-rated, exempt and reverse charge supplies, plus VAT on purchases you want to recover, so gaps in your books show up as gaps in the form.

A short checklist before you log in:

• Output VAT from every tax invoice and credit note issued in the period.
• Input VAT from supplier invoices and import documents, with only the amounts you're entitled to recover.
• Reverse charge entries, which need both an output and an input amount.
• Your bank balance for any VAT payment, because payment is due on the same date as the return.

When is the VAT return deadline?

The FTA must receive your return no later than the 28th day after the end of the tax period. Where a payment is due, it must also be received by that same date, so there's no separate payment grace period.

The table below shows the arithmetic for a registrant on calendar quarters. It's an illustration of the rule, not your own dates, which depend on the stagger the FTA assigned you.

Source for the rule: FTA VAT Returns User Guide (v4.0, September 2021), checked 07 November 2026. If the 28th lands on a weekend or public holiday, that guide moves the deadline to the next business day, but don't plan around it: file earlier.

28th day: the deadline after the end of the tax period by which the FTA must receive both your VAT return and any VAT payment. Source: FTA VAT Returns User Guide (v4.0, September 2021), checked 07 November 2026.

How often do you have to file VAT returns?

Most UAE VAT registrants file every three calendar months, but the FTA can assign a different period, including monthly. Your tax period is set at registration, and it's shown in your EmaraTax account; don't assume it from a friend's company, because staggers differ.

A business registered for VAT files whether or not it traded. A nil return is still a return, due by the same 28th-day deadline, and missing it can bring a penalty even though no tax is payable.

What happens if you file or pay late?

Late filing and late payment each carry an administrative penalty, and the two are separate. Filing on time but paying late triggers the payment penalty only, and filing late with nothing to pay can still trigger the filing penalty.

The schedule changed recently. Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 replaced the earlier penalty tables for tax procedures from 14 April 2026, so the table separates the two regimes.

The pre-April figures come from the FTA's VAT Returns User Guide (v4.0, September 2021). Accurate as of 07 November 2026. We haven't quoted new-regime amounts because the official text wasn't available to us at the time of writing, and law-firm summaries of it don't agree with each other on every figure.

What most guides don't tell you

• Payment timing catches people out. Submitting the return by the 28th isn't enough if the money hasn't reached the FTA by then. Pay a few business days early, especially when the 28th falls near a weekend.
• A draft isn't a filing. EmaraTax lets you save and come back, so a return can sit as a draft past the deadline while everyone assumes it's done. Look for the confirmation email, not just the saved form.
• Old penalty tables are still all over the internet. Many articles, and some accountants' templates, still quote the figures from before 14 April 2026. If the amount you're quoted doesn't mention Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, ask which regime it comes from.
• Your books decide how painful the return is. Say a SHAMS trading company issues 40 invoices a month and codes reverse charge purchases inconsistently. The return will take hours, because every mismatch has to be traced back to a ledger entry before the declaration is safe to sign.

Which deadlines apply to your company?

Your filing dates depend on your assigned tax period, and VAT is only one of several UAE deadlines you'll carry. The free UAE compliance calendar lists them for your company.

Frequently asked questions

How often do I need to file VAT returns in the UAE? The default tax period is three calendar months, so most registrants file four returns a year, but the FTA can assign a different period, such as monthly. Your period and filing dates are set when you register and shown in your EmaraTax account.

When is the VAT return deadline? The FTA must receive your VAT return, and any payment due, no later than the 28th day after the end of the tax period. If the 28th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the FTA's user guide moves the deadline to the next business day.

What happens if I file my VAT return late? The FTA charges an administrative penalty for each late return, and a nil return counts as a return. The penalty schedule changed under Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 from 14 April 2026, so check the current amount in the decision before you rely on any figure.

What is the penalty for late VAT payment? Late payment attracts a penalty on the unpaid tax, charged separately from any late filing penalty. The calculation moved to a new schedule from 14 April 2026, so confirm the current rate in Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 or with the FTA.

About Qawi · Qawi is a corporate services firm licensed in the Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) free zone, handling company formation, visas and PRO, bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax for UAE businesses. Guides are researched from FTA, Ministry of Finance and free zone sources. Qawi on LinkedIn

Sources

• FTA, VAT Returns User Guide (v4.0, September 2021): deadline, tax periods, nil returns, filing steps, pre-April 2026 penalties
• Federal Tax Authority (tax.gov.ae): EmaraTax and VAT guidance
• Ministry of Finance (mof.gov.ae): Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 on administrative penalties for tax procedures, in force 14 April 2026 (read the official text for current amounts)

Last checked: 07 November 2026

This is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation.

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