Meals, travel and gifts

Are flights and hotels for a business trip deductible?

Usually safe if you keep the documents

In short: Yes, when the trip is for the business: flights, hotels, local transport and meals during the trip are business costs. Keep the tickets, the invoices and a short note of the purpose.

The basic rule

Costs that are purely for the business count.

When it is different

If family members travel with you, their costs are personal.
Upgrades or extra nights for leisure are personal; see the entry on mixed trips.
Hosting a client during the trip (meals, tickets) falls under the 50% entertainment rule.

Documents to keep

Tickets and boarding passes
Hotel invoice
Evidence of the business purpose: meeting invitations, event registration, client emails

How safe is it?

Usually safe if you keep the documents Low with evidence of the purpose.

When to ask a professional

Not usually needed. Who can confirm it for your own case: an FTA-registered tax agent (a tax professional approved by the UAE tax authority), or the optional year-end review in SoloBooks.

If you pay no Corporate Tax this year (Small Business Relief): If you use Small Business Relief this year, you pay no Corporate Tax anyway, so this cost does not change your tax for that year. Keep the documents anyway: they back up your income figure, and they matter if you stop qualifying later.

Check it with the free calculator: Small Business Relief calculator →

Sources

Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses (consolidated, unofficial English translation) — Art. 28(1) and 28(3)
FTA Corporate Tax Guide: Determination of Taxable Income (CTGDTI1) — Mixed-purpose expenditure

Last verified: 19 October 2026

General information, not tax advice. Your situation may differ.

Keep your records ready all year

SoloBooks reads your receipts, you approve each one, and you get your year-end figures to file your return yourself.

Start with 1 month free

No card required. Cancel by doing nothing.