--- title: "UAE Tax and Payroll 2026 | Zero Income Tax, GPSSA, WPS" description: "UAE payroll 2026: zero personal income tax, 15% GPSSA for nationals, monthly WPS payroll, and end-of-service gratuity for expats." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-arab-emirates/tax-and-payroll --- United Arab Emirates · Tax & payroll child Served by Teamed vetted partner-entity network in the United Arab Emirates # How does *UAE payroll tax* work in 2026? The UAE has no personal income tax. Employees keep their full gross salary. For UAE nationals, pension contributions run at 15% employer and 11% employee through GPSSA. Expatriate staff receive end-of-service gratuity instead. Payroll must be paid monthly through the Wage Protection System. Last reviewed 12 June 2026 · United Arab Emirates guide ![Dubai skyline at dusk with glass towers lit against a deep blue sky.](/images/country-guides/united-arab-emirates-tax-payroll.webp) Illustration · Dubai, United Arab Emirates Answer.cite this The UAE has no personal income tax. Employees receive their full gross salary with no income tax deduction. UAE national employees pay 11% pension through the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA). Employers pay 15% for each national employee. Expatriate employees do not contribute to GPSSA. They receive end-of-service gratuity instead when they leave. Payroll must be paid at least once a month. All employers must register with the Wage Protection System and transfer salaries electronically. ![A wooden abacus resting on a bright desk in a sunlit office.](/images/country-guides/united-arab-emirates-tax-payroll-polaroid-1.webp) No income tax to count ## What does an employer pay in UAE payroll contributions? Employers pay 15% GPSSA pension for every UAE national employee. There is no equivalent contribution for expatriate staff. For expatriate employees, the employer owes end-of-service gratuity instead. Gratuity accrues over the employment and is paid on departure. There is no monthly social charge on expatriate salaries. ### GPSSA contributions for UAE nationals The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) administers the national pension scheme under [Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023](https://gpssa.gov.ae/pages/en). Contributions apply only to UAE national (Emirati) employees in the private sector. The contribution base is the employee's contribution account salary, which may differ from basic salary where applicable GPSSA rules and caps apply. | Contributor | Rate | Applies to | | --- | --- | --- | | Employer | 15% | UAE national employees only | | Employee | 11% | UAE national employees only | | Government subsidy | 2.5% (where applicable) | Where contribution account salary is below AED 20,000 | ### Expatriate employees: no GPSSA, no payroll tax Expatriate employees are outside the GPSSA framework entirely. The employer has no monthly social contribution to pay on an expatriate salary. The only mandatory departure-linked cost is end-of-service gratuity, which accrues annually and is settled when employment ends. ### Emiratisation (Nafis) levy Companies in certain sectors that fall below their Emiratisation quota must pay a monthly levy per unfilled Emirati position. The levy is a workforce-compliance cost, not a payroll tax, and its rate is set separately. Teamed can advise on whether a specific hire or headcount triggers a quota obligation. ## What does an employee pay in UAE payroll contributions? A UAE national employee pays 11% of their contribution account salary into GPSSA each month. An expatriate employee pays nothing into a pension or social fund. There is no personal income tax and no employee social charge. Take-home equals gross salary. For UAE national employees, the 11% GPSSA contribution is deducted from the salary and remitted by the employer alongside the employer's own 15% contribution. The net effect on an Emirati employee's take-home pay is the 11% deduction only, with no income tax on top. For expatriate employees, the payslip arithmetic is simple: gross salary equals net salary. No income tax. No social contribution. No withholding. This is one of the most internationally competitive compensation structures for attracting global talent. ### End-of-service gratuity: the expatriate deferred benefit Rather than a monthly pension contribution, expatriate employees build an entitlement to end-of-service gratuity under [Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51](https://www.cercli.com/resources/uae-labour-law-termination). The gratuity accrues at 21 days of basic wage per completed year for the first five years, and 30 days of basic wage per year after that, up to a cap of 24 months of basic wage. This is a liability on the employer's books, not a monthly cash deduction from the employee's salary. Most UAE employers provision for it internally or use an end-of-service benefit scheme. ## UAE income tax: the zero-rate rule There is no personal income tax in the UAE. The top marginal rate is 0%. There are no income tax bands, no personal allowance, and no individual tax filing. Employees have no income tax registration or reporting obligations. PwC Tax Summaries · UAE Individual Income Tax "There is currently no personal income tax in the United Arab Emirates." There are no individual tax registration or reporting obligations. No withholding tax applies to employment income. Source: [PwC