Guides
Our calculators give you the number. These guides explain the rule behind it — what the law actually says, where the money gets lost, and what to do when a payment doesn't arrive. Same standard as the tools: official sources, dated verification, no invented author personas.
End of service & gratuity
Employer not paying your gratuity?
The 14-day rule, the free MOHRE complaint, the AED 50,000 binding-decision threshold and the two-year deadline that ends late claims.
Read →Basic salary vs total salary
Why gratuity comes out at half what you expected — the split that decides your payout, and the parts of it you can challenge.
Read →Resignation vs termination
The one-third and two-thirds deductions are gone. What that changed in 2022, what still differs, and where money is genuinely lost.
Read →Maids, nannies and drivers have their own law
Decree-Law 9/2022, not the Labour Law. What it grants article by article, why the gratuity formula isn't in it, and the three-month claim deadline.
Read →DIFC doesn't pay gratuity — it pays DEWS
5.83% and 8.33% of basic salary, paid monthly into a trust that's already yours. Plus the 50% basic-wage floor onshore contracts don't have.
Read →The savings scheme isn't cost-neutral
Same rates, different wage. On a salary rising 5% a year the fund has to earn 4.5% net just to match the gratuity it replaced — and your old years get frozen.
Read →Pay, contracts and losing a job
Your salary is late
Since June 2026 wages are due on the 1st — the grace period is gone. The day-by-day penalty ladder your employer is on, and what to do first.
Read →Notice, resignation and dismissal
What 30–90 days really means, pay in lieu, the ten grounds for instant dismissal, and the three-month cap on unlawful-dismissal compensation.
Read →Annual leave, and the two wages it's paid at
Days you take are paid at full wage; days you cash out on the way out are paid at basic only. Plus the half-balance carry-over cap most summaries miss.
Read →Sick leave: 15, 30, 45
The ladder everyone quotes — plus the two costs nobody adds: unpaid days come out of your gratuity service term, and a work injury pays three times as much.
Read →Work injury: six months at full pay
Logged as sick leave, it pays 15 days. Logged correctly, six months. Plus the commute that counts, the prosthetics and taxi fares the employer owes, and the clause that pays a left-handed worker the right-hand rate.
Read →Working hours and overtime
8/48, the two-hour cap, and the word in Article 19 that halves the cheque — overtime runs on basic wage, not your package. Plus the summer midday break.
Read →Limited vs unlimited: what the transition did
Your service term did not restart, the conversion could not cut your terms — and if yours was never converted, a service-length notice ladder still applies.
Read →The safety file is the defence
Nine duties with no fine attached — until you notice that skipping three of them destroys the employer's only route to refusing an injury payout. Plus the AED 10m headcount multiplier.
Read →The ban was replaced by a list
Article 27 names three cases in which you may transfer — resignation on notice is one of them. Plus the 90-day window after cancellation that nobody mentions, and the AED 3,400 an employer saves on a one-year permit.
Read →When the company won't cancel your permit
Cancellation needs their signature and yours — which is why it stalls. Article 5 cancels it on your request without their consent, five working days plus five.
Read →An absconding report has two conditions
Seven consecutive days is only the first. The second — that they can't reach you — is the one most filed reports fail, and the six grounds that get one cancelled.
Read →Working while your case is in court
Article 3 bars you from working for anyone else — then hands you the one permit that lifts it. Six months, two working days, AED 50, and no approval from the employer you are suing.
Read →Twelve permits in the law, thirteen on the portal
Article 6(1) lists twelve, clause (a) to (l). The Government portal lists thirteen — and the extra one is free for two years. Why the same permit costs AED 250 or AED 3,450.
Read →The part-time permit costs AED 50
Not the AED 600–2,500 the agency pages quote. One year, no quota, no bank guarantee — and two formulas that scale your leave and your gratuity by contracted hours.
Read →A MOHRE decision carries a writ of execution
Under AED 50,000, or settled at any value, it is enforceable like a judgment. Arguing with it means the Court of Appeal, in 15 working days, with no first instance.
Read →Probation: 14 days, or one month?
The notice periods aren't symmetrical — and leaving the country without notice can cost you a work permit for a year.
Read →Hiring someone still on probation: the recruitment-cost bill
Article 9(3) makes the new employer compensate the old one — with no ceiling, no MOHRE gate and no way to pass it to the worker. The one lever, and a pre-hire checklist.
Read →Claiming ILOE after job loss
60% of salary for three months — if you filed inside 30 days, paid 12 consecutive months and didn't resign. The conditions that void claims.
Read →Visas, grace periods and leaving cleanly
Your visa was cancelled — how long can you stay?
30 to 180 days by category, when the clock really starts, what you can legally do inside the window, and the AED 50 a day that follows it.
Read →Overstayed 30+ days? You need an exit permit
The out pass explained: GDRFA vs ICP, what it costs, how long it takes, and why settling at the airport is how people miss flights.
