Tax Residency Certificate (TRC)
Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) in the UAE
A Tax Residency Certificate is the document issued by the Federal Tax Authority that confirms a company or an individual is tax resident in the UAE for a given period. It is what a foreign tax authority, bank or customer asks for before applying a double tax treaty: to reduce withholding tax on dividends, interest, royalties or service fees, or to settle which country has the right to tax a person’s income.
Reflechir assesses whether you qualify, assembles the evidence the FTA expects, files the application on EmaraTax and follows it through to issue, including the treaty-specific forms some countries require to be stamped.
Who can obtain a UAE tax residency certificate
- Companies: a UAE-incorporated entity, mainland or free zone, that has been established for at least one year, with an office lease, a UAE bank account, audited or management financial statements for the period and evidence that management and control are exercised in the UAE. Offshore companies without substance are generally not eligible.
- Individuals: a person who meets the UAE tax residence tests, which turn on the number of days spent in the UAE during the year, combined with holding UAE residence, a permanent home or employment here, or having the UAE as the centre of financial and personal interests. Reflechir confirms which test you meet before applying.
- Treaty and domestic certificates: the FTA issues certificates for a specific treaty partner country, and also a domestic certificate confirming UAE residence without reference to a treaty, useful for banks and for countries that accept it.
- Period covered: certificates are issued for a defined financial year or twelve-month period and must be renewed for each period in which relief is claimed.
What the service covers
- Eligibility assessment: confirming the residence test is met before fees are paid, and identifying any gap in substance or documentation that needs to be fixed first.
- Document preparation: trade licence, memorandum, lease, bank statements, audited financial statements, entry and exit report from ICP, passport, Emirates ID and residence visa copies, and any treaty form from the foreign authority.
- EmaraTax application: creating or updating the tax profile, submitting the application with the correct treaty selection and period, paying the FTA fees and responding to any request for further information.
- Foreign forms: where the treaty partner requires its own form to be certified, coordinating the stamping and any attestation the foreign authority requires.
- Annual renewal: a calendar of certificates by entity and country, renewed ahead of each period so treaty relief is never interrupted.
How the engagement works
The application is a fixed-fee service per certificate, excluding FTA fees, which are charged at cost. After the eligibility review Reflechir prepares the document pack, files on EmaraTax and tracks the application to issue. The FTA typically processes complete applications within a few working days; incomplete or borderline cases take longer, which is why the eligibility review is done first.
Why Reflechir
- Right the first time: applications rejected for missing substance or documents cost time and, in the case of withholding tax, money that cannot be recovered. We check before filing.
- Treaty knowledge: we advise on what the certificate will and will not achieve under the specific treaty, so you are not paying for a document the foreign authority will not accept.
- Part of the wider tax picture: TRC applications sit alongside the corporate tax return and international tax advice, prepared by the same team.
If a foreign customer, bank or tax authority has asked you for proof of UAE tax residence, contact Reflechir Consultancy to obtain your tax residency certificate.