What the TAWWER application asks for: a plain-English guide

This guide describes the TAWWER application form and ERDC’s guidance as they stood on 27 October 2026. ERDC can change either at any time, and we update this page when it does.

To claim the UAE R&D Tax Credit, you need pre-approval from the Emirates Research and Development Council (ERDC) for each R&D project, for each tax period. No pre-approval, no claim.

As at 27 October 2026, you apply through TAWWER, ERDC’s online platform. The form has six stages, and you make one application per project, per tax period.

This guide explains what each stage asks for and what ERDC is looking for. For deadlines, access and what happens after approval, see our pre-approval page.

First, two things to know

The form is not the law. The law sets the conditions for the credit. The form shows what ERDC expects to see. Some questions go further than the law, such as asking for a signed project charter. And a form that lets you submit is not a form that approves you.

The rules are still being published. As at 27 October 2026, ERDC has not yet published the decision that sets out the full process, or its detailed guidance for applicants. Both may change the detail below.

When do you have to apply?

As at 27 October 2026, ERDC’s guidance ties the deadline to the end of your tax period, not to when you spent the money. If your year ends on or before 31 December 2026, you apply within 40 business days of your year end. If it ends after that, you apply by your year end.

Your tax year ends	Apply through TAWWER by	Report actual spend (Expenditure Confirmation) by	Corporate Tax return (claim) by
31 December 2026	26 February 2027 (40 business days later)	30 June 2027	30 September 2027
31 January 2027	31 January 2027	31 July 2027	31 October 2027
31 March 2027	31 March 2027	30 September 2027	31 December 2027
31 December 2027	31 December 2027	30 June 2028	30 September 2028

The credit only applies to tax periods that start on or after 1 January 2026. Every date runs from the end of your tax period, not the end of your project. A project that runs across several years needs an application for each tax period.

The 26 February 2027 date uses the business-day definition ERDC has confirmed it applies: every day except weekends and federal public holidays.

Work that was already under way can be included, as long as it met all five R&D conditions and you kept records as you went. What you cannot do is apply for a period after its deadline has passed.

Stage 1: Your company

The form asks for:

• your company details, pulled from your Federal Tax Authority record;
• your emirate, sector, size and tax period;
• confirmation that you are subject to Corporate Tax or Top-up Tax, and that you do not plan to elect Small Business Relief;
• whether you are in a free zone;
• who is filling in the form, and a company email address for notices.

Why it matters. A company that is subject to neither Corporate Tax nor Top-up Tax cannot claim, and nor can one that elects Small Business Relief. A loss-making company can still apply: what matters is being within the tax, not having tax to pay. Your sector and size do not affect eligibility; ERDC is only collecting the information.

If you are in a free zone, the form asks you to confirm that you meet one of two conditions: you are subject to 9% Corporate Tax on income from your R&D, or you are subject to Top-up Tax. Ticking the box is a statement, not approval. Our free zone guide explains both routes.

Who can fill it in. The form accepts an employee, a legal representative, an authorised representative or a registered tax agent. ERDC’s guidance is that a representative or tax agent acting for you must have their authorisation given to ERDC beforehand. As at 27 October 2026, ERDC has not yet said what form that authorisation takes.

Watch the inbox, and TAWWER. As at 27 October 2026, ERDC’s guidance is that a notice counts as received the day it appears in TAWWER, whether or not anyone opens it. Deadlines run from that day. The email is only a copy.

Stage 2: Your project

The form asks for:

• whether the project is new, continuing from last year, or transferred in;
• when the R&D happens within your tax period;
• the field of research, the type of research, and how far the technology develops during the period;
• where the R&D starts and stops within the project;
• what new knowledge you are aiming for, what you did not know at the start, and what existing approaches you looked at and why they fell short;
• any work done outside the UAE;
• any collaboration agreement with a university or partner.

What ERDC is testing. Every activity has to meet five conditions: it aims at something new, it involves original thinking, the outcome or how to get there was not known at the start, it followed a plan and budget, and the results can be repeated or applied elsewhere.

Uncertainty is usually the deciding factor. ERDC’s guidance describes it as “usually the decisive condition”. If a competent professional in your field could have solved the problem with existing knowledge, there is no uncertainty and the activity does not qualify. Commercial uncertainty, such as whether a product will sell, does not count.

You do not need a patent search. ERDC’s guidance is that a formal search is not required. You do need to explain what you looked at before starting.

Two things that catch people out:

• The field list includes social sciences and humanities. Research in the social sciences, humanities and the arts does not qualify, whatever the list offers.
• Only work done in the UAE counts. Separate out anything done abroad.

