What should an accountant in the UAE know about VAT, Corporate Tax and Tally?

What VAT knowledge does a UAE accountant need?

VAT was introduced across the UAE on 1 January 2018 at a standard rate of 5% (UAE Ministry of Finance). The Federal Tax Authority sets the mandatory registration threshold at AED 375,000 and the voluntary threshold at AED 187,500 (FTA).

In practice that means an accountant who can classify sales and purchase invoices for VAT, prepare the return from the books, keep the records that support it, and answer Federal Tax Authority queries without outside help. What moves pay and seniority is experience: VAT returns already filed and FTA queries already handled.

How much Corporate Tax knowledge is enough?

UAE Corporate Tax is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. It charges 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that, from a business's first financial year starting on or after 1 June 2023 (u.ae).

For a general accountant, basic knowledge is the brief: keeping books that support the return, understanding how Corporate Tax has changed the year-end, and knowing when to bring in the company's tax adviser. A specialist tax role is a different hire.

Why Tally, and what else do employers ask for?

Tally is the accounting software our UAE clients ask for most often. The other request we hear in nearly every accountant brief is a monthly cash flow statement prepared without help. If your business runs other software, say so on the first call and we screen for it.

How do you test this in an interview?

Ask the candidate to take you through a VAT return from invoice to filing, and how Corporate Tax has changed their records and year-end. A short exercise works well: a small batch of invoices to classify for VAT, without live company data.

More questions and how to judge the answers: how to interview an accountant or finance manager in the UAE and how we screen.