Here net equals gross, and that is not a simplification
It is the law. The UAE does not tax employment income, for residents or foreigners, and no individual emirate adds a tax on top of the federal position. Of the eleven countries this tool covers, it is the only one where the figure on the left and the figure on the right are the same.
The spending basket is calibrated on Dubai, where most expatriates live.
What does exist but does not apply to you
GPSSA is the Emirati pension system, and only UAE nationals and other Gulf nationals contribute to it. A foreigner pays not a single dirham. In exchange they build up no pension either: what they are owed on leaving is the end-of-service gratuity, paid by the employer.
And the 9 % corporate tax, in force since 2023, taxes business profit above 375,000 AED. It can reach someone invoicing under their own licence; an employee, no.
What you do pay, even though it is not in the breakdown
The ILOE unemployment insurance has been compulsory since 2023 for almost all private and federal staff: 5 AED a month on a basic salary up to 16,000, and 10 AED above that, plus VAT. That is about 126 AED a year in the upper band, 0.07 % of an average salary. It is not deducted through payroll — the worker subscribes to it directly — which is why it does not appear here.
The 5 % VAT sits inside the prices in the spending basket, not in the tax breakdown.
And one that catches people out: Dubai's HOUSING FEE, 5 % of the annual rent, is charged in twelfths on the electricity bill. Here it sits under utilities, where it actually arrives, and not in the tax breakdown, because it taxes housing rather than income. Abu Dhabi charges 3 %.
Your employer pays for health insurance, the opposite of Switzerland
In Dubai, a worker's health insurance is a legal obligation of the EMPLOYER. That is why the Emirati basket has no health line, exactly the opposite of the Swiss one, where the compulsory premium comes out of each person's own pocket and runs to hundreds of francs a month.
Covering a family is the worker's own responsibility, and that is not included here. It is the cost most worth asking about before accepting a move with a partner or children.
What this calculator does not include
The position of UAE and other Gulf nationals, who do contribute to GPSSA. This tool describes the employed expatriate, who is the person asking the question.
That said, the two user-set rate fields work here exactly as in every other country, and that is not decoration: anyone who also files tax at home — the typical case being a US citizen, who files wherever they live — can enter what it actually costs them and see the whole flow.
Last updated: October 8, 2026