The VAT 201, box by box, for a business that bills in stages.
The return asks every business the same 14 questions. A contractor's answers come from claims, advance tax invoices, retention releases and credit notes, which is where most of the mistakes start.
8 minute read · Updated 20 October 2026 · Practical guidance, not tax advice: confirm anything that matters for your business with your tax agent or the Federal Tax Authority.
What each box asks, and where a contractor's figures go.
The return and the payment are both due within 28 days after the end of your tax period, monthly or quarterly as the FTA has assigned it, and are filed on the FTA's EmaraTax portal.
Output tax is boxes 1 to 8; input tax is boxes 9 to 11; boxes 12 to 14 give the net.
| Box | What it asks | For a contractor |
|---|---|---|
| 1a–1g | Standard-rated supplies, by emirate | Claims, advance tax invoices and retention releases, less credit notes |
| 2 | Tax refunds to tourists | Rarely used by contractors |
| 3 | Supplies subject to the reverse charge | Imported services you buy: you declare their VAT here |
| 4 | Zero-rated supplies | Supplies the law zero-rates, such as qualifying exports |
| 5 | Exempt supplies | Rare for a contractor |
| 6 | Goods imported into the UAE | Imported materials at customs value; pre-filled from customs declarations |
| 7 | Adjustments to goods imported | Corrections to box 6 |
| 8 | Totals | The sum of boxes 1 to 7 |
| 9 | Standard-rated expenses | Supplier bills with VAT you can recover |
| 10 | Supplies subject to the reverse charge | The VAT from boxes 3, 6 and 7 you may recover |
| 11 | Totals | The sum of boxes 9 and 10 |
| 12 | Total value of due tax | Output VAT |
| 13 | Total value of recoverable tax | Input VAT |
| 14 | Payable tax for the period | Box 12 less box 13 |
Where a whole contract lands in box 1.
Box 1 takes the taxable value and the VAT of each document in the period it is issued. Under both invoicing methods a 1,000,000 contract puts exactly 1,000,000 and 50,000 of VAT through box 1 over its life; what differs is which period carries which part.
Before VAT, the retention's share arrives at the end, on the release. After VAT, it arrives with the claims, and the release puts nothing in box 1.
| Document | Before VAT | After VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Advance tax invoice | 300,000 / 15,000 | 300,000 / 15,000 |
| Claim 1 | 180,000 / 9,000 | 210,000 / 10,500 |
| Claim 2 | 240,000 / 12,000 | 280,000 / 14,000 |
| Claim 3 | 180,000 / 9,000 | 210,000 / 10,500 |
| Retention release | 100,000 / 5,000 | 0 / 0 |
| Total | 1,000,000 / 50,000 | 1,000,000 / 50,000 |
Box 1 is split by emirate, and that is easy to get wrong.
Standard-rated supplies are reported on seven lines, one per emirate. A contractor with a workshop in one emirate and sites in others needs each supply in the right line under the FTA's guidance. If you are not sure which emirate a project belongs to, ask your tax agent before you file, not after.
Mizarah lays box 1 out by emirate from your posted documents, so you can check the split before you file.
Imported materials and services are self-assessed, then recovered.
When you import materials or buy services from abroad, nobody charges you UAE VAT on the invoice. You declare it yourself as output tax: services in box 3, goods in box 6 at their customs value, which includes freight and insurance to the border and is usually larger than the supplier's invoice.
You then recover the same VAT in box 10. For a fully taxable business the two sides cancel and the net is unchanged, but both boxes still carry their own figure.
The FTA pre-fills box 6 from the customs declarations filed under your TRN. Check it against your own records; a difference is what box 7 is for.
Check these before you press submit.
Most of what goes wrong on a contractor's return goes wrong before the return: a document not posted, an advance not invoiced, a release in the wrong method.
- Every claim, advance and release of the period is posted, and none is still a draft.
- Every advance received in the period has its advance tax invoice: money received is a tax point even with no work done.
- Retention released in the period carries VAT under the before-VAT method and none under the after-VAT method.
- Credit notes appear in the period they were issued.
- Box 6 agrees with the customs declarations the FTA has pre-filled.
- Boxes 3 and 10 each carry their own figure.
- The VAT control account in your books equals box 14.
Mizarah works out the return from your posted documents and lays it out box by box; you or your tax agent file it on EmaraTax.
Common questions.
- When is the VAT 201 due?
- The return and the payment are due within 28 days after the end of your tax period.
- Does retention appear on the return when it is withheld?
- Before VAT, no: it appears when it is released, on the release tax invoice. After VAT, its VAT is part of the claim it was withheld from.
- Where do imported materials go?
- Box 6, at customs value, with any correction in box 7. The VAT you declare there is recovered in box 10.
- Can Mizarah file the return for me?
- No. Mizarah works out the figures from your posted documents and lays them out box by box; you or your tax agent file them on the FTA's EmaraTax portal.
Read next: The advance tax invoice · Retention on UAE fit-out contracts · UAE compliance
See your own contract worked out this way.
Put a contract you have already billed through the trial and check the figures against what you invoiced. No card needed, and nothing you enter is deleted when the trial ends.