UAE R&D Tax Credit Calculator 2026 | Fastlane

UAE R&D Tax Credit Calculator 2026

Calculate your credit entitlement under Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026 — including tiered rates, the 30% staff uplift and post-claim risk flags.

For guidance only. Consult Fastlane for entity-specific advice.
1
Entity
2
Activity
3
Costs
4
Staff
5
Risks
✓
Results
Step 1 of 5

Tell us about your entity

The credit only applies to tax periods commencing on or after 1 January 2026.
Step 2 of 5

The 5-Test Qualifying Activity Checklist

Under Article 3 of MD No. 24/2026 (Frascati Manual standard), your R&D activities must satisfy all five criteria. Failing any single test disqualifies the activity.

1
Novel Aims to produce new findings not previously known
2
Creative Based on original concepts or hypotheses — not mechanical application of existing knowledge
3
Uncertain Outcome cannot be determined in advance by an experienced professional
4
Systematic Conducted with a defined plan, objectives and budget
5
Transferable / Reproducible Results can be applied in contexts beyond the single project

Excluded Fields Check

Step 3 of 5

Qualifying R&D Expenditure

Enter amounts in AED for the tax period. Only costs within the four qualifying categories (Art. 8–11, MD No. 24/2026) count. Max qualifying expenditure: AED 5,000,000.

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Staff Costs — salaries, allowances, medical, pension, gratuity, bonuses, training

+30% Uplift
AED
Qualifying amount after 30% uplift: AED 0
For part-time R&D employees, enter only the proportion of costs attributable to qualifying R&D activities.
🧪

Consumable Costs — materials, reagents, power, license fees, clinical trial payments

AED
🤝

Subcontracting Fees — UAE-based third parties only, 6 conditions apply

AED
Only include fees where all 6 conditions under Art. 10 are satisfied. Exclude intra-group fees.
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Cost Contribution Arrangement — joint R&D programmes (arm's length, UAE portion only)

AED
Total Qualifying R&D Expenditure AED 0
Step 4 of 5

Average R&D Staff Count

The credit rate tier is gated by both expenditure and average R&D staff. The average is computed monthly over the months in which qualifying activities were undertaken (Art. 8, MD No. 24/2026).

Includes both employees and qualifying externally provided contractors. For Tax Groups, aggregate across all qualifying member entities.
15%

Tier 1 — First AED 1,000,000

Requires average ≥ 2 R&D staff
✓ Met
35%

Tier 2 — AED 1M – AED 2M

Requires average ≥ 6 R&D staff
LOCKED
50%

Tier 3 — AED 2M – AED 5M

Requires average ≥ 14 R&D staff
LOCKED
Step 5 of 5

Post-Claim Risk Assessment

Articles 5–7 and 15–16 of MD No. 24/2026 create post-claim obligations that can unwind credits already claimed. Answer these questions to flag any risks before you proceed.

Estimated R&D Tax Credit

AED 0
Direct reduction against your UAE Corporate Tax liability
Total Qualifying Expenditure
AED 0
Effective Average Credit Rate
—
Staff Costs (after 30% uplift)
AED 0
Average R&D Staff
0

Tier-by-Tier Credit Breakdown

15%

Tier 1: First AED 1,000,000 × 15%

—
AED 0
35%

Tier 2: AED 1M – AED 2M × 35%

—
AED 0
50%

Tier 3: AED 2M – AED 5M × 50%

—
AED 0
💰

Total R&D Tax Credit

AED 0

Post-Claim Risk Flags

Ready to claim your UAE R&D Tax Credit?

Fastlane's Corporate Tax team manages pre-approval, documentation, computation and CT return filing for UAE businesses. Get in touch for a free assessment based on your actual figures.

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