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Selected Research available Research pending Category leader
250 jurisdictions indexed · 29 with research

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29 results
Country / jurisdictionX Atlas /100

Scores reflect our editorial priorities, not research coverage. Tax 35% · Banking 30% · Passports 25% · Living 10%. A dash means not rated. Rankings include rated countries only; the list grows with the research.

Behind the map

UAE · Dubai

Latest evidence
4 Nov 2026
For UK citizensSource-backed research · Review required
X Atlas · Tax

#1 of 4 rated · /100

92/100

Ordinary resident individual / standard resident trading company

Headline tax comparison. Social charges, wealth/property taxes, special reliefs, foreign withholding and UK obligations are excluded; this is not your effective tax rate.

See the score breakdown and sources

Published tax environment for resident individuals and standard resident trading companies; not an effective-tax calculation.

Checked 2 Nov 2026 · Internal review due 9 Nov 2026

Top salary income rate45% of category

100/100

0% — Applies only to the stated ordinary tax benchmark. Read the underlying qualifications.

Top marginal salary rate before personal reliefs; excludes social contributions. For Hong Kong use marginal salary rate, not standard-rate cap.

Scoring rule: Linear scale: 0 percent = 100 points; 50 percent = 0 points, capped at 0–100.

UAE imposes no income tax on wages/salaries; wages are outside natural-person corporate-tax business scope.

  • UAE tax only. Does not settle UK departure/residence or foreign-source taxing rights.
  • Self-employed business revenue is not salary merely because the owner draws it.

Standard company tax rate35% of category

78/100

9% — Applies only to the stated ordinary tax benchmark. Read the underlying qualifications.

Standard corporate profits rate above small-profit thresholds. No special free-zone, SME or expatriate incentives assumed.

Scoring rule: Linear scale: 0 percent = 100 points; 40 percent = 0 points, capped at 0–100.

Ordinary corporate-tax rate is 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000; first AED 375,000 is taxed at 0%.

  • General regime excluding free-zone incentives, exemptions, small-business relief and sector-specific Emirate regimes.
  • Large multinational minimum-tax/top-up rules are outside this ordinary-company comparison.
  • 9% is not a tax on gross revenue, nor a flat 9% on the first dirham of profit.
  • Consolidated-law retrieval failed; threshold confirmed from opened Ministry guidance.

Foreign personal investment income20% of category

100/100

0% — Applies only to the stated ordinary tax benchmark. Read the underlying qualifications.

Highest ordinary rate on foreign dividends/interest received by a resident individual outside a trade. Special new-resident elections excluded; material ambiguity withholds this criterion.

Scoring rule: Linear scale: 0 percent = 100 points; 50 percent = 0 points, capped at 0–100.

Qualifying personal investment income, including foreign dividends, interest and investment gains, is outside UAE corporate tax for a natural person.

  • Personal-account investment must not be conducted through or require a UAE licence and must not be a commercial business.
  • Exclusion applies irrespective of source; foreign tax/withholding or UK obligations may still arise.
  • No blanket exemption inferred for trading businesses, employment disguises, company income, trusts or all crypto activities.

tax residence

Enacted

Natural person resident if primary/usual residence and centre of interests in UAE, or ≥ 183 days in relevant consecutive twelve months, or ≥ 90 days plus qualifying nationality/residence permit and permanent UAE home or UAE employment/business.

Evidence checked 30 Oct 2026Effective 1 Mar 2023
1 primary source

personal income

Enacted

Salary and wages are outside UAE income tax; Cabinet Decision 49 wage exclusion includes contractual allowances and bonuses.

Evidence checked 30 Oct 2026Effective 1 Jun 2023
2 primary sources

natural person business

Enacted

Business or business activities conducted by a natural person enter corporate tax only when calendar-year business turnover exceeds AED1,000,000; wages/personal investment/qualifying real-estate investment excluded regardless of amount.

Evidence checked 30 Oct 2026Effective 1 Jun 2023
2 primary sources

einvoicing large

official guidance

In-scope persons with annual revenues ≥ AED 50m must appoint Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026 and implement by 1 January 2027.

Evidence checked 4 Nov 2026
1 primary source

einvoicing penalty framework

official guidance

MoF now publishes Cabinet Decision 173/2026 replacing Decision 106/2025. Its annex includes provider non-appointment in implementation violations: AED 5,000 initially plus AED 5,000 per month/part, capped at AED 50,000 across twelve consecutive months. Article5 commences it the day after Gazette publication, whose exact date remains unverified.

Evidence checked 4 Nov 2026
3 primary sources
View the evidence checklist 5 / 5
  • ✓Tax residenceEvidence present
  • ✓Income source or scopeEvidence present
  • ✓Personal income treatmentEvidence present
  • ✓Filing or payment rulesEvidence present
  • ✓UK treaty or departure interactionEvidence present

A residence permit, tax residence, a bank account and citizenship are separate questions. Published rules are a starting point; your circumstances and professional review determine what applies.

Keep your options open

The world changes.
Your research should too.

X Atlas uses our existing country research. Each update keeps its sources, check dates and rule status so you can see what changed and what still needs checking.

Discuss your own situation

Explore the possibilities

Know the advantages.
Understand the conditions.

Click a country to see what stands out and what to watch. Open a point to read the underlying evidence, or compare countries side by side. No profile or setup is required. The current evidence uses a UK-citizen reference profile; other nationalities can have different eligibility and outcomes.

Different places, different uses

Tax, banking and passport options lead the research. A place could be useful for one purpose and unsuitable for another. Business and residence conditions sit alongside the relevant evidence; living is a secondary topic.

X Atlas score /100

Our editorial index gives tax 35%, banking 30%, passport options 25% and living 10%. Each category uses a fixed set of criteria and scoring bands. The overall score uses the unrounded categories, then rounds once. It is a comparison under these priorities, not a personalised recommendation or a claim that one country is best for everyone.

Banking measures a named personal account’s published access, functions, fees and eligible deposit protection. Passport options measure the route to citizenship, including residence, capital and keeping British nationality—not the travel power of a passport you already hold. Tax compares defined headline rates; living uses work access, dated national price and health indicators and travel-advice restrictions.

Only countries with all required categories can receive an overall score. Missing, conflicting or overdue evidence withholds the affected score; it never becomes zero. Ranks cover the currently rated pool, with ties sharing a rank. Research volume and commercial relationships do not affect the score.

Open a category’s breakdown for its inputs, weights, assumptions, source dates and limits. Initial ratings are an editorial preview and will expand as country assessments are completed. Rubric TGB-EDITORIAL-1.

Stars and category leaders

A star marks the highest current editorial score in a category with at least two rated countries. Every badge names its comparison size; ties share the distinction. It does not mean a country has beaten the whole world, and expired ratings lose their badges automatically.

What is covered

250 jurisdictions are indexed. 10 have tax and residence dossiers; 7 have citizenship research. These groups overlap. Banking includes 33 product profiles and application checklists across 21 jurisdictions. Initial official-source notes extend the country dossiers; they do not make every topic complete or create a new score.

Sources and dates

Every summary links to its supporting research. Source dates remain attached to each claim; a country’s latest evidence date does not mean every rule was rechecked that day. Closed routes and unresolved conditions stay visible. The preview still needs review before publication or individual advice.

Geography: Natural Earth, via world-atlas. Boundaries are illustrative and do not assert political status. Small jurisdictions use reference-point markers. Edition 4 Nov 2026 · Research revision 47f3c5c2.

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