United Arab Emirates Personal Income Tax

Personal income tax — none in the UAE

The UAE imposes no personal income tax on individuals, and the government has stated there are no plans to introduce one. The notes below explain the limited circumstances where an individual can nonetheless fall within the corporate tax net through business activity.

• Personal income tax rate — 0% (there is no personal income tax in the UAE) (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — UAE (Individual: Taxes on personal income))
• Tax bands / brackets — Not applicable (no personal income tax bands exist for residents or non-residents) (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — UAE (Individual: Taxes on personal income))
• Deductions / credits — Not applicable (with no personal income tax, no personal deductions or credits exist) (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — UAE (Individual: Deductions))
• Corporate tax on individuals carrying on business — A natural person conducting a business or business activity in the UAE is subject to corporate tax at 9% where total turnover from that activity exceeds AED 1,000,000 in a Gregorian calendar year AED (wages, personal investment income and personal real estate income are excluded) (Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 (Categories of Business of Natural Persons))
• Employment income (salary/wages) — Exempt from corporate tax — salary and wages of natural persons are outside the scope of UAE corporate tax (Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 (Categories of Business of Natural Persons))
• Personal investment income — Exempt from corporate tax — personal investment income not conducted as a licensed business is outside scope (Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 (Categories of Business of Natural Persons))
• Personal real estate investment income — Exempt from corporate tax — income from real estate held personally (not through a licensed business) is outside scope (Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 (Categories of Business of Natural Persons))
• Individual tax residency — An individual may be a UAE tax resident if their usual or principal place of residence and centre of financial/personal interests is in the UAE, or if physically present for 183 days or more in a 12-month period (90 days for UAE nationals/residents meeting further conditions) (Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 (Determination of Tax Residency))
• Personal filing obligation — No annual personal income tax return; individuals only file/register for corporate tax where business turnover exceeds AED 1,000,000 (Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 (Corporate Tax Law))