A UAE tax invoice must contain the words ‘Tax Invoice’, your TRN, customer’s TRN if VAT-registered, supply description, VAT amount, and total. Simplified invoices (under AED 10,000) can omit some fields. Issuing a non-compliant invoice = AED 2,500 penalty per detected case (Cabinet Decision 129/2025, from 14 April 2026).
Full tax invoice — mandatory fields
- The words ‘Tax Invoice’ clearly visible
- Sequential invoice number (no gaps)
- Date of issue and date of supply (if different)
- Supplier’s name, address, TRN
- Recipient’s name, address, TRN (if VAT-registered)
- Description of goods or services
- Quantity, unit price, total before VAT
- Discount if any
- VAT rate applied (5%, 0%, or exempt) per line
- VAT amount in AED
- Total payable inc VAT in AED
Simplified tax invoice (under AED 10,000)
For B2C sales below AED 10,000, you can issue a simplified invoice with fewer fields:
- The words ‘Tax Invoice’
- Supplier’s name, address, TRN
- Date
- Description of goods/services
- Total inc VAT
- VAT amount or rate
Most retail receipts (POS-printed at checkout) are simplified invoices. For B2B above AED 10K you must issue a full invoice on request.
Multi-currency invoices
You can issue invoices in foreign currencies (USD, EUR, etc.), but VAT amount must always also be shown in AED at the FTA-published exchange rate on the supply date:
- Show currency rate clearly on the invoice
- FTA accepts spot rate or daily reference rate
- Stick to one method consistently — switching causes audit queries
E-invoicing — confirmed dates and penalties
E-invoicing is no longer a consultation. The framework is set by Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025, and the UAE has adopted a Peppol-based five-corner model with the PINT AE data dictionary. Invoices are exchanged as structured XML between Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) — not emailed as PDFs.
| Milestone | Date | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntary pilot / testing opens | 1 July 2026 | Any VAT-registered business |
| Phase 1 go-live, penalties enforced | 1 January 2027 | Businesses with annual turnover above AED 50 million |
| Phase 2 go-live | 1 July 2027 | All remaining VAT-registered businesses |
| B2G transactions | 1 October 2027 | Supplies to government entities |
Penalties under Cabinet Decision 106/2025 once your phase is live:
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| No e-invoicing system in place, or no ASP appointed | AED 5,000 per month or part month |
| E-invoice not issued or not transmitted | AED 100 per invoice, capped at AED 5,000/month |
| E-credit note not issued or not transmitted | AED 100 per note, capped at AED 5,000/month |
| FTA not notified of a system failure | AED 1,000 per day of delay |
| ASP not notified of a change in your company data | AED 1,000 per day of delay |
Phase 1 and Phase 2 cover B2B and B2G supplies. Business-to-consumer invoices stay outside the mandate until the FTA says otherwise, so retail POS receipts continue as simplified tax invoices.
Penalties for non-compliant invoices
These are the amounts under Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, which replaced the older penalty schedule with effect from 14 April 2026. Violations that happened before that date are still assessed under the previous regime.
| Issue | Penalty | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Failure to issue a tax invoice or tax credit note within 14 days | AED 2,500 | Per detected case |
| Issuing an invoice that is missing mandatory fields | AED 2,500 | Per invoice |
| Records not provided in Arabic when the FTA requests them | AED 5,000 | Per request |
| Failure to keep the required records | AED 20,000 | Repeat within 24 months |
When you must issue a tax invoice — the 14-day rule
Getting the fields right is only half of it. Article 67 of the VAT Decree-Law also fixes when the invoice has to exist, and the deadline is not the same for every invoice type. This is the rule most UAE businesses get wrong, because an invoice raised late is non-compliant even if every mandatory field is perfect.
| Invoice type | Deadline to issue | Typical situation |
|---|---|---|
| Full tax invoice | Within 14 days of the date of supply | Standard B2B sale of goods or services |
| Simplified tax invoice | On the date of supply itself | Retail / B2C sale under AED 10,000, POS receipt |
| Summary tax invoice | Within 14 days of the end of the calendar month | Multiple supplies to the same customer during one month |
| Continuous supply | Within 14 days of the earlier of payment received or invoice date | Rent, retainers, subscriptions, maintenance contracts |
| Tax credit note | Within 14 days of the adjustment event | Returns, price reductions, cancelled supplies |
The 14 days run from the date of supply under Articles 25 and 26 — usually the earlier of goods being delivered, services being completed, or payment being received. If you deliver in March and invoice in May because the customer was slow to confirm the PO, the invoice is late and the supply belongs in the March VAT period, not May.
