Arabic-English Invoice: Bilingual Tax Invoice for UAE and KSA

Quick answer: In Saudi Arabia, a VAT tax invoice must be in Arabic, and you may add English or another language alongside it, so a bilingual Arabic invoice is the practical standard. In the UAE, English tax invoices are generally accepted, but the FTA can ask for Arabic translations, so many businesses issue bilingual Arabic-English invoices anyway.

This guide explains what "Arabic invoice" means in each country, which labels to use for a bilingual tax invoice (فاتورة ضريبية), a worked example with VAT in local currency, and the mistakes that cause invoices to be rejected. For the full list of UAE invoice fields, see our guide to UAE VAT invoice requirements; for Saudi e-invoicing, see our ZATCA e-invoicing guide.

What is a bilingual Arabic-English invoice?

A bilingual invoice shows every label, and usually every description, in both Arabic and English. The data is entered once: the invoice number, dates, VAT number and amounts are the same for both languages. Arabic text reads right to left, so a typical layout places Arabic labels on the right and English labels on the left of each field, or stacks the Arabic beneath the English.

Arabic invoice rules in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's VAT Implementing Regulations require a tax invoice to be issued in Arabic, and it may also be issued in another language. ZATCA notices have referred to this rule (paragraph 5 of Article 53), including cases where invoices carried English-only product descriptions. In practice this means:

• The human-readable invoice must show its content in Arabic. English may sit alongside it.
• It applies to both standard tax invoices (فاتورة ضريبية) and simplified tax invoices (فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة), and to related credit and debit notes.
• Under ZATCA's e-invoicing (Fatoora) rules, invoices must also be generated by a compliant electronic solution, carry a QR code and, once you are integrated in Phase 2, be cleared or reported in UBL 2.1 XML. The XML element names are in English; the rendered invoice must still show Arabic.
• If you invoice in a foreign currency, the VAT amount must also be shown in Saudi riyals.

Check your integration wave in our ZATCA Phase 2 Wave 25 checklist.

UAE invoice language: is Arabic required?

The UAE's VAT rules list what a tax invoice must contain, such as the words "Tax Invoice", the supplier's TRN, a sequential number and the VAT amount in AED. Practitioners and software vendors generally report that English is accepted for invoices. The Tax Procedures rules allow records to be kept in Arabic or English, but the Federal Tax Authority can require Arabic translations, and failing to provide them on request can lead to a penalty. We could not find an official FTA statement that requires Arabic on every tax invoice, so treat this as the common reading and confirm it with the Federal Tax Authority.

Reasons UAE businesses choose bilingual invoices anyway:

• Arabic documents avoid translation costs if the FTA, a court or a government entity asks for them.
• Government and semi-government customers often expect Arabic.
• The UAE's Peppol-based e-invoicing system starts phasing in from 2027, and data requirements may change; see our UAE e-invoicing 2027 guide.

UAE vs Saudi Arabia: Arabic invoice requirements compared

Point	Saudi Arabia (ZATCA)	UAE (FTA)
Arabic required on tax invoice?	Yes, other languages may be added	Generally not; Arabic translation may be requested
Standard rate	15%	5%
Tax ID shown	VAT registration number (15 digits)	Tax Registration Number (TRN, 15 digits)
Title	فاتورة ضريبية / Tax Invoice	Tax Invoice (Arabic optional)
VAT in local currency if foreign currency used	Yes, in SAR	Yes, in AED
E-invoicing	Mandatory, phased Fatoora integration	Peppol-based, phased from 2027 (confirm dates)
QR code	Required	Not required on paper tax invoices today

Arabic invoice labels: English to Arabic glossary

Use these as a starting point and have a native speaker or your accountant review your final template.

English	Arabic
Tax Invoice	فاتورة ضريبية
Simplified Tax Invoice	فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة
Credit Note	إشعار دائن
Debit Note	إشعار مدين
Invoice Number	رقم الفاتورة
Invoice Date	تاريخ الفاتورة
Date of Supply	تاريخ التوريد
Seller	البائع
Buyer	المشتري
VAT Registration Number	رقم التسجيل الضريبي
Address	العنوان
Description	الوصف
Quantity	الكمية
Unit Price	سعر الوحدة
Total Excluding VAT	الإجمالي غير شامل ضريبة القيمة المضافة
VAT	ضريبة القيمة المضافة
VAT Rate	نسبة الضريبة
Total Including VAT	الإجمالي شامل ضريبة القيمة المضافة
Amount Due	المبلغ المستحق
Due Date	تاريخ الاستحقاق
Bank Details	التفاصيل البنكية

How to make an Arabic-English tax invoice: step by step

Step 1: Confirm your registered names

Use your Arabic trade name from your commercial registration or trade licence where one exists, and do the same for the buyer on standard (B2B) invoices.

