Methodology & Data Sources: Our Source of Truth
Last Updated:
Every figure our calculators use comes from a named primary source, and every dated figure carries the date it was read and the date it expires. Those dates are enforced in code: our tests fail once a figure passes its review date, so nothing ships until it is re-read.
That is the whole claim, and it is the one we can prove. For example, the mortgage rate our calculators default to is the median of 5 named UAE banks (Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Mashreq Bank), read on 21 July 2026 and due for re-reading by 23 October 2026 — after which nothing can ship until someone re-reads it.
Guide to Our UAE Financial Calculators
Yalla Calculators provides UAE-specific financial tools for gratuity, mortgages, property fees, rent vs buy, school fees, visas, and cost of living. Our formulas follow official UAE sources: UAE Labor Law (gratuity, leave), Dubai Land Department and RERA (property, DLD 4% transfer fee), UAE Central Bank (DBR, LTV), KHDA (school fees), and published visa and healthcare data. We update figures when regulations or market rates change. Calculator results are estimates only; actual entitlements, fees, and approvals depend on your specific situation, employer, bank, or authority.
For gratuity, any employee who completes at least one year of continuous service earns gratuity on basic salary for the years served — 21 days’ pay per year for the first five years and 30 days per year thereafter. Under Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 (effective 2 February 2022) the old sliding scale that cut gratuity for resignation before five years was abolished, so resigning no longer reduces your entitlement for completed years. For mortgages, DBR caps and LTV limits vary by buyer type (UAE national, GCC, expat) and property value. Property fees include DLD registration, trustee fees, agent commission, and often mortgage registration. Rent vs buy outcomes depend on holding period, appreciation, and opportunity cost. School fee projections use KHDA fee frameworks and typical annual increases; actual costs vary by school and grade.
Calculation Examples
Gratuity: If you resign after 3 years with AED 15,000 basic, you receive 21 days’ basic per year for the first 5 years (resigning no longer reduces gratuity). Three years × (21/365) × (15,000 × 12) ≈ AED 31,068. After 5 years, the rate becomes 30 days per year. Mortgage: At 50% DBR, a AED 25,000 monthly income with AED 3,000 existing commitments allows roughly AED 9,500 per month for a mortgage, depending on rates and tenure. Property fees: On a AED 2M purchase, 4% DLD transfer fee is AED 80,000; add trustee, agent, and optional mortgage registration per our property-fees calculator.
Our Data Sources (Source of Truth)
Each entry names what the source publishes and what we take from it. Where a figure is dated, its module and expiry are listed in the freshness contract below.
1. Property & Real Estate
- Dubai Land Department (DLD): the published fee schedule — transfer fee (4% in Dubai), the administrative charge, registration trustee fees, Oqood registration and mortgage registration (0.25%).
- Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA): the rental index and the tenancy rules behind our rent calculators. The administrative charge on a transfer is a DLD charge, not a RERA one — see below.
- UAE Central Bank: Debt Burden Ratio (DBR) cap (50% of gross monthly income, all borrowers) per Regulation No. 29/2011, Article (7)(a); Loan-to-Value (LTV) caps, the 25-year tenor limit and the income multiple per Circular No. 31/2013, Article (3). Effective 28 December 2013; amended by Board Resolution 31/2/2020. Article (3) “Important Ratios” sets the LTV caps, the 25-year tenor cap and the income multiple.
2. Schools & Education
- Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA): 218 Dubai schools database, DSIB ratings, and the flat Education Cost Index (2.35% for 2025-26; 0% freeze for 2026-27).
- Abu Dhabi Department of Education (ADEK): Abu Dhabi school ratings and fee guidance. ADEK does not publish per-grade fee tables, which is why our school fee tools are Dubai/KHDA-scoped.
3. Employment & Labour
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021: gratuity accrual (21 days' basic pay per year for the first 5 years, 30 days per year thereafter), leave entitlements and notice periods, read from the law text itself.
- MOHRE: published work-permit and end-of-service guidance.
4. Visa & Residency
- Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICP): published visa and residency fee schedules at icp.gov.ae.
- GDRFA / MOHRE: published work-permit and sponsorship fee structures.
5. Healthcare & Insurance
- DHA (Dubai Health Authority) & DOH (Department of Health Abu Dhabi): mandatory insurance requirements and minimum coverage, from the published regulations.
