United Arab Emirates Tax Treaties

The UAE has one of the largest tax treaty networks in the Middle East, with approximately 115 double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) in force. These treaties help prevent double taxation on cross-border income and facilitate international trade and investment. Since the UAE historically had no income tax, its treaties primarily benefit residents of treaty partner countries by reducing withholding taxes on income sourced from those countries. With the introduction of corporate tax in 2023, the treaty network now also benefits UAE businesses by providing reduced withholding tax rates on dividends, interest, and royalties received from treaty partner jurisdictions. UAE tax residency certificates issued by the FTA are required to claim treaty benefits. The UAE is also a signatory to the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and has committed to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for automatic exchange of financial account information.