The Federal Tax Authority announced that the number of approved applications from citizens who received a refund of Value Added Tax (VAT) paid on their newly built homes exceeded 7,200 requests last year, with a total value of 646 million dirhams. Khalid Ali Al-Bastani, Director General of the Authority, stated: "We always ensure that the continuous focus on enhancing services related to the Emirati family remains a top priority for the Authority, especially the service of refunding VAT paid on citizens' newly constructed homes. This service is continuously being developed with the latest innovative and user-friendly digital systems, in line with the wise leadership's vision to enhance social stability and support development in all sectors, particularly regarding the housing stability of the family, and in accordance with the wise leadership's directives designating 2026 as the Year of the Family." He added: "These numbers of citizens benefiting from the VAT refund service for newly built homes reflect a rise in tax awareness and confirm the success of the Authority's continuous modernization efforts, which introduce more facilitations to simplify and expedite the refund process for eligible citizens, as part of the Authority's strategy to contribute to building a modern housing ecosystem for citizens and providing them with the best standards of living and well-being." Al-Bastani continued in a statement yesterday: "The service underwent numerous developments in 2025 to provide more procedural facilitations for citizens, including reducing the number of fields for bank details when completing procedures through the smart (Maskun) app, as well as reducing fields for personal data. Electronic linkage with municipalities was also established to proactively submit applications on behalf of citizens. This is part of the Authority's comprehensive strategy to contribute to the (Zero Bureaucracy Digitally) program, aiming to boost efficiency, quality, and flexibility, simplify and reduce government procedures, and eliminate unnecessary procedures and requirements." Al-Bastani confirmed that the Authority is committed to providing clear, transparent standards, procedures, and mechanisms to facilitate citizens' VAT refund on their newly built homes, continuing its development plans and ongoing campaigns to raise awareness about the user-friendly digital services for tax refund. This is achieved through virtual meetings to provide consultations and clarifications, answer all inquiries, and allow citizens to communicate directly with the Authority's specialized staff for this service.