- Major UAE insurers: GIG Gulf, Cigna, Bupa Global, ADNIC, Daman — premium ranges from published rate cards. These are market prices, not regulator-set figures, and are labelled as indicative wherever they appear.
Data Sources
Every calculator on YallaCalculators.online has a clearly defined Source of Truth—the authoritative, verifiable data source that forms the foundation of our calculations. We never use estimates or assumptions where official data is available. Below we list all official sources used across our calculators, with direct links to the source.
| Source | Official URL | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| UAE Central Bank | centralbank.ae | DBR limits, LTV regulations, mortgage guidelines |
| Dubai Land Department (DLD) | dubailand.gov.ae | Property transfer fee, registration trustee fee, the published administrative-charge lines (AED 520 on an apartment — our higher AED 580 default is ours, not theirs), mortgage registration |
| KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority) | khda.gov.ae | School fees, DSIB ratings, fee increase caps |
| MOHRE (Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation) | mohre.gov.ae | Gratuity formula (Decree-Law 33/2021), labour regulations |
| ICA (Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship) | icp.gov.ae | Visa fees, residency fee schedules |
| Abu Dhabi Municipality | am.gov.ae | Abu Dhabi property fees and regulations |
| 5 Named UAE Banks | Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Mashreq Bank (published rate cards) | Mortgage interest rates, lending criteria |
How a figure gets here, and how it is kept current
There is no receipt archive and no rota of verification phone calls behind this site. What there is is a contract our tests enforce:
- One source, named. Every dated figure lives in a data module carrying the primary source it was read from — the regulator, the published government fee schedule, or, where the figure is a market price, the named aggregator. A broker aggregator is never labelled as the Central Bank.
- One value, everywhere. Pages interpolate that module rather than re-typing the number, so a correction made once cannot be left behind on a second page.
- An expiry on the figure itself. Each fact carries the date it was read (
asOf), how often it must be re-read (reviewCadence) and the date it goes stale (reviewBy). - The tests enforce the expiry.
scripts/check-market-rates-freshness.mjsexits non-zero on an expired figure — and on any whose review window has been widened past its declared cadence, the obvious dodge. Wired to npm’sprebuild, its checks also run over every dated module in our tests, so an expired figure turns CI red and cannot merge. It cannot un-publish what is already live. - Tests enforce the values. Our CI suite reads the shipped bytes of these pages and fails when one states a regulator-set figure at a value the module does not hold. This page is inside that net as of August 2026; it was outside it before, which is how it came to publish a fee band no published schedule contains.
Every dated figure currently under that contract:
Figures that are not dated — a law text, a fee schedule that has not moved in years — are cited to the instrument itself rather than given an expiry. Datasets re-verified on a schedule rather than by a test gate are listed in the data updates log, which records when each was last checked and renders "Review overdue" the moment its target passes, instead of showing a date that has quietly gone by.
Content Creation & AI Assistance
Transparent AI Disclosure: Yalla Calculators uses AI assistance in the content creation process while maintaining strict editorial oversight and data verification standards.
Our Process:
1. AI-Assisted Research & Drafting
We use advanced AI tools to research topics, compile data from official sources, and draft initial content. This increases efficiency and allows us to cover more topics relevant to UAE expats and residents.
2. Human Accountability
Content is published under the name of Varun Punjabi, founder of Yalla Calculators, who is accountable for it. That is a statement about responsibility, not a claim that every sentence was independently re-derived before publication — we audit the back catalogue, we find errors, and when we do we correct them and add a test so the same class of error cannot come back.
3. Figures Come From Modules, Not From Prose
Regulator-set figures — Central Bank caps, DLD fees, credit-card fee ceilings — live in shared data modules cited to DLD, KHDA, the UAE Central Bank, MOHRE and ICP. Articles and pages interpolate those modules, and our tests fail when a page states one of them at a different value. An article can no longer be corrected in one place and left wrong in four others.
4. Dated Figures, Enforced by the Tests
Where content states a dated figure, that figure comes from a data module with an expiry date, and our tests fail once it passes — see the freshness contract above. The "Last Updated" date on this page is the newest of those read-dates, not a stamp applied by hand.
