USA tax · USA citizens and green card holders
USA taxes, handled from the UAE, reviewed by a California licensed CPA.
Every USA citizen and green card holder whose income passes the filing threshold owes the IRS a return, wherever they live. Prepared and signed in Dubai by a California licensed CPA, e-filed through our USA associates.
Who this is for
Three kinds of USA taxpayer in the UAE. One return each, plus the forms that go with it.
Employees and freelancers
You earn a salary or fees here and pay no UAE income tax. You still file Form 1040 every year. Form 2555 takes up to USD 130,000 of earned income out of USA income tax for tax year 2025, and USD 132,900 for 2026. Employees usually owe nothing after it and must still file. Freelancers and sole proprietors still owe USA self-employment tax on their net profit, because the exclusion does not cover it and there is no USA social security agreement with the UAE.
Owners of a UAE company
If you control a UAE company, or own 10% or more of one controlled by USA owners who each hold 10% or more, Form 5471 goes in with your 1040 every year. Buying into 10% of a company triggers it for that year too. It is the form most often missed. The penalty is USD 10,000 per form per year, and up to USD 50,000 more if it stays unfiled after an IRS notice. It is built from the accounts we keep or audit on the UAE side.
Retirees and investors
Pension, dividends, rent and capital gains are not earned income, so Form 2555 does not cover them, and because the UAE charges no personal income tax there is usually no foreign tax to credit on Form 1116 either. That income is taxed in the USA in full, which is where the planning starts. FBAR and Form 8938 report the accounts.
What must be filed
Seven forms. Most people need two or three.
Dates are for a calendar year filer living abroad. Where a USA figure changes yearly we give tax year 2025. Check the IRS figure for your year.
| Form | Who files it | When | If it is missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1040 | Every USA citizen and green card holder above the filing threshold, wherever they live. | 15 April. Living abroad on that date moves it to 15 June automatically, with a statement attached; Form 4868 extends it to 15 October. Tax owed is still due 15 April. | Interest from 15 April on tax owed, plus late filing and late payment penalties. |
| Form 2555 or 1116 | With the 1040. Form 2555 excludes up to USD 130,000 of earned income for tax year 2025. Form 1116 credits income tax paid to another country, which the UAE does not charge. | With the 1040. | The 1040 shows USA tax on income that could have been excluded or credited. |
| FBAR FinCEN 114 | Anyone whose non-USA accounts together went over USD 10,000 at any point in the year. | 15 April, automatic extension to 15 October. It does not move to 15 June. Filed online with the Treasury. | Civil penalties set by FinCEN; check the current figure. Missed years are usually fixed through the streamlined procedure. |
| Form 8938 FATCA | Those living abroad for a full tax year or 330 days, with foreign financial assets over USD 200,000 at year end or USD 300,000 at any time (single, or married filing separately). Double for married filing jointly. | With the 1040. | A fixed penalty per form. Check the IRS figure for your year. |
| Form 5471 | A USA person who controls a foreign company, including a UAE company, or owns 10% or more of one controlled by USA owners who each hold 10% or more. A 10% purchase triggers it for that year. | With the 1040. | USD 10,000 per form per year, and up to USD 50,000 more after an IRS notice. |
| Form 8858 | A USA person who owns a foreign branch or a foreign disregarded entity: a UAE sole establishment, or a one-owner UAE company that has elected to be disregarded. | With the 1040. | A penalty per form per year. Check the IRS figure for your year. |
| Form 3520 | A USA person who received gifts or inheritances of more than USD 100,000 in the year from a non-USA person, or who deals with a foreign trust. | Separately from the 1040, by its due date including extensions. | Up to 25% of the gift, at 5% a month. |
Read more
Who must file USA tax from the UAE and GCC: every case
Form 5471: Americans who own a GCC company
There is no USA and UAE income tax treaty. Nothing in a residence visa or a free zone license changes what the IRS expects from you.
The year of deadlines
Where the USA dates fall against your UAE dates.
15 April for the return, tax owed and the FBAR. 15 June for the return if you live abroad on 15 April. 15 October if you extend. 30 September for the UAE corporate tax return of a December year end. One office watches all of them.
Missed years
Many USA citizens in the UAE learn about the filing duty years after they arrive. The IRS has a route for this: the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. You file the last 3 years of returns and 6 years of FBARs, with a signed statement, Form 14653, of why they were missed. For non-wilful cases there is no penalty, though the tax and interest are still paid. It is open to anyone who had no USA home and spent at least 330 full days outside the USA in one of those three years.
Non-wilful means you did not know the rule, misunderstood it, or were told wrongly. It does not mean you knew and chose not to file. The IRS reads the statement, so it has to be true and specific to you. It is written with you, from your facts, not from a template.
