Software, SaaS, E-commerce, Platforms & AI.

Potentially — but IP-income QFZP qualification is particularly strict. Your IP must meet the “qualifying IP” definition (patents, software, copyrighted software generally yes; marketing IP, trademarks, brand assets generally no). You must satisfy the modified-nexus requirement — broadly, the proportion of IP income that qualifies is tied to the proportion of qualifying R&D expenditure undertaken by the UAE entity. If your dev team is in India and the UAE entity just owns the IP, qualifying income is likely limited. We model this against your actual development footprint.

Usually no, if the customer is a non-UAE business. B2B digital services exported to a non-UAE recipient are typically zero-rated for UAE VAT — which means you don’t charge VAT on the sale but can still recover input VAT on your costs. B2B sales to UAE businesses are standard-rated at 5%. B2C sales to UAE consumers are standard-rated. B2C sales to overseas consumers depend on specific place-of-supply rules. We map each revenue stream.

It depends on where development happens and where you want value to accrue. For QFZP qualifying-IP status, modified nexus means the UAE entity needs to be where the R&D expenditure happens. If your dev team is UAE-based, hold IP in a UAE Free Zone entity. If your dev team is split (UAE + India + UK), you may need a cost-contribution arrangement. If dev is entirely overseas, UAE IP ownership gives you less QFZP benefit — and the IP should probably sit where the dev is.

Not always. If you’re UK-resident with UK clients, UK Ltd makes sense (and R&D credits are valuable). If you’re moving yourself and the business to UAE, migrating the UK Ltd (or inserting a UAE holding company) can be sensible — but needs careful tax structuring (UK exit charge on IP, UK ongoing CFC rules). If you keep the UK Ltd and add a UAE subsidiary, structuring the inter-company flows (dev services, licence, management fees) correctly is the whole engagement. We model each option.

Dev teams in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Philippines and similar are common for UAE-based tech companies. Two main considerations: (1) permanent establishment risk in the dev-team country — if the team is substantive, the UAE company may have a PE there with local tax exposure; (2) employment vs contractor structure — employment carries local tax, labour and social-insurance obligations that need to be managed. We work through both for every distributed-team setup.

As of writing, no — there is no UAE R&D tax credit regime. The UAE doesn’t need to incentivise R&D the way countries with higher headline CT rates do, because the headline 9% rate (and 0% on QFZP qualifying income) is already a strong incentive. If your group has UK, US or Indian footprint and R&D happens there, home-country R&D credits (UK SME R&D or RDEC, US R&D credit, India DSIR) still apply. Our UK practice handles UK R&D claims.

UAE has no CGT or personal income tax, so for founders personally the issuance and later conversion of SAFEs and notes is not taxable in UAE itself — but founder-level home-country rules may apply (particularly US global taxation on citizens). At company level, debt vs equity classification affects balance-sheet treatment and interest deductibility (where interest is paid). The specific SAFE terms matter — we review them case by case.

The 10-year Golden Visa has a “specialists” category for people with specific skills recognised by UAE authorities — which has included AI/ML, software engineering, data science and similar deep-tech skills. Separate category from the investor-visa route via property. The eligibility rules are specialist and change over time; we introduce you to UAE immigration counsel for the application itself.

Yes — both sides. For founders raising a round, we help prepare the tax section of the data room, resolve any open items, and respond to buy-side DD questions. For PE/VC investors assessing a UAE tech target, we do independent buy-side tax DD, structuring input and SPA tax-clause drafting. Our in-house multinational tax experience makes us comfortable at the sophistication level investors expect.

If you’re importing physical goods and operating B2B warehousing or distribution, Designated Zones (JAFZA, DAFZA and some others) can give you a strong VAT advantage — supplies of goods between Designated Zones are outside the scope of UAE VAT. For pure online D2C businesses selling to UAE consumers, mainland VAT applies either way, so a Designated Zone is less decisive. We model both based on your actual sales channel and supply chain.