VAT rates
VAT rates keeps two things. One is the VAT rates people pick on documents, such as 5% and 0%. The other is whether your company is VAT registered. Saving here posts nothing to your accounts. It decides how the documents you post afterwards are taxed. Some buttons and messages call a VAT rate a “tax profile” or “profile”. It is the same thing.
- Where
- Settings › VAT rates. It has two tabs: VAT rates and VAT registration
- Number
- None. Each VAT rate has a short code that you choose
- Posts to
- Nothing. Later documents post their VAT to Output Tax Payable and Input Tax Recoverable
- Who
- Admins. The standard Manager and Cashier roles cannot open Settings
What it’s for
Section titled “What it’s for”- VAT rates tab. Add the rates your documents use, give each one its UAE treatment, and switch a rate off when you stop using it. A new company starts with one rate only: No tax, code ZERO, at 0%.
- VAT registration tab. Say whether your company is VAT registered, from which date, and in which Emirate. Until you do, documents carry no VAT.
- Two related settings live on other screens. The VAT number (TRN) and Product prices include tax are in Settings › Business details. The rate that new products start with is Default VAT rate in Catalogue settings on the Products screen.
- The VAT return that adds up all this VAT is described in VAT.
The four treatments
Section titled “The four treatments”A treatment tells the VAT return how the sales of a rate are counted. It does not change the amount of VAT.
| Treatment | Which rate can have it | What the VAT return does |
|---|---|---|
| Standard-rated | A 5% rate only | VAT is charged at 5%. The sales are listed as standard-rated |
| Zero-rated | A 0% rate only | VAT is charged at 0%. The sales are listed as zero-rated |
| Exempt | A 0% rate only | No VAT is charged. The sales are listed as exempt |
| Out of scope | A 0% rate only | Outside UAE VAT. The sales are listed as out of scope |
The 0% rate needs a treatment too, so that the VAT return knows whether its sales are zero-rated, exempt or out of scope. A rate such as 7% or 10% cannot have a treatment. A company that is registered for VAT cannot use such a rate on a document. You can still create it.
Fields
Section titled “Fields”VAT rates tab
Section titled “VAT rates tab”The title shows how many rates you have and how many are active, for example “3 profiles · 2 active”. Each row shows the VAT rate (name and code), the Rate, and a Status of Active or Inactive. Click the name to open it.
| Field | What it means | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | What people see when they pick the rate. 2 to 120 characters | Only the wording people see when they pick the rate |
| Code | A short, unique code. Up to 30 characters. Letters are made capital. It cannot be changed after you save | Identifies the rate |
| Rate % | From 0 to 100, with up to 2 decimals | The VAT on new documents. Saved documents keep their own rate. The 0% rate called ZERO is protected: its rate stays at 0% |
| VAT treatment (when you add a rate) | Offered only for a 5% or a 0% rate. A 5% rate has Standard-rated. A 0% rate lets you choose Zero-rated, Exempt or Out of scope | Starts today, on the company’s date |
| Active (when you edit a rate) | Untick to stop the rate being picked on new lines | Saved documents keep it. ZERO always stays active |
Treatments of one rate
Section titled “Treatments of one rate”Open a rate and look under VAT treatment. It lists every treatment the rate has had, with the date it started, for example “From 2026-08-01 · 5%”. The one in force today shows In use now. A later one shows Starts later.
| Field | What it means | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Effective from | The first day the treatment applies. Any valid date | A document is judged by its own date, not by the day you post it. The treatment that started most recently on or before the document’s date applies |
| VAT treatment | The choices your rate allows (see the table above) | How the VAT return counts the sales |
A treatment is added, never changed. Older treatments stay as they were, and none can be edited or deleted. Only one treatment can start on a given date.