If wilfulness is a real question in your case, we say so before anything is filed. The streamlined route is not the right one then.
The streamlined package
- 3 years of Form 1040, with the forms that apply
- 6 years of FBARs
- 0 penalties for non-wilful cases, with tax and interest still due
- 1 signed statement, written from your facts
Why a firm in Dubai
The online firms are good at the American side. We are in the room for both.
Capable online firms prepare USA expat returns, and for one salary and one bank account they do a fine job. Where they cannot help is the UAE side of the same file. Your Form 5471 and your UAE corporate tax return come from the same accounts. When two firms prepare them, the returns often disagree, and both authorities can see it.
- WhatsApp answered within one business day. Level 41, Emirates Towers, Dubai. Monday to Friday 9:30 am to 6:30 pm.
- The UAE side in the same file. Bookkeeping, audit and corporate tax by the office that reviews your 1040 and 5471.
- A UAE corporate tax return that agrees with the 5471. Same figures, same year end, one set of working papers.
- Prepared and signed in Dubai by the firm's California licensed CPA, license 147070, checkable on the Board's public record. E-filed through our USA associates in Texas and California.
Fees
A fixed fee, quoted before we start.
A fixed fee, quoted within one business day of seeing last year's return and a list of your accounts and companies, before any work starts.
A second company, a rental property or a state return is quoted on top. If you own a USA corporation or have USA employees, see USA business tax and payroll.
Questions we are asked
Seven straight answers.
- 01
Do I still have to file if I pay no tax?
Yes, once your income passes the filing threshold. Filing does not depend on owing tax. Most salaried USA citizens in the UAE owe no income tax after Form 2555, but the 1040 and usually the FBAR must still be filed every year. Self-employment tax is the exception: the exclusion does not remove it.
- 02
What is FBAR?
A report of foreign bank accounts, FinCEN Form 114, filed online with the USA Treasury. It is due if your non-USA accounts together went over USD 10,000 at any moment in the year. Salary, savings and joint accounts all count.
- 03
Does my UAE salary count?
Yes. It goes on Form 1040 as earned income. Form 2555 then excludes up to USD 130,000 of it for tax year 2025 and USD 132,900 for 2026. Anything above that is taxed in the USA, with no UAE income tax to credit against it.
- 04
Does the UAE have a tax treaty with the USA?
No. There is no income tax treaty between the two countries. Relief comes from the exclusion on Form 2555 for earned income. The credit on Form 1116 only helps against tax paid to another country, because the UAE charges no personal income tax.
- 05
What about my UAE company?
If you control the company, or own 10% or more of one controlled by USA owners who each hold 10% or more, Form 5471 goes in with your 1040 every year, with the company's balance sheet and income statement. Buying into 10% triggers it for that year too. The penalty for a missing form is USD 10,000 per form per year, and up to USD 50,000 more after an IRS notice.
- 06
Can you do my UAE corporate tax too?
Yes. The firm's Tax Agent is on the Federal Tax Authority's register, TAAN 20024196, and the firm is a Ministry of Economy and Tourism registered auditor, entry LC4409-01. The return and any audit are done in Dubai by the same office that prepares and signs your USA forms, so the two agree. See Corporate tax.
- 07
Who signs my USA return?
The firm's California licensed CPA, license 147070, prepares it in Dubai and signs it under his own IRS preparer number (PTIN). Our USA associates in Texas and California e-file it with the IRS under their own e-file numbers (EFIN). You deal with Dubai throughout.
Insights
Read more on this
USA tax from the UAE and GCC: who must file, and what
Every case in one guide: Americans, non-Americans with USA income, GCC companies and family offices. What is taxed and which form.
USA taxForm 5471: Americans who own a GCC company
Americans who own a company in the UAE or the GCC file Form 5471 with their own return. Who files, when, and the penalty.
USA taxFBAR and Form 8938: your GCC accounts
Two separate reports of accounts outside the USA: the limits, the dates and where each is filed.
USA taxMissed USA tax returns? The Streamlined procedures
3 years of returns and 6 years of FBARs, with penalties waived for people who qualify.
USA taxAn ITIN for a non-American spouse
When a spouse needs an ITIN, how to apply on Form W-7, and how to do it without posting the passport.
Contact us
Send us last year's return. A price and a date within one business day.
ANCPA Auditing L.L.C prepares USA returns in Dubai. Each is signed by the firm's California licensed CPA under his own IRS preparer number (PTIN) and e-filed through our USA associates in Texas and California, who hold their own IRS e-file numbers (EFIN).