About this calculator
Dubai’s purchase costs are itemised on the Dubai Land Department’s published fee schedule, and the big one is the transfer fee: 4% of the price. The law splits it evenly between buyer and seller, but market convention puts the whole 4% on the buyer — the calculator defaults to that convention and lets you model a negotiated split. Around it sit the smaller DLD charges: AED 580 for the title deed issuance pack on a sale, and — if you have a mortgage — registration at 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290 of deed, knowledge and innovation fees. The transfer itself is executed at a DLD-approved registration trustee office, which charges AED 2,000 on properties under AED 500,000 and AED 4,000 above that, plus 5% VAT.
The rest is commercial, not statutory, and this page labels it that way. Agency commission is usually 2% of the price plus VAT — customary, negotiable in principle, and charged on both ready and secondary purchases. Banks add a processing fee of typically 0–1% of the loan (promotions sometimes waive it) and a valuation fee around AED 2,500–3,500. Some developers charge an NOC fee before consenting to a resale transfer; the field is here for areas where that applies. None of these costs can be rolled into the mortgage: the Central Bank’s LTV caps are measured against the property value alone.
How to use it
- Enter the price and the mortgage amount (set it to zero for a cash purchase — the mortgage-only fees disappear).
- Check the DLD share: 100% is the buyer-pays-all convention; drop it to 50% if your SPA genuinely splits the statutory fee.
- Adjust the customary items if you have quotes — agency percentage, valuation, bank processing — then read the total cash line.
- Other emirates differ: Abu Dhabi’s transfer fee is 2% with different admin charges, and Sharjah runs its own schedule — this page is Dubai’s, as its title says.
The formula
At the defaults — an AED 1,800,000 ready apartment with an AED 1,440,000 mortgage — the stack is: DLD transfer AED 72,000, trustee AED 4,200, deed admin AED 580, mortgage registration AED 3,890, agency AED 37,800 (2% + VAT), bank processing AED 7,200 (0.5% of the loan) and valuation AED 3,000. Total fees AED 128,670, or 7.1% of the price, and total cash with the AED 360,000 deposit is AED 488,670. Buyers who budget only for the deposit are short by more than a quarter of it.
Worked example
A cash purchase at AED 900,000 removes the mortgage block entirely: DLD fee AED 36,000, trustee AED 4,200, deed AED 580 and agency AED 18,900 (2% + VAT) — total fees AED 59,680, or 6.6% of the price. The percentage barely moves with finance; it is the absolute cash that changes, because the deposit disappears into the full price.
Sources: Dubai Land Department published fee schedule (dubailand.gov.ae), current October 2026; agency commission and bank/valuation charges are market-customary figures, labelled as such, not statutory fees. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Who legally pays the 4% DLD transfer fee?
The statute splits it 2% buyer and 2% seller. In practice, Dubai sales contracts almost universally assign the full 4% to the buyer, and sellers price accordingly. If you negotiate a genuine split, set the share field to 50% — but do not assume it: read the MOU / Form F before budgeting.
Is VAT payable on a home purchase in the UAE?
Ready residential property sold by a business is generally exempt from VAT, and a first sale of a new residential building can be zero-rated — so no VAT is charged on the price itself in the cases this calculator covers. VAT at 5% does apply to the services around the purchase: the trustee fee and the agency commission shown here, which is why those lines include it.
What does the mortgage registration fee cover, and is there a cap?
It registers the bank’s charge over the property at the DLD: 0.25% of the loan amount, plus AED 250 for the mortgage deed and AED 10 each of knowledge and innovation fees (AED 290 fixed in total, as published by the DLD). The DLD schedule does not state a cap for the 0.25% element. A separate AED 290-style pack applies again if you later transfer or release the mortgage.
What is the NOC fee and when does it apply?
Some master developers charge a no-objection fee — commonly AED 500 to AED 5,000 — for consenting to a resale or transfer within their community; off-plan assignments can carry a percentage-based charge instead. It is developer policy, not a DLD charge, varies by community, and defaults to zero here; add your developer’s figure if one applies.
How much should I hold back beyond the calculator total?
The stack here covers transfer-day costs. Budget additionally for the MOU deposit mechanics (a 10% cheque is conventionally held by the agency until transfer), home insurance the bank will require, and the DEWA and service-charge settlements after move-in. None of those are lost money, but all of them are cash timing you need on the day.
What formula does this dubai property fees calculator — dld & purchase costs calculator use?
Total cash = (price − loan) + 4% × share + trustee (AED 2,000 / 4,000 + VAT) + AED 580 + mortgage (0.25% × loan + AED 290) + agency % + VAT + bank and valuation fees At the defaults — an AED 1,800,000 ready apartment with an AED 1,440,000 mortgage — the stack is: DLD transfer AED 72,000, trustee AED 4,200, deed admin AED 580, mortgage registration AED 3,890, agency AED 37,800 (2% + VAT), bank processing AED 7,200 (0.5% of the loan) and valuation AED 3,000. Total fees AED 128,670, or 7.1% of the price, and total cash with the AED 360,000 deposit is AED 488,670. Buyers who budget only for the deposit are short by more than a quarter of it. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.