VAT registration tab
Section titled “VAT registration tab”| Field | What it means | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| VAT jurisdiction | Not using UAE VAT or United Arab Emirates | Choosing Not using UAE VAT clears the other fields |
| Registration status | Not registered or Registered. Shown for the United Arab Emirates | Registered switches VAT on from the date below |
| VAT number (TRN) | Shown, not typed here. It is kept in Business details. The link beside it says Add it there or Change it there. It must have 15 digits | Printed on tax invoices. It is needed to register |
| Registration effective from | The date your VAT registration starts | Documents dated on or after it charge VAT, and purchases can claim VAT back. Documents dated before it carry no VAT |
| Default Emirate of supply | The Emirate where you normally supply goods | Groups your standard-rated sales by Emirate in the VAT return |
Other settings that use VAT rates
Section titled “Other settings that use VAT rates”| Setting | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Product prices include tax | Settings › Business details, section Prices | Decides whether catalogue prices already include VAT. The app asks you to confirm. The change applies from the next sale. Documents already saved keep the setting they were saved with |
| Default VAT rate | Catalogue settings on the Products screen | The rate a new product starts with. In the product form it shows as Company default. You cannot switch off the rate that is the default |
| Sales VAT rate | The product form | The rate for that product. Only active rates are offered |
For prices that include VAT, the app takes the VAT out of the price. A product at 100.00 including 5% VAT is 95.24 plus 4.76 VAT. See Sales invoices.
Buttons
Section titled “Buttons”VAT rates tab
Section titled “VAT rates tab”| Button | When you see it | What happens | Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| New VAT rate | Top of the list | Opens a form. Add VAT rate saves it, active, together with its treatment | No change |
| Edit profile (row ⋯ menu) | Every row | Opens the rate. Save changes saves the name, rate and active box | No change |
| VAT treatments (row ⋯ menu) | Every row | Opens the same screen at the treatment list | No change |
| Add treatment | Inside a 5% or 0% rate | Adds a treatment from the date you choose | No change |
| Deactivate profile (row ⋯ menu) | An active rate | Asks “Deactivate ‹name›?”. The choices are Keep it active and Deactivate profile | No change |
| Reactivate profile (row ⋯ menu) | An inactive rate | Switches it on at once, with no question | No change |
| Back to VAT rates | In the form or the editor | Goes back. If you typed something, it asks before it throws it away | No change |
The deactivate question says that the rate is no longer offered on new lines. It also says that documents already saved keep it, and that you can turn it back on later. ZERO cannot be deactivated. Its menu entry is greyed out with the words “The 0% profile is protected and always stays active.”
VAT registration tab
Section titled “VAT registration tab”| Button | When you see it | What happens | Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save VAT setup | Once you change something | Checks what the change affects. If documents are already posted, shows them first. Then saves | No change |
| Confirm and save | In the box “Confirm the VAT registration change” | Saves the change. Cancel keeps the old setup | No change |
| Documents with VAT while not registered | Always | Shows or hides a list of posted documents that carry VAT on a date when the company was not registered. It has Export CSV | No change |
The badge at the top reads Registered or Not enabled. After a save you see “VAT setup saved.” If the save also sorted older tax records, the message adds two counts. One is how many were counted inside VAT. The other is how many were dated before the registration.
The first-time question
Section titled “The first-time question”Some companies had VAT in their records before an update but have no saved answer. They see “Confirm your VAT status before selling” instead of the registration tab. An admin chooses Yes, registered for VAT or No, not registered for VAT. For Yes, the admin also enters the VAT number, Registered since and Default Emirate of supply. Then Confirm VAT status saves it. Other users see the reason but no choice. Until it is answered, a till sale or a delivery that carries VAT is refused. Nothing already posted is changed.
What gets posted
Section titled “What gets posted”Nothing is posted from this screen. Adding a rate, adding a treatment, switching a rate off and saving the registration create no journal entry. They move no stock. They change no VAT figure that was already recorded.
What the settings do is decide how documents are taxed when you post them later. For a document with a given date:
| Your situation on the document’s date | What the document does |
|---|---|
| Not registered, or the document is dated before Registration effective from | No VAT. The document needs no treatment |
| Registered, and the document is dated on or after that date | VAT is charged at the rate of the line. The line’s rate must have a treatment that applies on the document’s date, and its percentage must match that treatment |
Sales post their VAT to Output Tax Payable. Purchases and expenses post claimable VAT to Input Tax Recoverable. The sales and purchase pages show the entries.
