UAE VAT Return Filing Deadline Calculator
Your exact 28-day filing and payment deadline, your penalty exposure if it has already passed, and your next few filing dates — worked out from your own tax period.
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Your next few deadlines
| Tax period ends | Return + payment due |
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General guidance based on Article 64 of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 and Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 (late-payment penalty, effective 14 April 2026) — not tax advice. It assumes your listed period end is correct, applies a simple Saturday/Sunday shift, and does not account for UAE public holidays, tax groups, or FTA-granted extensions. Confirm your exact dates on EmaraTax.
How the VAT deadline works
Unlike corporate tax, which is an annual event, VAT compliance repeats every single tax period for as long as the business is registered. The rule itself is simple — 28 days from period end — but because it recurs monthly or quarterly, it is also the deadline businesses drift into missing once the novelty of a new registration wears off.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Filing & payment deadline | 28 days after tax period end (same date for both) |
| Weekend / holiday | Moves to the next working day if the 28th falls on it |
| Late filing | AED 1,000 flat (first offence), AED 2,000 (repeat within 24 months) |
| Late payment | 14% per annum on unpaid VAT, calculated monthly |
| Nil return | Still mandatory — no exemption for no activity |
Quarterly vs monthly is assigned, not chosen
Whether a business files monthly or quarterly is set by the FTA at registration, typically based on annual turnover (the AED 150 million mark is the usual dividing line) and risk profile, and it appears on the VAT registration certificate. A business cannot switch its own frequency; any change has to come through the FTA.
Why the late-payment penalty changed in April 2026
Before Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 took effect on 14 April 2026, unpaid VAT accrued 2% immediately, a further 4% after seven days, then 1% per day — up to a cap of 300% of the tax owed. That structure made even a short delay expensive very quickly. The replacement, a flat 14% per annum calculated monthly, is the same rate now used for corporate tax late payment, and it makes the cost of a delay proportionate to how long it actually runs rather than front-loaded into the first week.
Filing and paying are still one obligation
Submitting the return on time does not stop the clock on payment. Both share the 28-day deadline, and a return filed correctly but left unpaid still accrues the late-payment penalty from the day after that date.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is my VAT return due?
Every VAT return, and any VAT payment due, must reach the FTA within 28 days of the end of your tax period. A quarter ending 31 March gives a deadline of 28 April; a quarter ending 30 June gives 28 July. If the 28th falls on a Saturday or Sunday the deadline moves to the next working day, and it can move further if it lands on a public holiday.
Do I file monthly or quarterly?
Most VAT-registered businesses, generally those with annual turnover under AED 150 million, are assigned quarterly tax periods. The FTA can assign monthly periods instead, typically to larger businesses or those it considers higher risk. Your assigned frequency is fixed on your VAT registration certificate and in your EmaraTax dashboard, and you cannot switch it yourself.
What happens if I file late?
A flat AED 1,000 penalty applies for a first late filing. If it happens again within a rolling 24-month window, the penalty rises to AED 2,000. This is a one-off charge per return, unlike the corporate tax late-filing penalty, which increases every month the return stays unfiled.
What happens if I file on time but pay late?
Filing and payment share the same 28-day deadline, and they are treated as one obligation. Since Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 took effect on 14 April 2026, unpaid VAT accrues a late-payment penalty of 14% per annum, calculated monthly on the outstanding balance. That replaced the older structure of 2% immediately, 4% after seven days, then 1% per day up to a 300% cap — so paying a few weeks late now costs meaningfully less than it did before April 2026, but it still is not free.
Do I still have to file if I had no sales or purchases?
Yes. A nil return is still a return. Every VAT-registered business must submit one for every assigned tax period regardless of activity, and missing the deadline triggers the same AED 1,000 / AED 2,000 late-filing penalty as any other period.
Can I get an extension?
The FTA does not routinely grant extensions, and penalties apply automatically from the day after the deadline with no grace period. If a return cannot be finalised in time, filing on the best available figures and correcting later through a voluntary disclosure is generally far cheaper than filing late or not at all.
What if I made a mistake on a return I already filed?
Correct it through a voluntary disclosure on EmaraTax rather than waiting for an FTA audit to find it. Under the framework introduced in April 2026, corrections made this way attract a 1% monthly penalty on the error amount, which is consistently lower than the penalties applied when the FTA identifies the same error itself.
Is the deadline the same for the return and the payment?
Yes. Both the VAT 201 return and any VAT payment due are governed by the same 28-day deadline from the end of the tax period. Submitting the return without paying the VAT owed still leaves the payment overdue, and the late-payment penalty starts accruing the day after that shared deadline passes.
Want your VAT filings handled every period?
A recurring 28-day deadline is easy to miss once it stops feeling new. Browse UAE tax consultants and accounting firms who file VAT returns on EmaraTax on your behalf.