A free checker for whether you're a UAE tax resident under the law's 3 tests, with the certificate's papers and fees, each linked to its official page.
5.0(1 rating)Type your days in the UAE, your status and your ties there, to check whether you count as a UAE tax resident under the law's 3 tests, and what the tax residency certificate needs and costs.
How many days were you in the UAE?
What's your status in the UAE?
What do you have in the UAE?
Is the UAE where you usually live, with your main interests there?
Your answer
What the certificate costs
Sources (3)
Federal Tax Authority, Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 on tax residencyRead on Sep 28, 2026Federal Tax Authority, Ministerial Decision No. 27 of 2023 on tax residencyRead on Sep 28, 2026Federal Tax Authority, tax residency certificates: papers, fees and timeRead on Sep 28, 2026This free UAE tax residency checker shows whether you likely count as a UAE tax resident, under the 3 tests in the law.
Type your days in the UAE, your status and your ties there. You'll see which test you meet, the papers the Federal Tax Authority asks for, and what the certificate costs.
What is UAE tax residency?
UAE tax residency is the status of a person the UAE counts as living there for tax purposes. The rules are in Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022, in force since March 1, 2023.
The UAE doesn't tax your personal income, so the status matters most elsewhere: for a tax treaty, for your home country's own residency rules, and whenever you need to prove where you're tax resident.
The 3 tests
You're a UAE tax resident if you meet any one of these:
- 183 days – you were in the UAE 183 days or more in 12 months in a row
- 90 days with ties – 90 days or more in 12 months, as a UAE or Gulf national or with a UAE residence visa, and with a permanent place of residence or a job or business in the UAE
- Your home and your interests – your usual place of residence and the center of your financial and personal interests are in the UAE
How the days count
Every day or part of a day you're in the UAE counts, and the days don't need to be in a row. The Federal Tax Authority can leave out days you had to stay because of something beyond your control that stopped you leaving as planned.
What counts as a home or work
A permanent place of residence is a furnished home made continuously available to you. It can be rented, and a place used only for short stays doesn't count.
Employment means a contract with a UAE employer that pays you in the UAE, or earning all or nearly all your income for work done in the UAE from one party. A volunteer role doesn't count.
The tax residency certificate
A tax residency certificate from the Federal Tax Authority proves you're a UAE tax resident. You apply on EmaraTax, and it takes about 10 business days once your application is complete.
What it needs depends on the test you meet:
- 183 days – your Emirates ID, or your passport with an official entry and exit report
- 90 days with ties – your Emirates ID and passport with an entry and exit report, and proof of your job, business or home in the UAE
- Your home and your interests – your Emirates ID and passport with an entry and exit report, proof of your interests and your residence in the UAE, and proof of your income if it applies
For a person not registered for corporate tax, it costs AED 1,050: a AED 50 submission fee and AED 1,000 for the certificate. If you're registered for corporate tax, the certificate is AED 500, and each hard copy is AED 250.
A company can get one too: AED 1,750 if it isn't registered for corporate tax, with its license, lease and incorporation papers.
A certificate doesn't settle your home country's tax
Your home country decides by its own rules whether it still taxes you, and a tax treaty decides which country wins when both call you resident. The territorial tax map shows how your country taxes income from abroad.
How to use the UAE tax residency checker
Your answers stay in this browser.
Who is the UAE tax residency checker for?
It's for anyone living in the UAE, or moving there, who needs to show where they're tax resident, and each of them has a next step:
- 183-day rule calculator – anyone counting their days in each country
- Territorial tax map – anyone checking how their own country taxes income from abroad
- UAE company setup cost calculator – anyone setting up a UAE company for their visa
- UAE free zone tax checker – anyone checking whether their free zone company pays 0%
More money tools are on the free finance tools page. Or browse all my free tools.
UAE Tax Residency FAQs
Questions about UAE tax residency? Here's what to know.
183 days in 12 months in a row is enough on its own.
With a UAE residence visa or UAE or Gulf nationality, and a permanent home or work in the UAE, 90 days is enough.
No: the days don't need to be in a row, and every day or part of a day in the UAE counts.
Yes: a permanent place of residence can be rented, as long as it's continuously available to you.
A place used only for short stays doesn't count.
For a person not registered for corporate tax, it's AED 1,050: a AED 50 submission fee and AED 1,000 for the certificate.
If you're registered for corporate tax, the certificate is AED 500.
About 10 business days once your application is complete.
A hard copy takes 5 business days after you pay for it.
Yes: a company formed in the UAE is a UAE tax resident.
The certificate costs AED 1,750 if the company isn't registered for corporate tax, and AED 500 if it is.
No: your home country decides by its own rules, and a tax treaty decides which country wins when both call you resident.
I did. I'm Navid Moazzez, and the UAE tax residency checker is one of my free tools on navid.me.
Read about me, or see my creator profile.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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