A late invoice creates two separate problems: the AED 2,500 per case penalty for missing the deadline, and a VAT return that reports output tax in the wrong period. The second one is usually the more expensive of the two, because correcting it means a voluntary disclosure with its own 1% per month charge.
Full vs simplified tax invoice — field by field
The simplified tax invoice is allowed for B2C supplies below AED 10,000. It is not a lighter version you can use whenever it is convenient — if the customer is VAT-registered and asks for a full tax invoice so they can recover input tax, you must issue one. This table is the quickest way to check which format you are actually allowed to use.
| Field | Full tax invoice | Simplified tax invoice |
|---|---|---|
| The words ‘Tax Invoice’ | Required | Required |
| Sequential invoice number | Required | Required |
| Date of issue | Required | Required |
| Date of supply (if different from issue date) | Required | Not required |
| Supplier name, address and TRN | Required | Required |
| Recipient name and address | Required | Not required |
| Recipient TRN | Required if the customer is VAT-registered | Not required |
| Description of goods or services | Required | Required |
| Quantity and unit price | Required | Not required |
| Discount applied | Required if given | Not required |
| Total excluding VAT | Required | Not required |
| VAT rate per line (5% / 0% / exempt) | Required | Required |
| VAT amount in AED | Required | Required |
| Total payable including VAT | Required | Required |
A simplified invoice has no recipient TRN, so it does not support an input tax claim in the buyer’s VAT return. If a business customer pays by company card at your counter, they will come back and ask for a full tax invoice. Building that into your POS process saves a lot of month-end re-issuing.
UAE tax invoice format — a compliant layout you can copy
This is the FTA-compliant layout with every mandatory field in place. Rebuild it in Word, Google Docs, Excel or your accounting software — the format of the document does not matter, only that all the fields below are present and the VAT amount is shown in AED.
| Section of the invoice | What goes there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Document title | The words ‘Tax Invoice’, prominent at the top | TAX INVOICE |
| Invoice number | Sequential, no gaps, no reuse across years | INV-2026-0417 |
| Date of issue | The date you raised the document | 12 July 2026 |
| Date of supply | Only if different from the issue date | 05 July 2026 |
| Supplier block | Your legal name, full address, TRN | Example Trading LLC, Office 1204, Business Bay, Dubai · TRN 100xxxxxxxxxxx3 |
| Customer block | Legal name, address, and TRN if they are registered | Client Solutions FZ-LLC, Dubai Internet City · TRN 100xxxxxxxxxxx7 |
| Line items | Description, quantity, unit price, line total excluding VAT | Consulting services, July 2026 · 1 × AED 20,000 · AED 20,000 |
| Discount | Shown separately where given | Less 5% early settlement: (AED 1,000) |
| VAT column | The rate applied to each line | 5% |
| Subtotal | Total before VAT, in AED | AED 19,000.00 |
| VAT amount | Stated in AED even on a foreign-currency invoice | AED 950.00 |
| Total payable | Including VAT, in AED | AED 19,950.00 |
| Payment terms | Not mandatory, but keeps disputes down | Payable within 30 days · bank details · IBAN |
One unbroken number series per entity. Deleting a cancelled invoice and reusing its number is a common finding in FTA audits. Cancel it with a tax credit note instead and let the number stay in the series.
Tax credit note format
A tax credit note reverses or reduces a tax invoice you already issued — a return, a price reduction, a cancelled order, or a billing error. It carries the same mandatory-field burden as the invoice it corrects, plus two extras.
- Headed ‘Tax Credit Note’, not ‘Credit Note’ and not ‘Refund’.
- A reference to the original tax invoice number and date, so the pair can be matched during an audit.
- The value of the reduction and the VAT being reversed, both in AED.
- Supplier and recipient details and TRNs, exactly as on the original invoice.
- The reason for the adjustment — short is fine, but it must be there.
Issue it within 14 days of the event that triggered the adjustment. Never fix an invoice by editing the original PDF and re-sending it: the customer may already have claimed input tax on the first version, and you now have two documents with the same number showing different amounts.
Currency, exchange rate and rounding
You may invoice in any currency, but the VAT figures have to be expressed in AED. The detail that causes audit queries is which rate you used and whether you used it consistently.