Read →Six months abroad, and your visa quietly died
The 180-day rule nullifies residence automatically. The ICP permit that fixes it, its fees and conditions, the Dubai exclusion, and who is exempt.
Read →Changing status in-country: the AED 500 bridge
Not a visa, not a permit, not an extension. What ICP and GDRFA each require, the fee stacks on both sides, why a tourist visa is consumed rather than cancelled, and the 60-day clock that starts the moment it is approved.
Read →The 120-day clock on a baby born in the UAE
Birth certificate, passport, visa and Emirates ID inside 120 days — or AED 100 a day, and the child cannot leave the country.
Read →Utilities, bills and moving home
Switching DEWA on in a new home
Ejari first, then move-in: the refundable AED 2,000/4,000 deposit, activation fees, the 15-hour clock and the four things that stall a request.
Read →Getting your DEWA deposit back
Two working days' notice, the final bill in 24 working hours, and the IBAN name rule behind most rejected refunds.
Read →The 5% housing fee on your DEWA bill
Why a municipality charge sits on a utility bill, who is exempt, why it arrives backdated — and how to get a wrong amount adjusted.
Read →Why the summer bill doubles
The last kWh costs 52% more than the first. Where the slab boundaries sit, what 24°C is worth, and which lines saving can never touch.
Read →Renting: increases, Ejari and disputes
Your landlord wants more rent
The 90-day notice that invalidates most increases, the cap applied to your rent, and why refusing one is not a ground for eviction.
Read →Reading the Smart Rental Index
Star-rated buildings, the 2026 refresh, how to pull the benchmark for your exact unit — and the five ways people get the wrong number.
Read →Abu Dhabi's rent freeze
The cap went from 5% to zero on 3 June 2026 — residential, commercial and industrial. Which rent becomes the ceiling, and what to do if the landlord asks anyway.
Read →Filing at the Rental Disputes Centre
3.5% of the rent to file, AED 500 floor, 15-day conciliation, a 30-day judgment window — and the one month you must wait first.
Read →Ejari: register, renew, cancel
AED 177.75 done yourself. What it unlocks, why the rent on it matters — and the cancellation nearly everyone forgets on the way out.
Read →Eviction: Article 25 line by line
Nine grounds during the term, four at expiry, twelve months' notice by notary or registered mail — and the 24-month rule that isn't in the law.
Read →Leaving a tenancy early
There is no statutory exit and no statutory penalty. What Article 7 means for your two-month clause, your cheques and your deposit.
Read →Getting your deposit back
Article 20 obliges the refund and sets no deadline. Which deductions have a legal basis, which don't — and when filing costs more than the claim.
Read →Buying a home: costs, mortgage and transfer
Everything you pay on top of the price
The 4% is a third of the bill. Official DLD line items, the trustee fee, 0.25% mortgage registration and the agent — worked through on AED 1.5M.
Read →Pre-approval, and the nine refusals
Free, issued in days, valid for 60–90. Then the 50% debt rule, the credit-card-limit trap, and the buildings banks quietly won't lend on.
Read →The rate you sign isn't the rate you keep
What your fix reverts to, why the margin beats the headline, the 1% / AED 10,000 exit cap, and when a buyout actually pays.
Read →From accepted offer to title deed
Form F and the 10% deposit, the developer e-NOC, three manager's cheques, and the 25-minute appointment that ends it.
Read →Miss an off-plan payment, and the 40% is of the price
Not of what you paid — in three of the four bands. The DLD sends the 30-day notice, certifies the completion percentage, and one band alone is calculated on your money.
Read →Service charges: billed on an area bigger than your flat
Applicable Area, not Suite Area — the invoice prints the formula. Plus the ten things the money may be spent on, and why blocking your access card is prohibited.
Read →Selling with a mortgage still on it
The DLD registers the sale first and completes it after the bank's release letter. Three manager's cheques, and the Article 10 clause that can keep you liable after you've sold.
Read →For employers: payroll, permits and compliance
What one hire actually costs
MOHRE's own fee pages, line by line: AED 50 + 250 / 1,200 / 3,450 by company category, the insurance price list, and the AED 120,000 Emiratisation exposure.
Read →Gratuity from the employer's side
Article 51 clause by clause — the divisor the law never gives you, the five lawful deductions, and the part-time formula that double-discounts if misread.
Read →Emiratisation: what a miss really costs
The 2026 monthly contribution is AED 10,000, not the 9,000 everyone quotes — MOHRE indexes it to the target year. Plus the two-month replacement trap.
Read →WPS: two penalty ladders, one due date
Wages are due on the 1st — but MOHRE's own employers' kit still describes the old 15-day window. What a permit suspension really costs.
Read →Category 1 is a gate, not a reward
Article 2 needs full compliance plus one of six criteria — five unreachable for a normal SME. The money is in not falling to Category 3: AED 2,250 a head.