Our Commitment: We believe transparency about AI usage builds trust — including transparency about its failure mode. AI-drafted content states things confidently whether or not they are true, so the safeguard cannot be a promise to be careful; it has to be a check that runs. That is what the freshness guard and the sentinel suites are.
Calculation Methods
Here is how each calculator works and the official source we use. Every result can be traced back to an authoritative, verifiable source.
Mortgage Affordability
Maximum Loan = [(Monthly Salary × 0.5) - Existing Liabilities] × Tenure (months)
Official source: UAE Central Bank (https://www.centralbank.ae)
Key Considerations:
- 50% DBR cap, all borrowers (Regulation No. 29/2011, Article (7)(a))
- 70% multiplier applied to allowances
- Expat first-home LTV caps: 80% (≤AED 5M), 70% (>AED 5M)
- Standard 20-25 year tenure assumptions
Property Fees
Total = DLD transfer fee (4% of price) + trustee fee (AED 2,000 below AED 500,000, AED 4,000 at or above, + 5% VAT) + administrative fee (our AED 580 planning default on a ready apartment or office) + mortgage registration
Official source: Dubai Land Department (DLD) (https://dubailand.gov.ae) — for the 4% transfer fee and the trustee band. The administrative figure in this formula is ours, not DLD’s; see below.
Key Considerations:
- The transfer fee is 4% of the price — one rate, no value tiers
- The trustee fee is a flat band on price, not a percentage: AED 2,000 below AED 500,000, AED 4,000 at or above, each plus 5% VAT
- The administrative charge is fixed by what is being registered and does not move with the price. DLD publishes AED 520 on an apartment; we budget our own higher default of AED 580
- VAT applies to the trustee fee and agency commission, not to the government charges
School Fees
Total Annual Cost = Tuition + Registration + Uniforms + Books + Transport + Activities
Official source: KHDA (https://www.khda.gov.ae)
Key Considerations:
- KHDA fee increases (flat 2.35% index for 2025-26; 0% freeze for 2026-27)
- Hidden costs: deposits, late fees, exam fees
- Sibling discounts where offered
- Currency fluctuations for international curricula
Data Sources: Technical Documentation
Our calculators read from primary sources — the regulator, the published government fee schedule, or the law text. We have no data-sharing arrangement with any of these bodies and no automated feed from them: a figure gets here because someone read it at the source on a stated date, and it stays here until its review date passes.
Source of Truth: Dubai Land Department (DLD) Data
Property fee calculations use the DLD fee schedule published at dubailand.gov.ae as their Source of Truth. The transfer-side figures live in a single module (src/data/uaeConsumerRegulatoryCaps.ts), read on 18 August 2026, and every page that states one of them — including this one — interpolates that module rather than re-typing the number.
Dubai transfer-side fees — what DLD publishes, and where we differ
Transfer fee (4%): 4% of the sale price or the assessed value, whichever is higher, on freehold transfers in Dubai. Payable by the buyer unless the parties agree otherwise. One rate — it does not step up with value.
Registration trustee fee: a flat charge banded on the purchase price — AED 2,000 below AED 500,000 and AED 4,000 at or above it, each plus 5% VAT (AED 2,100 and AED 4,200 respectively). VAT applies because the trustee office is a service provider, not the government. It is not a percentage of the price. This page previously stated it as a percentage, which produced a figure wrong by an amount that grew with the purchase price — on a mid-market apartment, by an order of magnitude.
Administrative charge — DLD’s published lines: fixed by what is being registered, not by the price, and carrying no VAT because it is a government charge. DLD itemises AED 250 title deed + AED 250 map + AED 10 knowledge + AED 10 innovation on a villa or apartment (AED 520). On a land plot the map line changes to a unified map, giving AED 495 (AED 370 where a non-DM map applies at AED 100 in place of the AED 225 unified map). An off-plan initial-sale registration carries only the knowledge and innovation pair (AED 20), plus a separate AED 1,000 Oqood-portal fee where the developer self-registers. There is no value band: the same charge is due on a studio and on a penthouse.
