Executive Summary

The UAE Ministry of Finance has issued Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026 (dated 18 March 2026), providing the detailed implementation rules for the R&D Tax Credit regime established under Cabinet Decision No. 215 of 2025. This is a landmark development for the UAE’s innovation ecosystem and represents the first comprehensive R&D incentive under the Corporate Tax framework.

The regime operates on a tiered, progressive credit structure with rates ranging from 15% to 50% depending on qualifying expenditure levels and R&D headcount. It applies to Tax Periods and Fiscal Years commencing on or after 1 January 2026, with first claims expected in 2027.

Critical Notice for Businesses
The regime incorporates mandatory pre-approval from the Council a gating condition with no exceptions. No pre-approval means no credit, regardless of whether underlying activities and expenditure otherwise qualify. Taxpayers with active or planned R&D operations should treat this as a priority compliance and planning matter

What is the UAE R&D Tax Credit?

The R&D Tax Credit is an expenditure-based incentive under the UAE Corporate Tax framework.
Unlike a deduction, it operates as a direct credit against Corporate Tax and/or Top-up Tax liability.
Key parameters:

• Credit rates range from 15% to 50% on qualifying R&D expenditure, applied progressively
• The credit is non-refundable it may only be utilised against Corporate Tax and/or Top-up Tax liability
• Qualifying expenditure is capped at AED 5 million per Qualifying Entity or Tax Group per Tax Period
• Applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026
• First claims are expected to be filed in 2027

Important Update from Earlier Expectations
Earlier market commentary anticipated the credit might be refundable. The Ministerial Decision confirms it is non-refundable. This is a material distinction: early-stage businesses or that pre-profit will not receive cash back and must have Corporate Tax or Top-up Tax liability to benefit.

Credit Rates and Dual-Threshold Structure

The credit operates on a progressive, tiered basis. Qualifying Entities or Tax Groups must satisfy both a qualifying expenditure threshold AND a minimum average R&D staff headcount to access each credit tier:

If a taxpayer meets the expenditure threshold for a particular tier but not the staff threshold, the credit rate is adjusted downward to the highest tier where both conditions are satisfied

Illustrative Calculation

The following example demonstrates the progressive calculation for an entity with AED 3.5 million of qualifying expenditure and 14 or more average R&D staff:

In this example, the effective blended credit rate is approximately 35.7% of total qualifying expenditure, yielding a credit of AED 1,250,000 against Corporate Tax and/or Top-up Tax liability

What Qualifies as R&D?

An activity conducted in the UAE as part of an R&D Project qualifies where it meets all five criteria drawn from the OECD Frascati Manual:

• Novel aims to produce new findings
• Creative involves original concepts or hypotheses
• Uncertain the outcome or means of achieving it are not known in advance
• Systematic follows a plan and budget
• Transferable/Reproducible results can be applied or replicated in other contexts

The following do not qualify:

• R&D activities in social sciences, humanities, and the arts
• Routine upgrades, aesthetic changes, standard market research, or quality control testing
• Any R&D conducted outside the UAE only the in-State portion qualifies

Qualifying R&D Expenditure

The Decision defines three categories of qualifying expenditure, each with specific conditions and exclusions:

The 30% Staff Cost Uplift
The automatic 30% uplift on staff costs to account for overheads is a meaningful benefit. It effectively increases the qualifying expenditure base without requiring separate tracking or substantiation of actual overhead allocations. For R&D-intensive businesses where staff costs dominate the expenditure profile, this uplift can materially improve the overall credit quantum.

Cost Contribution Arrangements (CCAs)

Where a Qualifying Entity participates in a CCA for joint R&D, its qualifying expenditure is the portion of its contribution determined at arm’s length and corresponding to its expected share of benefits.
Only the portion attributable to R&D carried out within the UAE qualifies. Transfer pricing documentation is essential for CCA participants.

Mandatory Pre-Approval

This is a Hard Gating Condition
Pre-approval from the Council is mandatory for every R&D Project for which the credit is claimed. The Council may also require ongoing progress updates with technical documentation. Late or incomplete applications risk disqualification regardless of the merits of the underlying R&D.

Unlike many international R&D incentive schemes that operate on a self-assessment basis with postfiling review, the UAE has adopted a gatekeeping model. Businesses should treat pre-approval preparation with the same rigour as a ruling application, including:

• Detailed project descriptions with clear articulation of each Frascati criterion
• Expenditure projections broken down by category
• R&D staffing plans with headcount projections
• Evidence of UAE-based activity and oversight

Record-Keeping Requirements

Qualifying Entities must maintain comprehensive technical documentation for seven years following the end of the relevant Tax Period or Fiscal Year. Records must be written, visual, and electronic and must cover:

• Project objectives and scientific/technical hypotheses
• Methodologies, processes, and experimental design
• Experiment records and findings
• Expenditure tracking and cost attribution to R&D activities
• Evidence that activities were conducted in the UAE

The Council may request progress updates and technical documentation at any time, not only at the point of filing. Documentation must be created contemporaneously retrospective documentation is difficult to defend.

