United Arab Emirates
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Accounting - United Arab Emirates is built for UAE businesses only. It comes with the UAE fiscal localization: a UAE chart of accounts, 5% VAT with a separate tax for each emirate, fiscal positions that pick the right tax from the customer address, the FTA VAT 201 return, bilingual tax invoices and e-invoicing support.
Configuration#
The UAE localization is installed when you set up your books with the UAE chart.
Turn on the localization#
- Make sure your store address is in the United Arab Emirates and your store currency is AED. See Settings.
- Add the Accounting - United Arab Emirates app from Kartlo Apps.
- Open Accounting from your desk. In Set up your books, the United Arab Emirates chart is selected for you.
- Click Set up books.
Kartlo loads the chart of accounts, journals, VAT taxes, tax groups, fiscal positions and payment terms in one step.
Company details and TRN#
Your tax registration number (TRN) prints on every tax invoice and appears on the VAT return export.
- Open AccountingSettings.
- Enter your Tax registration number (TRN).
- Set Fiscal year ends in and Day of month.
- Click Save settings.
For business customers, enter their Tax registration number on the invoice. It fills in from the customer when you pick them.
Chart of accounts#
The UAE chart has 241 accounts, with English and Arabic names for the main accounts. They are grouped as follows:
| Group | Examples |
|---|---|
| 100000 Intangible Assets, 110000 Property, Plant & Equipment | Trademarks, software, land, equipment |
| 120000 Inventories | Stock on hand |
| 130000 Prepayments, 140000 Short-Term Deposits | Prepaid expenses, deposits |
| 150000 Receivables | Accounts Receivable (150100), VAT Input (151100) |
| 160000 Cash & Cash Equivalents | Main Bank Account (160100) |
| 200000 to 240000 Liabilities | VAT Output (220200), Payables (230100), accrued expenses |
| 400000 to 440000 Costs | Cost of Goods Sold in Trading (400100), personnel, administrative and finance costs |
| 500000 to 520000 Income | Sales Account (500100), non-operating and investment income |
| 600000 Equity | Capital and reserves |
| 999999 Undistributed Profits/Losses | Current year earnings |
The UAE chart also adds two extra journals: TA (Tax Adjustments) and IFRS (IFRS 16).
See Chart of accounts to add or change accounts.
Taxes#
The localization installs these VAT taxes. Sales VAT posts to VAT Output (220200) and purchase VAT to VAT Input (151100).
| Tax | Used on | Rate | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% DU | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Dubai (default sales tax) |
| 5% AZ | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Abu Dhabi |
| 5% SH | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Sharjah |
| 5% AJ | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Ajman |
| 5% UQ | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Umm Al Quwain |
| 5% RK | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Ras Al Khaimah |
| 5% FU | Sales | 5% | Standard-rated supplies in Fujairah |
| 5% TR TS | Sales | 5% | Tax refunds provided to tourists under the Tax Refunds for Tourists Scheme |
| 0% | Sales | 0% | Zero-rated supplies in the UAE |
| 0% EX | Sales | 0% | Zero-rated exports |
| 0% EXT | Sales | 0% | Exempt supplies |
| Out of Scope | Sales | 0% | Supplies outside the scope of the VAT law |
| 5% | Purchases | 5% | Standard-rated expenses (default purchase tax) |
| 0% | Purchases | 0% | Zero-rated purchases |
| 0% EXT | Purchases | 0% | Exempt purchases |
| 5% R C | Purchases | 5% | Supplies subject to the reverse charge, goods and services |
| 5% EX P | Purchases | 5% | Imports with postponed VAT payment |
| 5% EX ONLY | Purchases | VAT only | VAT paid on import by importers not registered for VAT |
Taxes are grouped as VAT 5%, VAT 0%, VAT Exempted, Reverse Charge VAT 5% and Out of Scope. Reverse charge and postponed import VAT book both the output and the recoverable input VAT, so the net effect is zero.
