- Companies pay federal corporate tax: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that. A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income.
- Taxable income starts from accounts under IFRS (or IFRS for SMEs with revenue up to AED 50 million). Unrealized gains on crypto in the accounts count unless the company elects the realization basis.
- Transferring and converting virtual assets is exempt from VAT, with retroactive effect from 1 January 2018. Wallet management for an explicit fee is subject to VAT.
- A business selling goods or services in the UAE may only accept a dirham payment token from a Central Bank-licensed issuer as crypto payment.
This page covers companies and other businesses that hold, trade or accept crypto in the UAE. Individuals are on personal tax, deadlines on filing and deadlines. It is general information, not tax advice.
Accounting
The FTA’s general corporate tax guide says taxable income is calculated from the accounting income in financial statements prepared under IFRS, or IFRS for SMEs for a taxable person with revenue of AED 50 million or less. Qualifying Free Zone Persons and taxable persons with revenue over AED 50 million must prepare audited financial statements. Businesses with revenue up to AED 3 million may use the cash basis of accounting.
Crypto is often carried at fair value, so its value can change without a sale. The FTA says taxable persons must include realized and unrealized gains and losses reported in the financial statements, unless they elect the realization basis, in which case gains and losses are taken into account when the asset is sold or otherwise realized. The FTA publishes no separate accounting guidance for crypto.
Corporate tax
| Federal corporate tax (tax periods starting on or after 1 June 2023) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Taxable income up to AED 375,000 | 0% |
| Taxable income above AED 375,000 | 9% |
| Qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person | 0% |
| Large multinational groups (Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, financial years from 1 January 2025) | 15% effective minimum |
Free zones. According to the Ministry of Finance, a free zone person that meets the conditions to be a Qualifying Free Zone Person can benefit from a 0% rate on its qualifying income. Ministerial Decision No. 336 of 2025 (announced 11 February 2026) names VARA as a competent authority for the qualifying activities fund management services and wealth and investment management services. We could not confirm that other virtual asset activities count as qualifying activities, so check before relying on the 0% rate.
Small Business Relief. A resident business with revenue up to AED 3 million can elect to be treated as having no taxable income. Ministerial Decision No. 131 (announced 7 August 2026) extends this to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.
Top-up tax. The Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax applies to groups of multinational companies with annual global revenue of €750 million or more in at least two of the four preceding financial years.
VAT
The standard VAT rate is 5%. A business must register if its taxable supplies and imports exceeded AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, and may register voluntarily above AED 187,500.
Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2024 amended the VAT Executive Regulation from 15 November 2024. The FTA’s public clarification VATP040 explains the effect on crypto:
| Supply | VAT treatment |
|---|---|
| Transfer of ownership of virtual assets (e.g. buying and selling bitcoin on an exchange) | Exempt, for supplies on or after 1 January 2018 |
| Conversion of virtual assets | Exempt, for supplies on or after 1 January 2018 |
| Keeping and managing virtual assets and enabling control of them (e.g. managing crypto wallets) | Taxable if supplied in the UAE for an explicit fee, commission or similar charge |
| Mining for your own account | Outside the scope of VAT (VATP039) |
| Mining for someone else for a fee | Taxable supply of services (VATP039) |
For VAT, a virtual asset is a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or converted and can be used for investment purposes; digital forms of fiat currency (such as dirhams) and financial securities are excluded. The FTA says “crypto currencies are neither regarded nor treated as money” for VAT. Because the exemption is retroactive, it says registrants “must consider the impact on their historical VAT position”, for example by issuing a tax credit note where 5% VAT was charged.
Paying with crypto. Under the Central Bank’s Payment Token Services Regulation, no merchant or other person in the UAE selling goods or services in the course of business may accept a virtual asset as payment, unless it is a dirham payment token from a licensed issuer, or a registered foreign payment token used to buy virtual assets or their derivatives. More on regulation.
Crypto service providers
A business that provides virtual asset services to others needs a license. In Dubai that is VARA (except in the DIFC), in the ADGM free zone the FSRA, in the DIFC the DFSA, and elsewhere the federal Capital Market Authority (CMA), which on 13 April 2026 issued a new Virtual Assets Framework with eight regulated activities. Which regulator applies, and what each requires, is on regulation. Licensed providers must also follow the anti-money-laundering rules of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, including the travel rule.
Sources
- Federal Tax Authority: General Corporate Tax Guide (CTGGCT1) (last checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Finance: Introduction of a corporate tax in the UAE (last checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Finance: Corporate tax in the UAE (last checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Finance: Ministerial Decision No. 336 of 2025 on the designation of VARA (last checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Finance: Extension of Small Business Relief to 31 December 2029 (last checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Finance: Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Tax Authority: Registration for VAT (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Tax Authority: Amendments to the VAT Executive Regulation, Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2024 (VATP040) (last checked October 2026)
- Federal Tax Authority: Crypto currency mining (VATP039) (last checked October 2026)
- Central Bank of the UAE: Payment Token Services Regulation (last checked October 2026)
- Capital Market Authority: The CMA issues the Virtual Assets Framework (13 April 2026) (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.