How far the technology develops. The form asks you to tick each stage of “technology readiness” the project passes through in the period. This is the standard nine-level scale (TRL 1 to 9) used for technology projects, running from studying basic principles, through lab and real-world testing, to a finished product in commercial use, with an earlier “ideas” stage before TRL 1. No stage qualifies or disqualifies a project by itself; the five conditions decide that. But the stages you tick should match your answer on where the R&D starts and stops. Take care with the last stages: the form describes TRL 9 as work that has moved beyond experimental development, so if you tick TRL 8 or 9, expect to explain what technical uncertainty remained.

The project charter. This stage requires a project charter upload: a document showing that senior management or an R&D committee approved the project, with the date and the approver’s name. The form expects approval before the R&D started. That is ERDC’s expectation, not a legal condition. If your project started before anyone wrote a charter, give the real date. Never backdate it. Your plans and budgets from the time are what show the work was organised.

Stage 3: How you will do the research

The form asks for:

• the knowledge you expect the project to produce;
• each experimental activity, and how you record it (routine tasks can be left out);
• your methods, and why they suit the problem;
• the equipment and software you use, and how much of it is for R&D;
• whether the result is for your own use or for sale;
• any link to a university research programme;
• an optional expert report.

If the result is for your own use, the form also asks what you would fall back on if the R&D failed. It is checking that you are aiming for something you cannot already get.

Name your records. For each activity, say where the evidence lives: lab notebooks, test logs, version control. ERDC’s guidance is that an expert report is not required.

Stage 4: Your team and timeline

The form asks for:

• the project leaders and their experience;
• each role on the project, where they are based, and their share of time on R&D;
• a timeline of milestones;
• how you report progress, your KPIs and how you keep records;
• how far along the project was at the start of the period;
• a month-by-month count of R&D staff.

Who counts as R&D staff. People who do the R&D, supervise it directly or support it hands-on. General admin, HR, IT and finance staff are left out; a fixed 30% uplift on R&D staff costs covers those overheads instead.

The monthly count is counted in full-time equivalents. Two people each spending half their time count as one. The form works out the average for you. Together with your spend, that average decides which credit rates are open to you.

Your subcontractor’s people count too. If you subcontract R&D, the subcontractor’s staff working on it count towards your total. The form says you will need evidence of their numbers, so ask your subcontractor now.

Stage 5: Your budget

The form asks for your estimated spend for the period in four categories:

Category	What goes in it
Staff costs	Salaries and benefits of R&D staff based in the UAE, plus training for the R&D
Consumables	Materials used up or changed, software and data licences that are not capital, clinical trial payments
Subcontracting	R&D work you pay a UAE-based business or organisation to do in the UAE
Cost sharing	Your share of R&D costs under a cost contribution arrangement

It also asks about government grants, other projects already approved this period, costs that do not qualify, capital spend, and the project’s total cost. You must confirm you will track staff time.

The form does not show your credit. It shows your spend before the 30% uplift and no credit figure. The Federal Tax Authority applies the uplift and works out the credit when you claim in your Corporate Tax return.

The numbers that matter:

• At least AED 500,000 per project, per period, before the uplift. The form warns you if you are below this but still lets you submit. The minimum still applies, and it is checked again on your actual spend.
• Qualifying spend is capped at AED 5 million a period, and the credit at AED 2 million. The rates step up in bands: 15% on the first AED 1 million, 35% on the next AED 1 million, and 50% on the next AED 3 million. That gives a maximum credit of AED 2 million: (15% × AED 1M) + (35% × AED 1M) + (50% × AED 3M) = AED 2,000,000. Spend above AED 5 million earns nothing more.
• Each band needs enough staff: an average of at least 2 for the first band, 6 for the second and 14 for the third. If you meet the spend but not the staff number, you drop to the highest band where you meet both, and spend above that band earns no credit.

Subcontracting has six conditions, and the form checks four. The subcontractor must be based in the UAE, do the work in the UAE, not have been handed the work by someone else, not pass it on to anyone else, and, if related to you, keep audited accounts. The cost must also not be attributable to a foreign permanent establishment. Work between members of the same tax group does not count. Meet all six.

Grants. Spend funded by a UAE federal or local government grant does not qualify. Funding from a foreign government or a private body is not a grant for this purpose, but if someone else fully reimburses your costs, you are not bearing them and the spend fails for that reason.

Capitalised development costs still count. If your accounts capitalise R&D costs that fall in the four categories, enter them in those categories. We read the form’s capital expenditure box as being for purchases like equipment, which do not qualify (see below).

Stage 6: Declaration

The last stage is a declaration made on the company’s behalf, followed by submission. It is the company’s statement, even when an adviser submits it.

Practical tips

• Uploads are PDF only, up to 15MB, one file per upload. Combine documents into one PDF.
• Text boxes have hidden limits. You only find out when you go over. Write your answers offline first, then edit them to fit.
• You can save each stage and come back to it.
• You can amend or withdraw an application until ERDC decides it.

What happens after you submit?