Read →Article 44 doesn't cancel gratuity
It never did under the 2022 law. And you have 30 days from discovery to accuse, 60 from the investigation to decide — the two clocks that lose most cases.
Read →There is no redundancy law here
Article 42(8) needs a court judgment or an authority decision — not a board resolution. Everything else is a full-price Article 43 exit, costed line by line.
Read →The 50-worker rule nobody has written down
Two obligations, not one — and a grievance policy without a stated answering deadline fails the clause. Plus why an unapproved penalties schedule kills your deduction.
Read →Two "minimum" policies, opposite exclusions
Dubai's minimum pays AED 10,000 for a delivery; the AED 320 federal package excludes pregnancy entirely and covers chronic conditions from day one. And the fine is the small half.
Read →Insuring the maid: the "or" the visa counter ignores
Decree-Law 9/2022 lets a household pay the bills instead of insuring. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the 2025 federal scheme all issue the permit only against a policy — and none lets you deduct it.
Read →Tax: VAT, corporate tax and eInvoicing
eInvoicing isn't a VAT rule
Article 3 catches any business in the UAE "notwithstanding their VAT registration status". Your date is 31 March 2027 — plus the TIN you may have to register for, and the 100 free invoices a year every provider owes you.
Read →The capped fine and the uncapped one
Missing invoices stop at AED 5,000 a month. An unreported outage is AED 1,000 a day with no ceiling — and the buyer is fined separately for the same silence.
Read →The 51 fields and the 8 flags
Every invoice declares whether it is a free zone supply, a deemed supply, a margin sale, a summary, a continuous supply, agent billing, e-commerce or an export. Plus the buyer address you probably don't hold.
Read →Choosing a provider
ISO 27001, AED 12.5m of insurance and 100 free invoices a year are accreditation conditions, not selling points. What is left to negotiate — and why the two-year accreditation term is your real risk.
Read →Where your invoice actually goes
The tax authority is the fifth corner, and it gets your data at step 4 of 11 — before your customer does. The eleven steps, the failed-validation branch, and why there is no QR code.
Read →Nine VAT rules change on 1 October
Cabinet Decision 149 of 2026 blocks input tax on large cash payments, pulls employee accommodation out of the benefit exception, and stops you splitting a bundle to keep the better rate. The rate itself stays at 5%.
Read →A typo is now a credit note
Article 6(2) makes a credit note compulsory in four cases, and the fourth is an administrative or numerical error. Plus the 14-day clock and the AED 100 each missing one costs.
Read →Your VAT group has 24 extra months
Intra-group invoices are in scope, then handed a grace period running to the end of 2028. Each member still onboards on its own TIN — and self-billing gets no concession at all.
Read →You may round once, at the bottom
Not per line, not per tax category. Plus where the Dubai Municipality surcharge goes, which day's Central Bank rate converts a dollar invoice, and why a surcharge is not a negative discount.
Read →One price, two rates
A bundle whose components are taxed differently has to be classified before it can be invoiced. From 1 October the supplier no longer gets the casting vote on splitting it.
Read →The VAT you cannot reclaim
Entertainment, company cars and staff benefits. The car block turns on availability, not use — and coffee in a meeting is on the other side of the line from a client dinner.
Read →Small Business Relief stopped expiring
One sentence in MD 131 of 2026 moved the cut-off from 2026 to 2029. The AED 3M threshold, the permanent lock-out if you ever crossed it, and why electing in a loss year costs you money.
Read →Missed 30 September? AED 500 a month, even at zero tax
The 2025 return deadline passed without extension. A late return costs AED 500 a month whatever the tax due; unpaid tax runs at 14% a year, monthly. What correcting an error costs now, and why the registration waiver probably isn't yours.
Read →Freelancers: the AED 1M line is turnover, not profit
Cabinet Decision 49 of 2023: why a licence doesn't decide it, what wages, investments and rent exclude, registration by 31 March, nil returns once you're in, and why the real tax cliff sits at AED 3 million.
Read →Tax losses never expire, but you can't hold them back
Articles 37–39 and the FTA's June 2026 bulletin: the 75% cap, the forced offset that burns losses in the AED 375,000 zero band, the 50% ownership test, the eight conditions for group transfers, and how Small Business Relief freezes losses.
Read →A free zone licence is not a tax status
The QFZP test under MD 229 of 2025: 13 qualifying activities, the rule that sales to individuals never qualify, de minimis at 5% or AED 5M, no AED 375,000 zero band, and a five-year lock-out if you fail.
Read →Start with the numbers
- UAE Gratuity Calculator — 21/30-day formula, two-year cap, year-by-year breakdown.
- UAE Salary Calculator — basic, allowances and deductions in one view.
- Overstay Fine Calculator — AED 50/day, with the right grace band applied.
- All 12 calculators — visas, utilities, rent, tax and setup costs.