Commercial Significance

The R&D Tax Credit can materially change the economics of innovation investment. For an entity spending AED 3.5 million on qualifying R&D with sufficient headcount, the credit can reach AED 1.25 million an effective reduction in R&D costs of 35.7%.

Who should be prioritising this now:

• Technology and digital platform businesses investing in product development
• AI, biotech, and advanced manufacturing companies
• Free zone innovation hubs and R&D centres
• Multinationals establishing regional R&D operations in the UAE
• SMEs with systematic development programmes

A Note for Early-Stage Companies
The non-refundable nature of the credit means pre-profit or loss-making businesses will not receive cash back and cannot immediately benefit. The carry-forward mechanism provides some relief, but ownership continuity requirements and the five-year exit claw-back constrain utility for companies undergoing rapid growth, fundraising, or restructuring.

Dhruva Perspective: Key Practical Considerations

The Dual-Threshold Design Demands Workforce Planning

The minimum R&D staff requirements (2, 6, and 14 for successive tiers) create material cliff-edge effects. An entity spending AED 4 million on qualifying R&D but employing only 5 average R&D staff would be limited to the 15% rate on the first AED 1 million only, forgoing significant credit at higher tiers. R&D workforce strategy is now an integral part of tax planning in the UAE for the first time.

Businesses should model scenarios that optimise the interplay between expenditure levels and headcount thresholds. In some cases, the marginal cost of additional R&D hires may be more than offset by the incremental credit benefit. Externally provided workers can count toward the threshold, but only where they meet detailed conditions careful contract structuring is required.

Pre-Approval Is a Strategic Imperative, Not an Administrative Formality

Businesses should treat pre-approval preparation with the same rigour as a formal ruling application. Late or incomplete applications risk disqualification regardless of the merits of the underlying R&D. We recommend beginning preparation immediately, even before formal Council guidance is published.

Intra-Group Transactions Require Careful Structuring

The Decision consistently excludes intra-Tax Group transactions from qualifying expenditure whether staff cost recharges, consumable purchases, or subcontracting fees between group members. Groups with centralised R&D functions that recharge costs to operating entities will need to review their transfer pricing arrangements and ensure qualifying expenditure is correctly identified and attributed.

Interaction with Pillar Two / DMTT Adds Complexity

The credit’s application against Top-up Tax liability for Domestic Groups introduces an additional layer of complexity for large multinationals. The ordering rule Corporate Tax first, then Top-up Tax must be carefully modelled, particularly for groups where the effective tax rate is close to the 15% minimum.
The interplay between Qualified Refundable Tax Credits under GloBE rules and the UAE’s nonrefundable R&D Tax Credit will require bespoke analysis.

How Dhruva Can Assist

As the UAE’s leading tax-exclusive advisory firm and a Ryan company, Dhruva is uniquely positioned to support businesses across the full lifecycle of R&D Tax Credit planning, compliance, and defence:

1. R&D Activity Assessment: Technical review of your R&D portfolio against the Frascati Manual criteria to identify qualifying activities and quantify the credit opportunity.
2. Pre-Approval Support: Preparation and submission of comprehensive pre-approval applications to the Council, including project descriptions, expenditure projections, and staffing plans.
3. Expenditure Quantification: Detailed analysis of staff costs (including uplift calculations), consumables, subcontracting fees, and CCA contributions to maximise qualifying expenditure.
4. Group Structuring Advisory: Optimisation of Tax Group and Domestic Group credit utilisation, transfer mechanisms, and ordering rules to maximise the benefit across the group.
5. Transfer Pricing for CCAs: Ensuring arm’s length allocation of contributions and expected benefits under Cost Contribution Arrangements.
6. Documentation Frameworks: Design and implementation of ongoing R&D documentation protocols that meet the seven-year compliance standard.
7. Pillar Two / DMTT Integration: Modelling the interaction between R&D Tax Credits and Topup Tax obligations for Domestic Groups within the scope of the GloBE rules.
8. Claw-Back Risk Assessment: Scenario analysis for restructuring, redomiciliation, Free Zone election, or ownership change scenarios to avoid inadvertent claw-back triggers

Get in Touch

Please reach out to Farid Jumah or contact your Dhruva relationship partner to explore your R&D eligibility and readiness.