Administrative charge — what our calculator actually uses (not a DLD figure): our Property Fees Calculator rolls the add-ons into a single AED 580 default, AED 60 above DLD’s AED 520 apartment line, so a cash estimate errs high. Our off-plan default of AED 40 is AED 20 above DLD’s AED 20 knowledge-and-innovation pair, so it errs high too. Our land-plot default does not. AED 430 is padded against the cheaper non-DM-map case (AED 370), which leaves it AED 65 below DLD’s AED 495 unified map line: where that map applies, this one figure errs low, so budget the difference rather than our default. All three are YallaCalculators’ own planning figures, not DLD line items, and they appear on no DLD schedule. Budget from them — with the land-plot exception above — and pay what DLD invoices.
Mortgage registration fee: 0.25% of the loan amount plus AED 290, payable to DLD when a mortgage is registered against the title. This is the figure our property fee calculator applies.
Agency commission: 2% of the purchase price plus 5% VAT. In standard Dubai practice each side pays its own agent, so a buyer should budget for it.
Read from the published DLD schedule on 18 August 2026; next re-read due by 18 August 2027, after which our tests fail. DLD’s itemised lines above were recorded on 18 August 2026 from their sale-registration page. An earlier version of this section attributed the administrative fee to a RERA order that does not exist outside this site, and banded it on the purchase price; both the citation and the band were removed rather than restated at a different value. A later version then presented our own AED 580 planning default as DLD’s charge, beneath a dubailand.gov.ae citation — the same defect wearing a real regulator’s name. DLD’s figures and ours are now stated separately, from separate values in the module, and a test fails if one is ever rendered as the other.
Source of Truth: UAE Central Bank Regulations
Mortgage calculations follow two Central Bank instruments, and we cite them separately because they are separate rules. Loan-to-Value caps, the 25-year tenor limit and the income multiple come from Circular No. 31/2013 — “Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans”, Article (3) . The Debt Burden Ratio cap comes from Regulation No. 29/2011 — “Regulations Regarding Bank Loans and Other Services Offered to Individual Customers”, Article (7)(a) . Both caps carry a review date of their own (29 July 2027), so they are re-read against the rulebook on the same clock as everything else. Interest rate data is separate: it is read from the published rate cards of 5 named UAE banks (Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Mashreq Bank). Those are market rates set by lenders — distinct from the UAE Central Bank Base Rate, which is a policy rate published at 3.90% as of 16 September 2026 and is never quoted here as a mortgage rate.
Loan-to-Value caps (Circular No. 31/2013, Article (3))
The Central Bank recognises two borrower categories. Every LTV figure anywhere on this site renders from this one table.
| Buyer Type | Property Under AED 5M | Property AED 5M+ |
|---|---|---|
| UAE National – First Home | 85% LTV (15% down) | 75% LTV (25% down) |
| UAE National – 2nd+ Property | 65% LTV (35% down) | 65% LTV (35% down) |
| Expat – First Home | 80% LTV (20% down) | 70% LTV (30% down) |
| Expat – 2nd+ Property | 60% LTV (40% down) | 60% LTV (40% down) |
Off-plan (under-construction) purchases are capped at 50% LTV for both buyer types. GCC nationals are not a third regulatory band: lenders commonly extend them UAE-national terms at their own discretion, which is bank policy rather than a Central Bank rule.
Debt Burden Ratio. The Debt Burden Ratio is capped at 50% of gross monthly income for all borrowers — UAE nationals and expatriates alike — under Regulation No. 29/2011, Article (7)(a). It is the same cap our Mortgage Affordability calculator applies. Beyond DBR and LTV, Circular No. 31/2013, Article (3) also caps the loan at 8× annual income (UAE national) · 7× (expat) and the amortisation period at 25 years.
How We Source Mortgage Interest Rates
Data Collection: We read the published rate cards of 5 named UAE banks — Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Mashreq Bank — and record their advertised rates by fixed period, which in the UAE means 1-year, 2-3 year or 5-year fixed, plus variable products priced off EIBOR. No UAE lender fixes a rate for the full 25-year tenure — 25 years is the maximum amortisation period, not a fixed-rate product. The read date and its expiry are below.
Corroboration: the observed market bands are cross-read against Mortgease UAE mortgage rate tracker (broker aggregator), and that is how they are attributed — a broker aggregator is a market source, never a regulator. Where the aggregator and a bank's own page disagree, the bank's published card wins.
