Invoicing Software for the United Arab Emirates

The UAE levies 5% VAT on most taxable supplies under Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017 on the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017. Tax invoices must show your Federal Tax Authority (FTA) Tax Registration Number (TRN), the supply date, a description of goods or services, the tax-exclusive amount, the VAT amount, and the total in AED unless a currency conversion footnote applies. Simplified tax invoices are permitted where the consideration is below AED 10,000 and specific conditions are met. Full tax invoices for B2B supplies generally need the buyer’s TRN when they are VAT-registered.

Designated zone movements, imports, and export-style supplies each carry distinct VAT treatments—your invoice wording should signal whether 5% standard, zero percent, or out-of-scope treatment applies so buyers can defend input tax claims. Since June 2023, UAE corporate tax also affects how some groups document revenue; keep invoices aligned with your chart of accounts even though corporate tax is not charged on the invoice like VAT.

AED is the statutory reporting currency, yet USD quotes are routine in trade and services. Show bank details for local transfers (IBAN format) and SWIFT instructions for international receipts. Government and semi-government entities may require bilingual English/Arabic PDFs. Practical tip: note “payment within X days” and TRN validation status in your master data to avoid rejected invoices from large procure-to-pay hubs.

Hospitality, real estate, and professional-services invoices often mix standard-rated fees with exempt or deemed supplies—split tax categories so VAT 201 boxes stay accurate. When you reverse-charge import VAT through customs, cross-reference the customs declaration number in your notes so finance can tie clearing documents to the general ledger.