What changing a setting does
Section titled “What changing a setting does”Posted documents never change because of a change on this screen.
| Change | Documents already posted | Documents you post afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| New Rate % on a rate | Keep the rate they were posted with | Use the new percentage. If you are registered, the treatment must still match the percentage, so a rate that is not 5% or 0% can no longer be posted. See the blocks below |
| Switch a rate off | Keep it | The rate is not offered on new lines |
| Add a treatment | Keep their VAT | Documents dated on or after the treatment’s start date use it. Tax records that were waiting for a treatment are sorted too |
| Move Registration effective from | Keep the VAT they were posted with | Documents dated on or after the new date charge VAT. Earlier ones do not |
| Register for the first time | Keep what they were posted with | Documents dated on or after the date charge VAT. Receipts and invoices print as TAX INVOICE with your TRN |
| Switch VAT off | Keep the VAT they were posted with | No VAT is charged. Receipts and invoices print without VAT or a TRN. Supplier VAT is added to cost, and Input VAT cannot be claimed back |
| Switch Product prices include tax | Keep their setting | From the next sale, every catalogue price is read the new way |
A till bill that you edit later is checked against the rate it was posted with. If the rate has since changed, the edit is refused. See the blocks below.
The change box
Section titled “The change box”When documents are already posted, saving a change to the registration opens “Confirm the VAT registration change”. It starts with “Posted documents stay as posted. Fix any that look wrong with a correction.” Then it lists what the change means. For a first registration it says, for example:
- Sales dated from ‹date› will charge VAT.
- Receipts and invoices will print as TAX INVOICE with your TRN.
- Purchases can recover Input VAT.
- Tax records from before this setup that have no VAT class are classified from their documents when you save.
If prices include VAT, it also warns that AED 105.00 of sales will include AED 5.00 VAT. If you move the date, it says which sales and purchases are affected. It can also show two counts. One is sales posted without VAT on or after the date. The other is documents that carry VAT on a date when the company would not be registered. That count comes with an Open the report button. A company with nothing posted yet saves its first setup without this box.
Where it shows up
Section titled “Where it shows up”| Place | What changes |
|---|---|
| Lines on sales, purchases and expenses | Only active rates are offered. The VAT of each line is worked out from its rate |
| Product form | Sales VAT rate lists the active rates. A new product starts on the Company default |
| Printed receipts and invoices | Registered companies print TAX INVOICE with the TRN. Others print without VAT |
| VAT return | The registration date decides which documents are counted. The treatment decides the row, such as Standard-rated or Exempt |
| Business details | The VAT number and Product prices include tax |
What the app blocks
Section titled “What the app blocks”On this screen
Section titled “On this screen”| Situation | What you see |
|---|---|
| A rate that cannot be read | Enter a rate from 0 to 100 with at most 2 decimal places. |
| A name under 2 characters | Enter at least 2 characters. |
| No code | Enter a code. |
| A code over 30 characters | Use 30 characters or fewer. |
| A code that already exists | This tax code already exists. beside Code, and in the message Use a different tax code. |
| A rate that cannot have a treatment | UAE VAT treatments exist only for a 5% rate (standard-rated) and a 0% rate (zero-rated, exempt or out of scope). A company registered for VAT cannot use a profile that has none. |
| A treatment with no date | Enter a valid effective date. |
| A treatment on a date that already has one | A VAT treatment already starts on this date. beside Effective from, and in the message Choose a different effective date. |
| A treatment that does not match the rate | Use 5% for Standard-rated or 0% for other UAE VAT treatments. |
| Registered but no VAT number | Enter the 15-digit UAE tax registration number. beside VAT number (TRN) |
| Registered but no date | Enter the UAE VAT registration effective date. |
| Registered but no Emirate | Choose the default Emirate of supply. |
| Someone else changed the rate while you were editing | Someone else changed this VAT rate since you opened it. The latest values are shown. |
| Switching off the 0% rate called ZERO | The ZERO profile must stay active with a 0% rate. (the screen greys the option out first) |
| Switching off a rate that active products use | Deactivate or reassign active products before disabling this tax profile. |
| Switching off the default rate for new products | Choose a different default tax profile in Products before disabling this tax profile. Change Default VAT rate in Catalogue settings first |
| A user without the right | A message such as You don’t have permission to create/update/deactivate tax profiles (Tax profiles and VAT policy). |
Each refusal saves nothing. A message that names a field appears beside it.