Tax Summaries: United Arab Emirates, Taxes on personal income](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-arab-emirates/individual/taxes-on-personal-income) ### Corporate tax: separate from personal income The UAE introduced a 9% federal corporate income tax on business profits above AED 375,000, effective for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. This is a corporate tax, not a payroll or personal income tax. Employment income is not affected. Payroll processing for employees is unchanged by the corporate tax rules. ### What this means for your payroll There is no income tax withholding step in a UAE payroll run. The payroll calculation does not include a PAYE-equivalent deduction. Gross and net pay are the same figure for all employees. This removes the hardest step from payroll administration compared with most other jurisdictions. The remaining employer obligations are GPSSA for nationals, Wage Protection System compliance, and end-of-service gratuity provisioning for expatriates. ## How does UAE payroll compliance work? The UAE Wage Protection System (WPS) requires employers to pay salaries electronically to a registered bank or exchange account at least once a month. There is no income tax filing, no payroll tax return, and no equivalent to RTI or PAYE. Payroll compliance centres on timely WPS salary transfer and correct GPSSA remittance for UAE nationals. MOHRE · Wage Protection System The Wage Protection System (WPS) requires private sector employers to pay wages electronically through a Central Bank of the UAE approved payment channel. Failure to pay on time can result in a ban on new work permit approvals and fines under MOHRE enforcement. Source: [Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, MOHRE](https://mohre.gov.ae/assets/download/8cd7cf08/Federal%20Decree-Law%20No.%2033%20of%202021%20Regarding%20the%20Regulation%20of%20Employment%20Relationship%20and%20its%20amendments.pdf.aspx) ### Payroll cycle Salaries must be paid at least once per month. Employers who miss the WPS deadline face permit and trade-licence penalties before formal MOHRE action. Most UAE employers run a monthly cycle aligned to the calendar month. ### GPSSA remittance For UAE national employees, the employer must remit both the employee's 11% deduction and the employer's own 15% contribution to GPSSA by the deadline set by the authority. Late remittance carries a penalty. GPSSA operates its own employer portal separate from WPS. ### End-of-service provisioning Employers are encouraged to provision for expatriate end-of-service gratuity monthly, even though it is not paid until employment ends. Some large UAE employers use approved end-of-service benefit schemes administered by licensed fund managers. Teamed handles end-of-service accrual tracking for all expatriate hires on the platform. 1. Collect salary and allowance data Gather the basic wage, housing allowance, transport allowance, and any other contractual pay elements for each employee before the monthly cut-off. 2. Calculate gross pay Total all salary components. Gross pay equals net pay for expatriate employees. For UAE nationals, note that gratuity and GPSSA are calculated on basic wage only. 3. Deduct GPSSA for UAE nationals Deduct 11% of contribution account salary from each Emirati employee's pay. There is no income tax deduction for any employee. 4. Calculate employer GPSSA contribution Calculate 15% of contribution account salary for each UAE national employee. This is the employer's direct pension cost on top of the salary. 5. Transfer salaries via WPS Pay all salaries electronically through a Central Bank of the UAE approved WPS channel before the monthly deadline. Late payment triggers permit and compliance penalties. 6. Remit GPSSA and update accruals Pay combined GPSSA contributions to the authority by their due date. Update the end-of-service gratuity accrual ledger for all expatriate employees covered in the period. ## Pension and end-of-service benefit in the payroll stack UAE nationals are enrolled in the GPSSA pension. Employers contribute 15% and employees contribute 11%. Expatriate employees are not enrolled in GPSSA. They build a right to end-of-service gratuity, paid as a lump sum when employment ends. ### GPSSA pension for UAE nationals The GPSSA scheme under [Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023](https://gpssa.gov.ae/pages/en) provides retirement, disability, and death benefits. UAE national employees are enrolled from their first day of eligible private-sector employment. Contribution rates are: - Employer: 15% of contribution account salary - Employee: 11% of contribution account salary - Government subsidy of 2.5% applies where the contribution account salary is below AED 20,000 Abu Dhabi nationals may fall under the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) rather than GPSSA. Rates and rules under ADPF are broadly similar but administered separately. Teamed confirms the correct scheme at onboarding. ### End-of-service gratuity for expatriates Expatriate employees in the UAE receive end-of-service gratuity (EOSG) under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. Key rules: - Minimum qualifying service: one completed year - Rate for years 1 to 5: 21 days of basic wage per completed year - Rate for years after 5: 30 days of basic wage per completed year - Total cap: 24 months of basic wage - Paid within 14 days of the