Frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions about UAE take-home pay, the end-of-service gratuity, GPSSA pension, and the basic-vs-allowances split.
No. The UAE levies no personal income tax on salaries, wages, bonuses or allowances — the rate is 0%. For an expatriate, take-home pay equals gross pay; nothing is withheld for income tax.
For an expatriate, your take-home is simply your gross — there is no income tax and no employee social security, so what you are offered is what you receive. For a UAE national the one deduction is the GPSSA pension employee share (11% for new joiners, 5% for legacy members), and take-home is gross minus that. Enter your figure in the calculator to see it line by line.
On your last basic wage — not allowances. Your daily basic wage is the monthly basic divided by 30; you earn 21 days of it for each of the first 5 years of service, then 30 days for each year beyond, with the total capped at 2 years’ wage. Under 1 completed year of service, no gratuity is due.
No. The old reduction for resigning rather than being terminated was abolished under the 2021 labour law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021). Full gratuity is due whether you resign or are let go — the only permitted deduction is for money you actually owe the employer. Any calculator that trims your figure for resigning is applying a repealed rule.
Your gross package is the basic wage plus allowances — typically housing, transport and utilities. The distinction matters because the end-of-service gratuity, and your ILOE insurance category, are set on the basic wage alone. A low basic with large allowances means a smaller gratuity at the same total pay. The commonly cited “basic must be 60% of gross” is market practice, not a statutory rule.
No. The GPSSA pension scheme is for UAE nationals only; expatriates neither contribute nor accrue a GPSSA pension — the deduction is 0% on both sides. For a UAE national, the employee pension share is the single genuine deduction from take-home pay.
ILOE is the Involuntary Loss of Employment insurance scheme — a small unemployment cover the employee subscribes to. The premium is banded by basic salary: AED 5.25 a month for a basic of AED 16,000 or below, and AED 10.50 a month above it (each including 5% VAT). It is usually paid separately through the ILOE portal, so it is shown for information and is not subtracted from your monthly pay.
For expatriate workers, no — the labour law sets no minimum salary, only a general requirement that wages meet an employee’s basic needs. u.ae — the UAE government portal — states a monthly pay floor introduced specifically for Emirati nationals in the private sector, effective 1 January 2026; that applies to nationals only, not to the expatriate pay path.
Each rate and amount is taken from a named primary source — u.ae and the Federal Tax Authority, MOHRE and the 2021 labour law, GPSSA and iloe.ae — and cited where it appears. The calculator cannot know your contract, so treat the output as an estimate and check the official amount with your employer.
More answers are being added as the content grows.
- End of Service Gratuity and Pensions in the UAEA comprehensive guide for both expats and Emiratis on calculating their end-of-service entitlements and understanding the transition to voluntary savings schemes.
- The Wage Protection System (WPS) RequirementsA compliance checklist and explainer on how the WPS functions, when salaries are legally due, and the penalties for late payroll.