Going home · All travellers
Claiming your VAT refund at Dubai airport
The short answer
Tourists can reclaim UAE VAT on goods they take home. You must spend at least AED 250 excluding VAT with a participating retailer, ask for a tax-free tag at the till, and validate the transaction within 90 days of the invoice date before you check in your bags. The Federal Tax Authority deducts 13% of the VAT plus AED 3.60 per transaction.
On this page
Most Indian visitors to Dubai shop, and most of them leave the tax on the table. The scheme is real, it is run by the Federal Tax Authority, and the whole of it turns on one sentence said at the till and one stop made before you check your bags in.
What you actually get back
UAE VAT is 5%. You do not get all of it, and the arithmetic changed recently, which is why the figure quoted almost everywhere is wrong.
By the numbers
13% + AED 3.60
Federal Tax Authority — VAT refund for touristsThe 85% figure you have read is out of date
Nearly every travel site says tourists get 85% of the VAT back. That reflected an older fee structure. The Federal Tax Authority now publishes a 13% deduction plus AED 3.60 per transaction, and the UAE government’s own portal has not caught up either, still quoting the old AED 4.80 tag fee. The FTA’s own page is the one to trust, and it was last updated in August 2026.
On a AED 1,000 purchase the VAT component is roughly AED 47.62. Take off 13% and the AED 3.60 fee and you are looking at a refund a little over AED 37. Worth having, not worth restructuring a shopping trip around.
The AED 250 rule in the shop
This is the step people miss, and it cannot be fixed later. A receipt without a tax-free tag is just a receipt.
Check the shop is in the scheme
Only retailers registered in the Tourist Refund Scheme can issue a tag. Ask before you pay rather than after.
Spend at least AED 250 excluding VAT in that shop
The threshold is per transaction, not per trip. Four purchases of AED 100 across four shops qualify for nothing.
Ask for a tax-free tag at the till
The cashier attaches it to your invoice and records your passport details. Without the tag there is no claim, and nothing at the airport can create one.
You must be 18 or over, must not be a UAE resident, and must have entered on a tourist visa.
Validating before you check in
The order of operations at the airport is the part that costs people their refund.
- Go to the Planet kiosk first
- Keep tagged goods in hand luggage
- Validate within 90 days of the invoice
- Choose cash or card
Do not check in the shopping first
The single most common way to lose a refund at DXB is to hand the suitcase over at the airline counter and then walk to the kiosk. If your transaction is picked for inspection, the officer wants to see the goods, and the goods are now in the hold. Validate first, check in second. DXB is large and immigration queues can run long at peak times, so build the extra half hour in.
What does not qualify
The exclusions are narrow but absolute. Anything consumed in the UAE, wholly or partly, is out: meals, hotel stays, taxi rides, a bottle of perfume you opened. Goods that are not physically with you when you leave are out, which is what disqualifies gifts already given away. Some goods are excluded from the scheme entirely, and the retailer will tell you at the till.
What to do next
Say the words at the till, keep the tagged invoices with your passport rather than in the bottom of a bag, and put the kiosk before the check-in counter in your airport plan.
If you shopped for gold, one more thing follows you home: the value of what you are carrying counts toward the UAE’s AED 60,000 declaration threshold on the way out as well as on the way in.
Common questions
How much VAT do tourists get back in Dubai?
UAE VAT is 5%, and the refund is that amount less the Federal Tax Authority's charges: a deduction of 13% of the VAT being refunded, plus AED 3.60 for each tax-free transaction. The figure of 85% quoted on most travel sites reflects an older fee and is now out of date. On a AED 1,000 purchase the VAT is about AED 47.62, and the refund lands a little over AED 37.
What is the minimum spend for a VAT refund in Dubai?
AED 250 excluding VAT, per transaction, with a retailer registered in the Tourist Refund Scheme. It is a per-shop, per-receipt threshold rather than a total across your trip, so four AED 100 purchases in four shops qualify for nothing while one AED 250 purchase qualifies. Ask at the till whether the shop participates before you pay.
How long do I have to claim a Dubai VAT refund?
Tax-free transactions must be validated within 90 days of the tax invoice date, at the point you leave the UAE. Miss the window and the tag expires whatever the receipt says. This matters if you buy on one trip and leave on another.
Where do I claim the VAT refund at Dubai airport?
At the Planet validation kiosks in the departures hall, and the sequence matters: validate before you check your bags in, not after. The system can select your transaction for inspection and ask to see the goods, and goods sealed inside a checked suitcase cannot be shown. Keep purchases you have tagged in your hand luggage until validation is done.
Can I get the VAT refund in cash?
Yes, up to AED 35,000 per tourist. There is no limit on refunds taken to a credit or debit card. Card refunds take longer to arrive but avoid carrying more cash out of the country, which matters if you are near the AED 60,000 declaration threshold on the way home.
Related guides
Before you fly
The rules are the easy part. The visa is the file.
We file UAE visit visas from India every week, and we will tell you plainly if your case is one we would not take. Licence R710507 is Canadian and does not cover the UAE, so nothing on these pages is UAE legal advice.
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