PayMetric Labs
UAE · 2026 labour law0% income tax

UAE Salary Calculator

The UAE has no personal income tax, so a AED 240,000/year package takes home the full AED 240,000, every dirham. On a typical 70% basic-salary split (AED 168,000/year basic), that same package also builds AED 48,329 in gratuity by year 5 and AED 117,370 by year 10. Enter your own salary to confirm both figures.

Run your numbers ↓

Income tax

0%

gross = net, always

Gratuity, yrs 1-5

21 days/yr

basic pay only

Gratuity, yr 6+

30 days/yr

rate steps up

Typical basic split

60-80%

check your offer letter

Annual take-home

AED 300,000

Monthly take-home

AED 25,000

Effective deduction rate

0.0%

Only know your total package, not your basic salary split?

Open the split calculator

How UAE take-home and gratuity actually work

There's no PAYE-equivalent deduction to model here: the UAE levies no personal income tax on employment salaries, for any nationality, and there's no payroll social-security deduction on an expatriate employee's paycheck either. Whatever gross package you're quoted is exactly what lands in your account each month, which is why this calculator's "take-home" figure is simply your gross salary restated.

The one figure that genuinely takes work to get right is gratuity, the lump sum your employer owes you when you leave. It's calculated on basic salary only, not your full package, using 21 days' basic pay per year for your first 5 years of service, then 30 days' basic pay per year after that, capped at 2 years' basic salary in total. Since resignation and termination now pay identically (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, in force since February 2022), the only variable that actually matters for your gratuity is your basic-salary figure and your tenure.

Most UAE offer letters bundle basic salary, housing allowance, and transport allowance into one headline package number, commonly 60-80% of that figure is basic salary, with the rest split across allowances. Two people on an identical total package can end up with meaningfully different gratuity payouts purely because of where that basic-salary line sits, which is exactly what our package-split calculator makes concrete.

Worked example: AED 240,000/year package

Assuming a 70% basic-salary split (AED 168,000/year basic)

Line itemAmount
Annual take-homeAED 240,000
Monthly take-homeAED 20,000
Gratuity at 5 yearsAED 48,329
Gratuity at 10 yearsAED 117,370

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Frequently asked questions

1

Is salary really tax-free in the UAE?

Yes. The UAE has no personal income tax on employment salaries for residents of any nationality. Your take-home pay equals your gross salary in full, there is no equivalent of PAYE, income tax bands, or a payroll social-security deduction on your paycheck as an expatriate employee.

2

What is UAE gratuity and how is it calculated?

Gratuity (end-of-service benefit) is a lump sum your employer owes you when you leave, based on your basic salary and years of service: 21 days' basic pay per year for the first 5 years, then 30 days' basic pay per year after that, capped at 2 years' basic salary in total. It's paid on exit, not deducted from your monthly pay.

3

Does gratuity apply if I resign instead of being terminated?

Yes, in full. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, resigned and terminated employees receive the same full gratuity entitlement, the older reduced-gratuity-for-resignation rule was scrapped in February 2022.

4

Is gratuity calculated on my full salary or just basic pay?

Basic pay only. Housing allowance, transport allowance, bonuses, and other benefits are excluded from the gratuity calculation, even though they may be a large part of your total package. Many UAE packages split roughly 60-80% basic salary and the rest allowances, check your offer letter for the actual split, since it changes your real gratuity a lot without changing your monthly take-home at all.

5

Do I pay into a pension in the UAE?

Only if you're a UAE or GCC national, the GPSSA pension scheme applies to nationals, not expatriates. Some free zones (like DIFC's DEWS scheme) run an employer-funded savings plan for expats instead of the standard gratuity, so check which scheme applies to your specific employer and free zone.

6

How does UAE take-home compare to the UK or Ireland?

Considerably higher for the same gross figure, since there's no income tax or National Insurance/PRSI equivalent. A pound or euro salary that loses 30-45% to tax and social contributions in the UK or Ireland keeps 100% of its AED-equivalent value in the UAE, before accounting for cost-of-living differences. Our purchasing power calculator runs that comparison directly.

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