Can I Invoice in USD Instead of AED in the UAE?

Quick answers

Can I invoice in USD instead of AED in the UAE?

Yes — you can invoice in USD, EUR or any other currency. If you are VAT registered, the tax invoice must also show the amounts in AED, converted at the Central Bank of the UAE rate for the date of supply (VAT Decree-Law, Article 69), together with the rate you used (Executive Regulation, Article 59). Your client still pays in their currency.

What must be shown in AED on a foreign-currency invoice?

On a full tax invoice, Article 59(1) asks for each line's amount payable, the gross amount payable and the VAT in AED, plus the exchange rate applied. A simplified tax invoice needs the total and the VAT in AED.

Which exchange rate do I use?

The rate approved by the Central Bank of the UAE, which publishes rates against the dirham for VAT obligations. Not your bank's rate, a payment processor's rate or a mid-market rate.

Which date's rate applies?

The rate on the date of supply. For services that is the earliest of the day you completed the work, the day you received payment and the day you issued the tax invoice (Article 25), so it is not always the invoice date.

Does this apply if I am not VAT registered?

No. Without a TRN you charge no VAT and issue an ordinary invoice, so you can invoice in any currency with no AED figures and no exchange rate.

Is this tax advice?

No. This is general information about foreign-currency invoicing and VAT in AED in the UAE. Confirm your obligations with the Federal Tax Authority or a qualified tax advisor.

What must be shown in AED on a foreign-currency invoice?

On a full tax invoice, Article 59(1) of the Executive Regulation asks for three things in AED, plus the rate:

• each line's amount payable, with its unit price, quantity and VAT rate (59(1)(h));
• the gross amount payable (59(1)(j));
• the VAT charged, together with the exchange rate applied (59(1)(k)).

A simplified tax invoice needs the total and the VAT in AED (59(2)(e)). Showing only the AED VAT, and nothing else in AED, is a common shortcut that the wording does not support. You can keep the USD figures as the main columns and add the AED figures beside or below them.

Which exchange rate do I use?

The rate approved by the Central Bank of the UAE (Article 69) — not your bank's rate, your payment processor's, or a mid-market rate from a currency site. The Central Bank publishes its rates against the dirham specifically for VAT obligations, based on market rates at 6pm UAE time and updated Monday to Friday (CBUAE exchange rates). Copy the rate as published rather than rounding it.

For US dollars the rate barely moves, because the dirham is pegged at 3.6725 to the dollar. For EUR, GBP and other currencies, it changes daily, so the date matters.

Which date's rate applies?

The rate on the date of supply (Article 69), which is not always the invoice date. For services, the date of supply is the earliest of the day you completed the work, the day you received payment, and the day you issued the tax invoice (Article 25).

So if you finished on the 3rd and invoiced on the 10th, with no payment in between, you use the rate for the 3rd. If the client paid a deposit on the 1st, the deposit's date of supply is the 1st. Contracts with periodic payments have their own rules (Article 26).

How do I invoice a client in USD?

Price in USD, add the AED figures and the Central Bank rate for the date of supply, and issue it as a normal tax invoice. Step by step:

1. 1Work out the date of supply: usually the day you finished the work, unless you were paid or invoiced earlier.
2. 2Look up the Central Bank of the UAE rate for your currency on that date, and copy it exactly as published.
3. 3Price the lines in USD (or EUR, GBP…) as agreed with the client, and add the VAT at 5%, or 0% where the supply is zero-rated.
4. 4Add the AED figures: each line's amount, the total and the VAT, all converted at that rate.
5. 5Print the rate on the invoice — for example “1 USD = 3.6725 AED, Central Bank of the UAE, 10 December 2026”.
6. 6Use the AED figures from the invoice in your VAT return, not a rate looked up later.

Worked example

A VAT-registered Dubai agency finishes a USD 2,000 project for a Dubai client on 10 December 2026 and invoices the same day. At 3.6725, the invoice shows:

Plus the line “Exchange rate: 1 USD = 3.6725 AED (Central Bank of the UAE, 10 December 2026)”. The client pays USD 2,100. In the return for the period containing 10 December — for a calendar quarter, due by 28 January 2027 (check your deadline) — the agency reports AED 7,345.00 of sales and AED 367.25 of VAT, whatever the dollars convert to when they land in its bank.

Which AED figure goes on my VAT return?

The AED figures on the invoice. Returns are filed in AED, so a foreign-currency invoice without a stored rate leaves you with no AED figure to file — and recalculating later at today's rate gives a different number from the one your client received (VAT 201 boxes explained).

Does this apply if I'm not VAT registered?

No. Without a TRN you charge no VAT and issue an ordinary invoice, not a tax invoice, so you can invoice in any currency with no AED figures and no exchange rate (invoicing without VAT registration).

Does invoicing in USD make the sale zero-rated?

No. Whether you charge 5% or 0% depends on where the client is and where the service is received, not on the currency. A USD invoice to a Dubai company carries 5%; see do I charge VAT to a client outside the UAE?

Frequently asked questions