The UAE VAT return (VAT201), box by box

Every VAT-registered business in the UAE files a VAT201 return with the Federal Tax Authority, usually every quarter. The form is short, but each box has a precise meaning, and the most common errors come from putting the right amount in the wrong box.

Sales: boxes 1 to 8

• Boxes 1a to 1g: standard-rated supplies (5%), split by the emirate where each supply is made: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.
• Box 2: tax refunds provided to tourists under the Tax Refunds for Tourists scheme.
• Box 3: supplies subject to the reverse charge, such as imported services.
• Box 4: zero-rated supplies, for example exports of goods and services outside the GCC.
• Box 5: exempt supplies, such as some residential property and certain financial services.
• Boxes 6 and 7: goods imported into the UAE and adjustments to them.
• Box 8: totals of the boxes above.

Purchases: boxes 9 to 11

• Box 9: standard-rated expenses on which you can recover input VAT.
• Box 10: supplies subject to the reverse charge, where you also recover the VAT you accounted for in box 3.
• Box 11: totals.

Net VAT: boxes 12 to 14

Box 12 is the total VAT due on your sales, box 13 the total VAT you can recover, and box 14 the difference: the amount you pay, or the refund you can claim.

Why the emirate split matters

The split in boxes 1a to 1g is used to share revenue between the emirates, so the FTA expects it to follow where your supplies actually happen. If your invoices don't record the emirate, someone has to work it out by hand at quarter-end, which is where errors creep in.

Preparing VAT201 from your books

In SoarLedger, every UAE invoice records the customer's emirate and the VAT treatment of each line, and every bill records whether its VAT is recoverable or reverse-charged. The VAT201 draft is built from those records, box by box, for you to review before you file on EmaraTax.