---
title: "Value Added Tax (VAT)"
url: https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/value-added-tax
type: DefinedTerm
role: charge
jurisdiction: [UK, IE, UAE]
reviewed: 2026-11-10
modified: 2026-11-10
---

# Value Added Tax (VAT)

Role: Tax charge | Jurisdiction: UK · IE · UAE

A tax on consumption charged at each stage of supply, where a registered business charges tax on its sales and recovers the tax it paid on its own business costs, so the final consumer bears it. A business registers once its taxable supplies pass the local threshold, and one with no establishment in the country may have to register from its first taxable supply.

Whether a business is established for VAT turns on where it actually operates, not where it is incorporated. Recovering the tax paid on costs depends on evidence of the supply, and in the UAE that now includes checks that the supplier is genuine and that the payment method meets the rules.

## Legal basis
- Value Added Tax Act 1994 (UK)
- Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (Ireland)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 (UAE)

## Related concepts
- Distinct from: [Permanent Establishment (PE)](https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/permanent-establishment) (the corporate tax presence test, not the VAT one)
- Related: [UAE Corporate Tax](https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/uae-corporate-tax)

## Analysis that discusses it
- [A UAE tax invoice no longer earns the VAT refund on its own](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/uae-vat-changes-october-2026-input-tax) (Regulatory Intelligence, 2026-10-09)
- [Setting up a UK company as an EU founder after Brexit](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/uk-company-for-eu-founder-after-brexit) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-10-17)
- [A UK subsidiary of a UAE business registers for tax before it trades](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/uk-subsidiary-of-uae-business-tax-registration) (Regulatory Intelligence, 2026-10-10)
- [A UAE company's tax debt can reach its directors on liquidation](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/uae-director-personal-liability-tax-liquidation) (Risk Governance, 2026-07-06)
- [The 30 September Illusion: UAE Corporate Tax Books Must Close in June](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/uae-corporate-tax-close-books-june-2026) (Regulatory Intelligence, 2026-06-17)
- [The UAE eInvoicing 30 October 2026 ASP Deadline: What Phase 1 Entities Must Do](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/the-uae-einvoicing-30-october-2026-asp-deadline-what-phase-1-entities-must-do) (Regulatory Intelligence, 2026-05-29)
- [Autumn Budget 2026 for business owners and founders](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/autumn-budget-2026-business-owners-founders) (Taxation Strategy, 2026-10-30)
- [What a UAE company actually costs: the drivers behind the quote](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/uae-company-setup-cost-structure) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-09-14)

Canonical: https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/value-added-tax

---
Source: https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/value-added-tax