• Construction companies across the UAE are sitting on significant R&D Tax Credit opportunities from advanced materials and modular construction to AI-driven project management and robotics but unlocking this value will require early action on pre-approval, documentation, and workforce planning

DUBAI, UAE: Construction companies across the UAE may be overlooking one of the most valuable outcomes of the country’s new R&D Tax Credit regime. Introduced under Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026 and effective from 1 January 2026, the framework offers credits of 15% to 50% on qualifying R&D expenditure. Yet, according to Dhruva, a Ryan Affiliate, many construction businesses have yet to identify the full extent of qualifying activity or put in place the processes required to claim these benefits.

As one of the UAE’s most economically significant sectors, construction is uniquely positioned to benefit from the regime. Innovation in this sector is continuous, spanning materials, construction methods, digital tools and safety systems but much of it has historically not been classified or documented as R&D.

“The construction sector innovates constantly, in materials, in methods, in software, in safety. The challenge is that much of this activity has never been labelled R&D, and therefore never documented as such. That is precisely where value is being left on the table. Companies that begin mapping their qualifying activities now, and build the evidence trail the regime demands, will be the ones positioned to capture this benefit when it matters most,” said Nimish Goel, Leader Middle East, Dhruva, Ryan LLC Affiliate.

To qualify under the regime, R&D activities must meet five criteria aligned with the OECD Frascati Manual: they must be novel, creative, uncertain in outcome, systematic, and transferable or reproducible. For construction businesses that approach innovation with defined objectives, structured experimentation and documented results, a wide range of activity meets this threshold.

In practice, qualifying activity in the construction sector can include the development of advanced materials such as low-carbon concrete and smart composites, experimentation with modular construction techniques and prefabrication systems, and proprietary software development for Building Information Modelling (BIM), digital twins and AI-driven project management. Sustainability innovation also qualifies, including net-zero building systems and passive cooling technologies suited to UAE conditions, as does the adoption of robotics and drone-based construction and inspection methods.

The critical distinction lies between routine construction activity and genuine R&D. Applying an established methodology to a new project does not qualify. Systematically resolving technical uncertainty through experimentation and documenting that process does.

A distinguishing feature of the UAE regime is its dual-threshold structure. Each credit tier requires businesses to meet both a minimum level of qualifying expenditure and a minimum average R&D headcount. The first AED 1 million of qualifying spend attracts a 15% credit with at least two R&D staff; spend between AED 1 million and AED 2 million qualifies for 35% with at least six staff; and spend between AED 2 million and AED 5 million attracts 50% with at least fourteen. Where headcount thresholds are not met, the applicable credit rate is reduced accordingly.

For construction companies, this makes workforce planning integral to tax strategy. Specialist roles including materials scientists, structural engineers working on novel challenges, proptech developers and robotics engineers not only drive innovation but also determine access to higher credit tiers. Staff costs additionally benefit from a 30% uplift in qualifying expenditure, further strengthening the case for building dedicated R&D capability.

“This is not just a tax incentive; it represents a structural shift in how innovation is recognised within the construction sector. Businesses that act early will not only benefit financially but also strengthen their long-term technical capabilities,” added Nimish.

The regime places significant emphasis on contemporaneous documentation and structured processes. Pre-approval from the relevant authority is mandatory, and businesses must maintain detailed technical records of R&D objectives, methodologies, experiments and outcomes for a period of seven years. For construction companies, this requires embedding R&D tracking into project workflows from the outset, rather than attempting to reconstruct evidence retrospectively.

Construction groups operating centralised engineering or shared technology platforms should also review their structures carefully. Intra-group transactions are excluded from qualifying expenditure, making it critical to ensure that R&D costs are appropriately allocated at the entity level.

“The UAE’s construction sector is building the physical infrastructure of a knowledge economy. It is fitting that those who innovate within it now have access to the same calibre of R&D incentive as their counterparts in technology or manufacturing. The question is not whether to engage, but how quickly companies can build the processes to do so effectively,” concluded Nimish.

About Ryan

Ryan, an award-winning global tax services and software provider, is the largest firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes. The Firm provides an integrated suite of international tax services on a multijurisdictional basis, including cost management, compliance, consulting and technology services. Ryan is an 11-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Ryan’s multidisciplinary team of more than 5,900 professionals and associates serves over 77,000 clients in more than 80 countries, including many of the world’s most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at https://ryan.com/ ryan.com and https://innovationfunding.com/.

About Dhruva

Dhruva Consultants LLP, A Ryan Affiliate, is the largest tax-exclusive advisory firm in the UAE, with a team of 130+ professionals and 10 partners across the GCC. Since 2017, Dhruva has been at the forefront of the region’s tax transformation, having played a pivotal role in the UAE’s VAT implementation and the Corporate Tax rollout. The firm advises leading business groups, sovereign entities and multinational enterprises across sectors including real estate, energy, telecom, healthcare, manufacturing and technology, with capabilities spanning VAT, Corporate Tax, Transfer Pricing, international taxation, R&D tax credits and tax technology. With Ryan holding a majority stake, Dhruva combines deep regional expertise with global scale to deliver integrated tax solutions across the Middle East and beyond. More information is available at https://dhruvaconsultants.com/.