On documents
Section titled “On documents”| Situation | What you see |
|---|---|
| A purchase, expense or supplier bill uses a rate with no treatment that applies on its date | Add an effective UAE VAT treatment for each tax profile before posting. |
| A sale, invoice, delivery, credit note or till bill does | Add an effective UAE VAT treatment for each item tax profile before posting. |
| A purchase, expense or supplier bill uses a rate whose percentage was changed after its treatment was added | The tax profile rate changed. Add a matching effective VAT treatment first. |
| A sale, invoice, delivery, credit note or till bill does | The item tax rate changed. Add a matching effective VAT treatment first. |
| Editing a till bill whose item has a new rate since the sale | This item’s tax rate changed since the bill was posted. Correct it with a current-period credit note and new sale. |
| A till sale with VAT while the first-time question is open | This shop charged VAT before the last update, but its VAT setting is now blank. An administrator must confirm the shop’s VAT status in Settings before you can sell VAT items. |
| A delivery with VAT while the first-time question is open | This business charged VAT before the last update, but its VAT setting is now blank. An administrator must confirm the VAT status in Settings before posting documents with VAT. |
| A user who may not confirm the first-time question | The page says: “You don’t have permission to confirm the VAT status. Ask the business owner or someone who can change the VAT settings to open Settings and answer it; until then, items with VAT cannot be sold.” |
The first two rows have the same cure. Open the rate, look under VAT treatment, and add a treatment that starts on or before the document’s date. A rate you create gets its first treatment starting today. A document dated earlier, but on or after your registration date, needs a treatment with an earlier start date.
If the rate was changed to a percentage other than 5% or 0%, no treatment can match it. Change the rate back, or use another rate.
Warnings that do not stop saving
Section titled “Warnings that do not stop saving”- The change box is not a block. It shows what a registration change affects, and you decide whether to Confirm and save.
- Documents that carry VAT on a date before the registration are listed under Documents with VAT while not registered. They stay as posted until you correct them.
Who can do it
Section titled “Who can do it”| Action | Admin | Manager | Cashier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Settings › VAT rates and see the rates and treatments | Yes | No | No |
| Add, edit, switch off and on a VAT rate | Yes | No | No |
| Add a VAT treatment | Yes | No | No |
| Change the VAT registration, see the report of documents with VAT while not registered | Yes | No | No |
| Answer the first-time VAT question | Yes | No, sees the reason only | No, sees the reason only |
| Change Product prices include tax or the VAT number in Business details | Yes | No | No |
These are the standard roles. Your administrator can give a custom role each action separately in Settings › Users & access. Viewing rates, changing rates, adding treatments, changing the registration and answering the first-time question are five separate rights. A role that can view but not change may still see the buttons. A save then fails with a message that names the missing right.
Fixing a mistake
Section titled “Fixing a mistake”- A rate has the wrong name or percentage. Open it, correct it and choose Save changes. Documents already posted keep the old rate. If you are registered, a percentage other than 5% or 0% cannot be posted, so do not change a standard rate to a different percentage. Add a new rate instead.
- A rate has the wrong treatment. A treatment cannot be edited or deleted. Add the right one with Effective from set to the day it should apply. You cannot use a date that already has a treatment. A document uses the treatment that started most recently on or before its date. The old one stays in the list.
- A rate was made by mistake. There is no delete. Choose Deactivate profile. A rate that is the default for new products, or that active products use, must be moved off first.
- The registration date is wrong. Change Registration effective from, read the list in the change box, and choose Confirm and save. Posted documents keep their VAT. Use Documents with VAT while not registered to find those that need a correction, then see VAT.
- VAT was switched on or off by mistake. Set the registration back. The same change box appears. Posted documents keep what they were posted with, so correct each wrong one: for a sale, make a credit note. See Sales invoices.
- A document is refused for a missing treatment. See the rows above under What the app blocks, then try posting again.