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The covered walkway of the Dubai Gold Souk, shopfronts lit on both sides.
Layover guideDubai · DXB · DWC

What to buy in Dubai

VAT is 5% and refundable over AED 250, and the authority's own refund terms are better than the government portal still says.

Rob Young from United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
All of Dubai

VAT is 5%. The tourist refund scheme has a minimum eligible spend of AED 250 excluding VAT per transaction.

The Federal Tax Authority states the deduction as 13% of the VAT amount requested, plus AED 3.60 for each tax-free transaction. Tax-free transactions must be validated within 90 days of the tax invoice date, and the maximum refund claimable in cash is AED 35,000.

Worth knowing because it is money: the UAE government portal u.ae still describes the refund as 85% of the VAT after a fee of AED 4.80 per tag, which is the older and worse arrangement. The Federal Tax Authority is the authority here and its figures are the ones above. If a retailer quotes you the u.ae numbers, they are working from a stale page.

Arriving allowances, published by Dubai Customs: 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars and 500 grams of tobacco; 4 litres of alcoholic beverages or 2 cartons of beer, each carton being 24 cans of not more than 355 ml; gifts to a value not exceeding AED 3,000; and cash, currencies and travellers cheques altogether less than AED 60,000. The passenger must be at least 18.

  1. Federal Tax Authority (UAE): VAT refund for tourists · checked 2026-08-31
  2. The Official Platform of the UAE Government (u.ae): tax refund for tourists · checked 2026-08-31
  3. Dubai Customs: permitted luggage and items · checked 2026-08-31

The rest of Dubai

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportMetered RTA taxis from the rank, or the Metro Red Line straight out of Terminals 1 and 3.Ride-hailingCareem and Uber both operate legally.Local laws that catch crew outDrinking in public, kissing in public and swearing are all criminal offences, including online.Staying connectedA visitor SIM is registered against your passport and capped at two per network, and an unregistered line is cut off rather than warned.WeatherThe number that matters is the overnight low: about 29.7C in summer, so the night never cools down.Eating near the crew hotelsAlcohol is legal in licensed venues and illegal everywhere else, and in Ramadan the daytime rules extend to your car.TippingNo authority publishes a tipping norm for Dubai, and the percentages already on your bill are not tips.