Step 2: Build a bilingual header

Put the title in both languages, for example "Tax Invoice | فاتورة ضريبية". Add the invoice number, invoice date and date of supply with bilingual labels. Keep one set of numbers.

Step 3: Add seller and buyer blocks

Show names, addresses and VAT numbers or TRNs. The tax number must be identical in both language versions; our guide to the tax ID on an invoice covers TRN formats.

Step 4: Write line items in both languages

Give each description in Arabic and English, especially in Saudi Arabia where English-only descriptions have been flagged. Show quantity, unit price, net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount.

Step 5: Show totals and VAT in local currency

Show the total excluding VAT, VAT and total including VAT. If you invoice in another currency, add the VAT in SAR or AED and the exchange rate used. Our guide to foreign currency invoices explains how to choose and show the rate.

Step 6: Check the layout in both directions

Mixed Arabic and English text can reorder punctuation and numbers in some tools. Check the PDF carefully before sending.

Sample bilingual invoice layout

This is a simple structure you can copy into your template. Each row shows English on the left and Arabic on the right, with one shared value.

English label	Value	Arabic label
Tax Invoice	-	فاتورة ضريبية
Invoice Number	INV-2026-0118	رقم الفاتورة
Invoice Date	24/10/2026	تاريخ الفاتورة
Seller / TRN	Your company / 100XXXXXXXXXXXX	البائع / رقم التسجيل الضريبي
Buyer / TRN	Client company / 100XXXXXXXXXXXX	المشتري / رقم التسجيل الضريبي
Description	Strategy workshop, 2 days / ورشة عمل استراتيجية، يومان	الوصف
Total Excluding VAT	AED 10,000.00	الإجمالي غير شامل ضريبة القيمة المضافة
VAT 5%	AED 500.00	ضريبة القيمة المضافة ٥٪
Total Including VAT	AED 10,500.00	الإجمالي شامل ضريبة القيمة المضافة

Keep labels short so the two languages fit side by side on A4 paper, and use one font that includes Arabic glyphs so the PDF does not fall back to a mismatched typeface.

Worked examples with the VAT calculated

UAE: A Dubai consultancy bills AED 10,000 for a strategy workshop. VAT at 5% is AED 10,000 x 0.05 = AED 500, so the total including VAT (الإجمالي شامل ضريبة القيمة المضافة) is AED 10,500.

Saudi Arabia, foreign currency: A Riyadh software firm bills a client USD 2,000. Using an exchange rate of 3.75 SAR per USD, the net amount is SAR 7,500. VAT at 15% is USD 300, which is SAR 7,500 x 0.15 = SAR 1,125. The invoice shows USD 2,300 total and VAT of SAR 1,125 with the rate stated. (Confirm which exchange rate source ZATCA expects for your invoice.)

Common mistakes on Arabic invoices

• English-only descriptions in Saudi Arabia on an otherwise Arabic template.
• Machine-translated labels that are wrong or ambiguous. Have a native speaker review the template once.
• Different numbers in each language, for example a typo in the Arabic copy of the VAT number.
• Broken right-to-left text where letters appear disconnected or reversed in the PDF.
• Using a bilingual PDF as a substitute for ZATCA e-invoicing. In Saudi Arabia the invoice must come from a compliant solution; language is only one requirement.
• Missing the "Tax Invoice" title required on UAE tax invoices.

Can you make an Arabic invoice with a free invoice generator?

For UAE invoices outside e-invoicing, a well-laid-out PDF is usually enough. Our UAE invoice generator sets AED and a TRN field, and you can type Arabic text into the description and notes fields, but it does not have a dedicated right-to-left or bilingual template at the time of writing, so check the preview before downloading. For Saudi Arabia, a generator cannot replace a ZATCA-compliant e-invoicing solution, which must produce the QR code and, once integrated, the XML.

Arabic tax invoice checklist

• Title in Arabic and English (فاتورة ضريبية / Tax Invoice)
• Registered names, addresses and identical VAT number or TRN
• Sequential invoice number, invoice date and supply date
• Line items described in both languages
• VAT rate, VAT amount and totals; VAT in SAR or AED if foreign currency
• QR code and compliant e-invoicing solution in Saudi Arabia
• Native-speaker review of the template

Important: This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Language and e-invoicing rules are set by ZATCA in Saudi Arabia and the Federal Tax Authority in the UAE, and they change. Confirm requirements with the authority or a registered tax agent.

Next step

If you bill UAE clients, set up a bilingual template once and generate the PDF with the UAE invoice generator. If you sell in Saudi Arabia, confirm your ZATCA wave and choose compliant e-invoicing software that supports Arabic output. For general VAT invoice rules, see our VAT invoice guide.