Through 2026 the Federal Tax Authority has issued a series of VAT directives, each clarifying how the VAT rules apply to a specific situation that businesses and advisers were unsure about. They are short, targeted, and easy to miss, but each one settles a real question. Here is a plain-language guide to the 2026 VAT directives that matter most, and who each one affects.
What a directive does
A directive on tax transactions is the FTA setting out, formally, how the existing VAT law applies to a particular type of transaction. It does not create new tax; it removes doubt about an existing one. For a business in the situation a directive covers, it is the definitive answer, published in the Official Gazette. The 2026 directives each pick a specific area where the treatment was previously debatable.
| Directive | What it clarifies |
|---|---|
| No. 1 of 2026 | Court-appointed judicial experts supply taxable services and must meet VAT obligations |
| No. 3 of 2026 | How to convert the value of digital currencies into dirhams for the VAT return |
| No. 4 of 2026 | When fees within a life insurance contract are part of the exempt supply |
| No. 5 of 2026 | How to value a deemed supply of services |
Judicial experts are taxable
Directive No. 1 of 2026 confirms that services provided by a court-appointed judicial expert are taxable supplies for VAT. The amount the expert receives is consideration for a supply of services, and the expert must meet the usual VAT obligations, including registering where the thresholds are met. That the appointment comes from a court, or that payment comes from a government entity, does not change the treatment.
Digital currency has a set conversion method
Directive No. 3 of 2026 is one of the most novel. Where a business supplies a digital currency, or is paid in one, it must convert that value into dirhams for its VAT return using a defined method: pick three exchange platforms from the FTA's published list, use the same three all year, and take the numerical average of their published rates at the time of supply. It removes the guesswork from valuing crypto-denominated transactions.
Each 2026 directive settles one question that was genuinely uncertain, from crypto valuation to insurance fees. If your business is in the situation a directive covers, it is the definitive answer, not guidance to weigh.
Insurance fees and deemed supplies
Two further directives tidy up technical areas. Directive No. 4 of 2026 clarifies that fees and charges connected with a life insurance or reinsurance contract are part of the VAT-exempt supply of life insurance where they are necessary for it, directly connected, and included in the premium rather than charged separately. Directive No. 5 of 2026 sets the method for valuing a deemed supply of services, based on the total costs on which input tax was incurred, worked back from open market value by removing the profit margin.
What to do about it
Check whether any 2026 directive applies to what your business actually does. If you act as a judicial expert, deal in digital currency, provide life insurance, or make deemed supplies of services, the relevant directive is now the rule you follow, so align your VAT treatment to it and keep the supporting records each one implies. Directives are quiet but binding, and being on the right side of them is simply a matter of knowing the one that touches your business.
This article is general information and is not tax advice. The directives are issued by the Federal Tax Authority under Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 and should be confirmed against their current text. We would be glad to help you apply the one that affects you.