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How It Works
From first assessment to audit-ready submission – here is exactly how we help you claim the UAE Research and Development Tax Credit, step by step.
ICAEW Chartered Accountants, AED 396M+ (£80M+) in R&D incentives secured in the UK 1,300+ R&D claims processed (UK practice)
Our team works with you at every stage - from initial eligibility assessment through pre-approval, claim submission, and ongoing compliance.
Here is what each step involves.
Assess Your Eligibility and Plan Your Credit
We start by understanding your business and your R&D activities. Our specialists review each of your projects against the five legislative criteria – novel, creative, uncertain, systematic, and transferable or reproducible, as assessed with regard to the OECD Frascati Manual.
We map your team structure against the 2-6-14 staffing thresholds to determine which credit band you can access: 15% (2+ R&D staff), 35% (6+ staff), or 50% (14+ staff). We confirm each project meets the AED 500,000 minimum qualifying expenditure threshold (calculated before the 30% staff cost uplift). By the end of this step, you will know your estimated credit value and exactly which projects qualify.
Want to understand the legislative claiming process before engaging us? See our How to Claim the UAE R&D Tax Credit guide for the full five-step breakdown.
Connect Your Systems and Build Your Evidence Base
We integrate your accounting, payroll, and timesheet tools – Xero, QuickBooks, SAP, or your existing systems – to automatically capture R&D costs and staff time as they happen. The legislation requires contemporaneous evidence: records created at the time the work is done, not reconstructed later.
Our platform allocates expenditure at the project level across the four qualifying categories: staff costs (with the 30% statutory overhead uplift under Article 8 of Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026), consumables, subcontracting fees paid to UAE-based third parties, and Cost Contribution Arrangement payments. We also flag whether you need to arrange audited financial statements – these are mandatory for every R&D Tax Credit claim, with no exemption for smaller entities.
Pre-Approval - We Handle It End to End
This is the step most businesses do not know about – and it is the most important one. Pre-approval from the Emirates R&D Council is mandatory under Article 4 of Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026. Every R&D project must be individually approved before the credit can be included in your Corporate Tax return. No pre-approval means no credit, regardless of how much you have spent.
We appraise each of your projects against the five Frascati Manual criteria, write the full pre-approval application – describing the R&D activities, demonstrating how they qualify, and setting out the expenditure – and liaise directly with the Emirates R&D Council on your behalf to get your projects approved. This is a full turnkey exercise: you focus on the R&D, we get it approved.
We Prepare Your R&D Report and Submit Your Claim
With pre-approval confirmed and your evidence base in place, we calculate your credit across all qualifying projects using the banded rate structure: 15% on the first AED 1 million, 35% on AED 1–2 million, and 50% on AED 2–5 million, with a maximum credit of AED 2 million.
We prepare the complete R&D report – pre-approval confirmation, expenditure breakdown, audited financial statements, and a signed management declaration – and submit it to the FTA with your Corporate Tax return. The final claim is administered by the FTA – TAWWER handles pre-approval only, not the claim itself. The credit is non-refundable: it offsets your Corporate Tax liability first, then any Top-up Tax. Any excess carries forward with no stated time limit. See our full breakdown of Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026.
Stay Compliant - The 7-Year Obligation
Your R&D Tax Credit claim does not end at submission. Under Article 12 of Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026, all records supporting your claim must be retained for seven years following the end of the tax period. For a credit claimed for 2026, that means records must be kept until at least 2033.
The legislation also contains a five-year claw-back window – if your business undergoes certain changes (such as electing Small Business Relief, entering liquidation, or redomiciling outside the UAE), credits already used can be clawed back. We help you maintain your documentation, monitor compliance triggers, and ensure you remain audit-ready throughout the retention period. See our full legislation walkthrough for detailed rules.
What You Get: The Hybrid Advantage
From Our Team
From Our Platform
UAE R&D Tax Credit Timeline
UAE Ministry of Finance issues public consultation document on the proposed R&D Tax Credit
Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2025 amends the Corporate Tax Law to enable the R&D Tax Credit. Cabinet Decision No. 215 of 2025 is issued, establishing the credit framework
R&D Tax Credit regime takes effect for tax periods beginning on or after this date ✓
Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026 published – the full operational rulebook including rates, expenditure rules, and pre-approval process
Full legislation now available. Businesses should be building documentation and submitting pre-approval applications now
Approximate deadline for first 2026 Corporate Tax returns. Credits must be included in the return with pre-approval, audited financials, and supporting documentation
UAE R&D Tax Credit Timeline
UAE Ministry of Finance issues public consultation document on the proposed R&D Tax Credit
Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2025 amends the Corporate Tax Law to enable the R&D Tax Credit. Cabinet Decision No. 215 of 2025 is issued, establishing the credit framework
R&D Tax Credit regime takes effect for tax periods beginning on or after this date ✓
Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026 published – the full operational rulebook including rates, expenditure rules, and pre-approval process
ERDC launches TAWWER, the digital platform for R&D Tax Credit pre-approval. Applications can now be submitted.
Approximate deadline for first 2026 Corporate Tax returns. Credits must be included in the return with pre-approval, audited financials, and supporting documentation
Ready to claim your R&D Tax Credit?
Work with our UAE team to structure and submit your R&D Tax Credit claim under the regime now in effect.