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| VAT must be shown in AED | Add an AED conversion line for the VAT amount, and usually for the total, on every foreign-currency invoice. |
| Use the rate on the date of supply | Not the date you raised the invoice, and not the date the customer paid. |
| Use the UAE Central Bank published rate | The daily reference rate is the defensible source. Your bank’s dealing rate is not. |
| Apply one method consistently | Pick spot rate or daily reference rate and stay with it. Switching between them across periods is what draws the query. |
| Round to the nearest fils | Two decimal places. Round at the invoice total, not line by line, and stay consistent. |
| Keep the rate visible on the document | Print the rate used. An auditor should not have to reconstruct it two years later. |
Eight reasons the FTA rejects a UAE tax invoice
Every one of these turns up repeatedly in FTA audits, and each is avoidable with a template change rather than a process change.
| # | The error | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Document headed ‘Invoice’ instead of ‘Tax Invoice’ | Change the template title. This alone invalidates the document. |
| 2 | VAT shown only in the invoice currency, not in AED | Add an AED VAT line even on USD or EUR invoices. |
| 3 | Supplier TRN missing, wrong, or a 14-digit typo | Verify your TRN once and lock it into the template. |
| 4 | Customer TRN missing on a B2B sale | Capture the TRN at onboarding, not at invoicing time. |
| 5 | Gaps in the invoice number series | Cancel with a tax credit note; never delete and reuse a number. |
| 6 | Line description too vague (‘services’, ‘goods’) | Describe what was actually supplied and the period covered. |
| 7 | Zero-rated or exempt lines shown as 5%, or the reverse | Set the correct tax code per line and show the rate against each. |
| 8 | Invoice raised more than 14 days after the date of supply | Trigger invoicing off delivery or completion, not off payment. |
Seven of the eight errors above are template defects, not human error. Fixing the template fixes every future invoice at once. It is worth pulling ten invoices from the last quarter and checking them against this list before an FTA audit does it for you.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the word 'Tax Invoice' really mandatory?
Yes. FTA explicitly requires it. Invoices headed simply ‘Invoice’ are non-compliant and trigger AED 5,000 penalties.
Can I issue invoices in USD?
Yes, but VAT amount must also appear in AED using the exchange rate on the supply date.
Do I need the customer's TRN?
Required if the customer is VAT-registered (B2B). Optional for B2C. Most companies require it on every B2B invoice for input VAT recovery.
How long do I keep tax invoices?
5 years from the end of the tax period. FTA can audit up to 5 years back.
What about credit notes?
Credit notes follow the same format as tax invoices but marked ‘Tax Credit Note’. Used for returns, reductions, errors.
Is e-invoicing mandatory?
Not yet, but UAE is rolling it out 2026-2027. Start using a system that supports it (Zoho, QuickBooks Online) to be future-ready.
How many days do I have to issue a tax invoice in the UAE?
Within 14 days of the date of supply, under Article 67 of the VAT Decree-Law. Two exceptions: a simplified tax invoice must be issued on the date of supply itself, and a summary tax invoice covering multiple supplies to one customer in a month must be issued within 14 days of the end of that calendar month.
What is the penalty for not issuing a tax invoice in the UAE?
AED 2,500 per detected case for failing to issue a tax invoice or tax credit note within the required time, under Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 which took effect on 14 April 2026. The same amount applies to an invoice issued without the mandatory fields. Because it is charged per document, a template defect running across a year of invoices multiplies quickly.
Does a UAE tax invoice have to be in Arabic?
You can issue tax invoices in English. However, the FTA can require records and invoices to be provided in Arabic on request, and failing to do so carries an AED 5,000 penalty under the 2026 penalty schedule. Businesses that deal with government entities or expect an audit often run bilingual templates from the start rather than translating under a deadline.
What is the difference between a tax invoice and a proforma invoice?
A proforma invoice is a quote or a request for payment. It has no VAT effect, it must not be headed ‘Tax Invoice’, and your customer cannot recover input tax from it. A tax invoice is the legal document that creates the VAT entry for both sides. If you send a proforma to secure payment, you still have to issue the tax invoice within 14 days of the date of supply.
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in the UAE?
The voluntary pilot opens on 1 July 2026. Phase 1 goes live with penalties enforced from 1 January 2027 for businesses with annual turnover above AED 50 million. Phase 2 covers all remaining VAT-registered businesses from 1 July 2027, and B2G transactions follow on 1 October 2027. The framework is Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025, using a Peppol five-corner model with the PINT AE data dictionary.
Can I issue a tax invoice without a TRN?
No. Your own TRN is mandatory on every tax invoice — without it the document is not a tax invoice. If you are not VAT-registered you must not issue a tax invoice or charge VAT at all; you issue a plain commercial invoice with no VAT line. The customer’s TRN is different: it is required only when the customer is VAT-registered.
Can I issue a UAE tax invoice in USD?
Yes. Invoice in any currency you like, but the VAT amount must also appear in AED, converted at the UAE Central Bank rate for the date of supply. Show the rate you used on the invoice and apply the same conversion method consistently across periods.