I already paid tax abroad on foreign income — can I credit it against my UAE Corporate Tax?

If your UAE company earns foreign-source income — from a branch, an investment, or a contract with a party outside the country — and tax was already withheld or charged on it in that other jurisdiction, Article 47 of the Corporate Tax Law gives you a Foreign Tax Credit: you can offset the foreign tax paid against the UAE Corporate Tax due on that same income, so it isn't taxed twice.

The credit isn't unlimited, though. The maximum you can claim is the lower of the two figures: the actual foreign tax paid, or the UAE Corporate Tax that would be due on that same foreign-source income. So if the foreign tax you paid is higher than the UAE tax on that income, the excess — under the current rules — is generally not carried forward to future years or refunded. Each foreign income stream needs its own careful calculation.

To claim the credit you need solid proof the foreign tax was actually paid — a withholding certificate or an official receipt from the foreign authority — and it has to be properly disclosed in your Corporate Tax return. RASEEKH helps you work out the correct credit ceiling for each foreign income source and prepare the supporting documentation before filing, so you don't lose a credit you were entitled to simply because the paperwork wasn't in order.