ERDC’s guidance is:

• There are two outcomes: pre-approved or rejected. An approval can cover only part of a project, or a lower amount than you asked for.
• ERDC may ask for more information first. That is not a rejection, but you must reply within 20 business days or the application is rejected.
• You can challenge a decision within 30 business days.
• There is no published review time.
• After your year ends, you must report your actual activities, staff and spend within six months. Miss that, and the approval falls away for that project and period.

Approval does not guarantee a credit. You claim it in your Corporate Tax return, and the Federal Tax Authority works out the amount. The credit is non-refundable in Phase 1: it reduces Corporate Tax or Top-up Tax, and anything unused can be carried forward, subject to conditions.

Three things ERDC has not yet confirmed

A charter written after the work began. ERDC accepts projects already under way, but the form expects the charter to predate the R&D. As at 27 October 2026, ERDC has not said whether it will accept a later-dated charter. Until it does, give the true date and back it with the plans and budgets made at the time.

Capitalised costs and the capital box. The form says its capital expenditure box is for costs that do not qualify, but capitalised R&D costs in the four categories do qualify. We read the box as covering things like equipment. As at 27 October 2026, ERDC has not confirmed this. Until it does, put capitalised R&D costs in their categories.

Projects with no staff costs. As at 27 October 2026, the form will not accept zero staff costs, although ERDC’s guidance says a project need not have costs in every category. If your project is fully subcontracted, raise it with TAWWER support before you start.

As at 27 October 2026, ERDC’s process decision and its guidance for applicants have not been published. Either could settle these points.

What to do now

• Check who can sign in, and that your authorised signatory’s details with the Federal Tax Authority are up to date. Nothing can start until that signatory approves access.
• Write the project charter honestly. If the project is already running, give the real approval date.
• Draft the technical answers offline, with the people who did the work. Start with what you did not know and why.
• Build the monthly staff count, including subcontractor staff, and ask subcontractors for evidence now.
• Check each project reaches AED 500,000 before the uplift.
• Diary the deadline. As at 27 October 2026, calendar-year 2026 companies must apply through TAWWER within 40 business days of 31 December 2026, which is 26 February 2027. Companies whose year ends in 2027 must apply by their year end.

If you would like us to review a project before you apply, speak with our team. We act as authorised representative for clients on TAWWER, with their authorisation given to ERDC beforehand. ERDC decides every application; no adviser can promise an approval.

Related Articles

• Free zone companies and the UAE R&D Tax Credit The two routes for free zone companies, and who cannot claim.
• What counts as qualifying R&D expenditure The four spending categories and what falls outside them.

The legal basis, section by section

The R&D Tax Credit is set out in Cabinet Decision No. 215 of 2025 (“CD 215”) and Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026 (“MD 24”). The form and the TAWWER website are ERDC guidance: they do not bind ERDC or the Federal Tax Authority.

Section	Legislation	ERDC guidance
Opening: pre-approval per project, per period	CD 215 Art 3(1)(b), 9(1)(a); MD 24 Art 4(1)	—
The form is not the law	CD 215 Art 12(2); MD 24 Art 4(1)	ERDC Decision No. 01 of 2026 (not yet published)
When to apply, and the deadline table	Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 Art 1 (business days); Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 Art 53(1) (return due date)	TAWWER FAQ 24, 42, 58, 60, 78, 88
Stage 1	CD 215 Art 3(2), 4(1), 4(2)	TAWWER FAQ 38, 45, 56; application form, Stage 1
Stage 2	MD 24 Art 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), 3(4)	TAWWER FAQ 80, 90; application form, Stage 2 (including technology readiness stages)
Stage 3	MD 24 Art 3(1)(d), 3(1)(e)	TAWWER FAQ 89; application form, Stage 3
Stage 4	MD 24 Art 1 (R&D Staff), 2(4), 2(5), 8(3)	Application form, Stage 4
Stage 5	CD 215 Art 1 (Grant), 3(1)(c), 5(1), 5(3)(b), 5(3)(d); MD 24 Art 2(1), 2(7), 8 to 11	Application form, Stage 5
Stage 6	—	TAWWER “Apply for Pre-Approval”
Practical tips	—	TAWWER FAQ 50, 51, 63; application form
After you submit	CD 215 Art 9(1), 9(2); MD 24 Art 2(2), 5	TAWWER FAQ 24 to 27, 65 to 68, 70, 131 to 133
Three things not yet confirmed	CD 215 Art 5(1)(f); MD 24 Art 3(1)(d)	TAWWER FAQ 78, 88, 97; application form, Stages 2 and 5

Form described as at 27 October 2026. TAWWER website accessed 22 October 2026.

Shoayb Patel (ACA, ICAEW) is the founder of RDvault, a chartered practice regulated by the ICAEW and specialising in R&D tax. He has 15+ years of R&D tax experience, and RDvault’s UK practice has processed AED 396M+ (£80M+) across 1,300+ R&D claims.

Last reviewed: 29 October 2026