Calculation Methodology: The figure our calculators default to is the median of the 5-bank sample for the 2-3 year fixed product — the most commonly written UAE mortgage. We publish the median rather than a mean because a single outlier lender otherwise drags a 5-point sample. The current value is 3.99%, which is what both the Mortgage Affordability and Rent vs Buy calculators load with. We round to two decimal places for calculator inputs.
- 1-year fixed: 3.75%-4.89%
- 2-3 year fixed: 3.89%-4.19% — our published median of 3.99% sits inside this band
- 5-year fixed: 4.19%-4.69%
- Variable (EIBOR-linked): 3-month EIBOR + 1.00-2.50% lender reversion margin — read the index live at the UAE Central Bank daily EIBOR fixing, because it re-fixes every business day
Market floor: 3.75% on a 1-year fixed from Sharjah Islamic Bank, for salaried applicants who transfer their salary to the lender. Band source: Mortgease UAE mortgage rate tracker (broker aggregator).
Last Update: Mortgage market rates were last re-read on 21 July 2026 and are next due for review by 23 October 2026. The UAE Central Bank Base Rate was published at 3.90% as of 16 September 2026 and is next due by 29 October 2026. These dates are enforced: a rate figure past its review date fails our tests, so nothing ships until it is re-read.
Note: Individual bank rates vary by customer profile — salary transfer, employer category, loan-to-value and property type are what move a quote, not nationality. Our published median represents standard rates for salaried applicants with good credit; relationship and payroll-transfer pricing typically sits 0.25-0.50% lower.
Source of Truth: KHDA School Fee Database
Our school fee calculator uses the official KHDA database covering 218 private schools in Dubai as its Source of Truth, extracted from KHDA's public school directory and fee approval records. Since 2025-26, KHDA sets fee increases via a single flat Education Cost Index (2.35%) for all eligible schools rather than by DSIB rating, and it published a 0% freeze for 2026-27. School fees move once a year, so the dataset is re-read against KHDA at the start of the academic year; the data updates log carries the date it was last checked. Non-tuition costs (transport, uniforms, books) come from school prospectuses and are presented as ranges, because they are not regulated figures.
MOHRE Labor Law Data
Gratuity and employment benefit calculations follow Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations, read from the law text: gratuity accrues at 21 days' basic pay per year for the first five years and 30 days per year thereafter. Leave entitlements and notice periods come from the same instrument. Visa fee structures are read from the published MOHRE, GDRFA and ICP schedules.
Healthcare and Insurance Data
Health insurance premiums are ranges read from the published rate cards of major UAE insurers (GIG Gulf, Cigna, Bupa Global, ADNIC, Daman). Medical cost estimates come from published hospital price lists. These are market prices, not regulator-set figures, and every surface that shows them labels them as indicative. The DHA and DOH mandatory-cover requirements are read from the regulations themselves.
Limitations & Disclaimers
While we strive for accuracy, our calculators provide estimates for planning purposes only:
- • Individual circumstances vary: Your credit score, employer category, and employment history affect actual loan offers.
- • Bank policies differ: Each bank has unique criteria and may offer different rates than our averages.
- • Fees can change: Government fees and bank charges may be updated between our verification cycles.
- • Exchange rates fluctuate: For international schools, currency movements affect actual costs.
Always consult with licensed professionals (mortgage brokers, financial advisors, real estate agents) before making major financial decisions.
Found Outdated Information?
If you notice any discrepancies or have updated information from official sources, please let us know so we can verify and update our data.
Report Data IssueWho Stands Behind This Calculator
Founder
Varun founded Yalla Calculators to help UAE residents make informed financial decisions. Based in the UAE since 2018, he has firsthand experience with property purchases, DLD fees, mortgage rules, and cost-of-living planning. His background in software and digital business (13+ years) drives the accuracy and regulatory alignment of our property and mortgage tools. Varun is not affiliated with other professionals who share the same name; he operates from Dubai/Sharjah and maintains editorial independence across all calculators.
Focus: UAE Property, Cost of Living, Financial Planning, Mortgage & DLD
Why Trust This Calculator?
Methodology is built for UAE residents and uses local regulations and fee schedules. Our calculators use official UAE data sources, current regulations, and a methodology checked against those sources. We update fee schedules and formulas when regulators publish changes, and we clearly cite our sources so you can verify results.
All calculations are checked against the official UAE sources cited on each page.