The Emirates are a magnet for people who work through a US LLC. Before you pack, three things are worth knowing: when you become UAE tax resident, when UAE Corporate Tax reaches an individual, and what happens if you run your LLC from Dubai.
When you become UAE tax resident
Since 1 March 2023 (Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022), an individual is UAE tax resident if any one of these tests is met:
- your usual or primary place of residence and the centre of your financial and personal interests are in the UAE;
- you were physically present in the UAE for 183 days or more within the relevant 12 consecutive months;
- you were present for 90 days or more within the relevant 12 consecutive months, you are a UAE national, a GCC national or hold a valid UAE Residence Permit, and you also have a permanent place of residence in the UAE, available to you at all times, or carry on employment or a business there.
The 90-day test is not for visitors: temporary entry permits for travel, tourism, sport or medical treatment do not count as a Residence Permit. If you meet the tests, you can apply to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) for a Tax Residency Certificate. For the purposes of a tax treaty, though, the treaty's own residence conditions govern, and the FTA issues a treaty certificate only if it is satisfied that you meet them.
When Corporate Tax reaches an individual
UAE Corporate Tax (Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022) is not only for companies. A natural person who conducts a business in the UAE is a resident person for Corporate Tax, and his taxable income includes foreign income insofar as it relates to that UAE business.
The threshold sits in Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023, in effect since 1 June 2023: the business is taxable only if its turnover exceeds AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year. Turnover means gross income, not profit. Above the threshold, according to the FTA's guide, taxable income is taxed at 0% up to AED 375,000 and at 9% on the portion above. The return is due within 9 months of the end of the tax period, which for an individual is the calendar year.
What stays outside Corporate Tax
Regardless of the amount, wages, personal investment income and real estate investment income are outside Corporate Tax and do not count toward the AED 1,000,000 threshold. A personal investment is one you make for your own account that is neither conducted under nor requires a UAE licence and is not a commercial business. If you carry on no business that is subject to Corporate Tax, you do not register.
Running your LLC from Dubai
A juridical person set up under foreign law is UAE resident if it is effectively managed and controlled in the UAE. If your US LLC is treated as a juridical person and you run it from Dubai, it can therefore come within UAE Corporate Tax. How the UAE treats a single-member LLC that is disregarded for US tax purposes, as a juridical person or as your own business for the AED 1,000,000 test, is not addressed in the decree-law, the decision on natural persons or the FTA guide we read: it is an open question to check on your facts. For the US side, see how the LLC is taxed.
If you are leaving Italy
The UAE is on Italy's list of 4 May 1999, so an Italian citizen who moves there is presumed to stay Italian tax resident unless he proves otherwise; the details are in Leaving Italy with a US LLC.
Sources
Checked 26 October 2026.
- Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 on tax residency: tax.gov.ae
- Ministerial Decision No. 247 of 2023 on tax residency certificates for international agreements: mof.gov.ae
- Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, consolidated text: mof.gov.ae
- Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023: mof.gov.ae
- FTA Corporate Tax Guide CTGTNP1, Taxation of natural persons: tax.gov.ae
- UAE Ministry of Finance, Corporate Tax: mof.gov.ae
- Italian Ministerial Decree of 4 May 1999: Gazzetta Ufficiale
Your own case
This page is general information, not advice on your case. Your residence, your LLC and your deadlines are checked in the consultation, held in English.
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