last working day Gratuity is calculated on basic wage only, not on allowances, bonuses, or benefits. This means an employee earning a high allowance package may receive a lower gratuity than their total compensation suggests. Structuring the basic wage correctly at hire is important. ### UAE nationals: minimum Emirati wage A UAE national working in the private sector must receive at least AED 6,000/month in base monthly salary from 1 January 2026. This applies only to Emirati nationals. There is no statutory minimum wage for expatriate employees. ## How does Teamed handle UAE payroll for you? Teamed becomes your legal [employer of record](/lp/employer-of-record) in the United Arab Emirates for [**from $599 per employee per month**](/pricing), with **zero FX mark-up** in any currency. WPS compliance, GPSSA contributions, end-of-service accrual, and the full UAE employment law stack run on **one platform**. **Real HR and legal experts** handle your UAE hires, from offer letter through every WPS transfer and end-of-service settlement. **An actual person**, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is **no setup fee** and **no exit fee**. Employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice. EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on **one platform**. A UAE contractor who converts to full employment keeps their record. That same employee can **graduate** from EOR to your own UAE entity without switching systems. Run the [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to see the full picture. EOR is the right model for a first UAE hire, **until it isn’t**. Start from the UAE hiring overview. Key sources: [MOHRE: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021](https://mohre.gov.ae/assets/download/8cd7cf08/Federal%20Decree-Law%20No.%2033%20of%202021%20Regarding%20the%20Regulation%20of%20Employment%20Relationship%20and%20its%20amendments.pdf.aspx), [GPSSA](https://gpssa.gov.ae/pages/en), and [PwC Tax Summaries UAE](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-arab-emirates/individual/taxes-on-personal-income). ## Frequently asked questions Is there personal income tax in the UAE? No. There is no personal income tax in the UAE. The rate is 0%. Employees have no individual income tax registration or reporting obligations. Gross salary equals net salary for all employees. What pension contributions does a UAE employer pay? For UAE national (Emirati) employees, the employer pays 15% of contribution account salary into the GPSSA pension scheme. For expatriate employees there is no monthly pension contribution. Expatriates receive end-of-service gratuity instead, paid as a lump sum when employment ends. What does a UAE national employee pay in social contributions? A UAE national employee pays 11% of contribution account salary to GPSSA each month. There is no income tax on top of this. An expatriate employee pays nothing into a pension or social fund and has no deductions from gross salary. What is the UAE Wage Protection System? The Wage Protection System (WPS) requires private sector employers to pay salaries electronically through a Central Bank of the UAE approved channel at least once a month. Employers who miss the WPS deadline risk a ban on new work permit approvals and MOHRE fines. There is no income tax filing or payroll tax return required alongside WPS. What is the minimum wage for employees in the UAE? There is a statutory minimum wage of AED 6,000/month for UAE national (Emirati) private sector employees, effective from 1 January 2026. There is no statutory minimum wage for expatriate employees in the UAE. Teamed Legal Operations The UAE payroll surprise is not the tax bill. There is no tax bill. The surprise is the gratuity. Employers set the basic wage low, load up allowances to look competitive, and then discover the gratuity cap on a long-serving employee is calculated only on basic. Structure the pay split correctly at hire. Changing it later is far harder. A note from Tom Price-Daniel Zero income tax. Employees keep their full gross salary. No PAYE, no withholding, no filing. The real payroll cost in the UAE is 15% GPSSA for Emirati hires and end-of-service gratuity that compounds quietly for expatriates. Model both before you make the offer. The calculator is one click away. Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed ## Related United Arab Emirates guides - Hiring in the United Arab Emirates, overviewparent - [UAE termination and severance](/country-hiring-guides/united-arab-emirates/termination-and-severance)sibling - [Employer of Record overview](/lp/employer-of-record)core - [Pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core - [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost)tool - [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA A note on this page. This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules change and vary by jurisdiction. Verify current requirements with MOHRE and GPSSA for the United Arab Emirates, or speak to a qualified professional, before relying on any specific framework. GPSSA contribution rates apply to UAE national employees only. Expatriate employees are not covered by GPSSA. The Emirati minimum wage of AED 6,000 per month applies to UAE nationals in the private sector only and does not apply to expatriate employees. End-of-service gratuity rules and caps are set under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.