New tax rule big deal for property investors

TAX LOAD ON OWNERS IN UAE REDUCED IN LATEST DECISION

- BY MANOJ NAIR

Longtime investors owning properties in the UAE that they intend to sell at some point need to make some major decisions on the tax front.

That's because they need to determine whether they want to enter the current market value on those properties in their tax records — or opt for the price they bought at.

And they need to apply this on all their properties for the first 'tax period' starting January 1, 2025. (In that case, these property investors need to file these tax returns by September 2026.)

So, whether you are holding a single property or multiple ones, make the decision — apply current value in the tax records or go for the price it was originally bought at. Even in the case of a property bought for own use, if the owner decides to sell at a later date, he or she must factor for the tax records. In other words, hold it at market value or the original value.

How it affects