Manage them under AccountingConfigurationTaxes. Reverse charge and import taxes are marked Advanced and are read-only.
Fiscal positions by emirate#
The UAE VAT return splits standard-rated sales by emirate, so each emirate has its own fiscal position: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al-Khaima and Fujairah. There are also United Arab Emirates and Non-United Arab Emirates positions.
On an invoice, Kartlo picks the fiscal position from the customer address:
- A customer in a UAE emirate gets that emirate's position, which swaps the default 5% DU for the emirate's own 5% tax.
- If a UAE address has no emirate, Kartlo uses Dubai.
- A customer outside the UAE gets Non-United Arab Emirates, which applies zero-rated export tax.
VAT return#
Open AccountingReportsVAT return (UAE VAT201). Every tax line is tagged to its box, so the return fills itself from your posted entries.
| Box | Description |
|---|---|
| 1a to 1g | Standard rated supplies in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah |
| 2 | Tax refunds provided to tourists under the Tax Refunds for Tourists Scheme |
| 3 | Supplies subject to the reverse charge provisions |
| 4 | Zero rated supplies |
| 5 | Supplies of goods and services which are exempt from VAT |
| 6 | Goods imported into the UAE |
| 7 | Adjustments to goods imported into the UAE |
| 8 | Totals (output) |
| 9 | Standard rated expenses |
| 10 | Supplies subject to the reverse charge provisions (input) |
| 11 | Totals (input) |
| 12 | Total value of due tax for the period |
| 13 | Total value of recoverable tax for the period |
| 14 | Payable tax for the period |
To prepare and close a return:
- Pick the quarter, or set From and To.
- Check the boxes. Export the return or click Print or save as PDF for your records.
- File the return with the FTA using these figures.
- Click Close VAT period so entries with VAT in that period can no longer be posted.
Tax invoices#
Confirmed customer invoices print in English and Arabic with your TRN. Click Print or download PDF on the invoice.
- Tax Invoice when the customer has a TRN.
- Simplified Tax Invoice when the customer has no TRN.
- Tax Credit Note for credit notes, with the original invoice number.
See Invoices and bills.
Reports#
Besides the VAT return, the UAE books give you the trial balance, general ledger, profit and loss, balance sheet, aged receivables, aged payables and stock valuation. The profit and loss and balance sheet follow the UAE chart groups.
See Accounting reports and Lock dates.
E-invoicing (PINT AE)#
The United Arab Emirates is moving business invoices to structured e-invoices. Accounting - United Arab Emirates is adding support for this mandate so your invoices and credit notes can be sent through your Accredited Service Provider.
The UAE e-invoicing mandate#
Under the mandate, invoices between businesses are no longer PDFs or paper. They are structured e-invoices in the PINT AE format, the UAE version of the Peppol invoice standard.
E-invoices are exchanged through Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) in a 5-corner model:
| Corner | Who |
|---|---|
| 1 | You, the seller, issue the invoice. |
| 2 | Your ASP checks it and sends it on. |
| 3 | Your customer's ASP receives it. |
| 4 | Your customer receives the invoice. |
| 5 | The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) receives the tax data from the ASPs. |
You do not send e-invoices to the FTA yourself. Your ASP reports the tax data for you.
Timeline#
- Large businesses, with revenue of AED 50 million or more: appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027.
- Other businesses: from 1 July 2027.
Set up e-invoicing in Kartlo#
Before you start, sign up with an Accredited Service Provider and get an API key from them.
- Open AccountingSettings and turn on e-invoicing.
- Choose your ASP.
- Paste the API key your ASP gave you.
- Copy the webhook URL Kartlo shows you and paste it into your ASP portal, so your ASP can send status updates back to Kartlo.
- Send a test invoice to check that everything is connected.
Keep your Tax registration number (TRN) and your customers' TRNs and addresses up to date. E-invoices need them.