Salik Toll Rates 2026: Peak Hours, Prices and VAT in Dubai

How much is Salik toll in 2026?

A Salik crossing costs AED 6 in peak hours and AED 4 in low-peak hours, plus 5% VAT, so motorists pay AED 6.30 or AED 4.20 per gate as of 15 November 2026 ^[1][2][3]. Between 1am and 6am every day, crossings are free ^[1].

Salik is Dubai's automatic road toll system. There are no booths or barriers: a tag on the windscreen is read as the car passes under a gate, and the toll is deducted from a prepaid balance ^[1]. The Dubai government portal describes the rule simply: all vehicles, including taxis, pay a variable fee based on the time of day when they pass a toll gate ^[1].

The variable system replaced a flat AED 4 fee on 31 January 2025 ^[5]. Before that change every crossing cost the same; since then the morning and evening rush hours cost 50% more than the rest of the day (our calculation from AED 4 to AED 6) ^[3][5]. The VAT step followed on 1 June 2026, when Salik began adding 5% to toll tariffs and tag activation fees and remitting it to the Federal Tax Authority ^[2].

Each gate is charged separately, so a route that passes two gates at peak time costs AED 12.60 including VAT (our arithmetic) ^[1][2]. The table below shows the full weekly schedule.

What are Salik peak hours?

Salik peak hours are 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm from Monday to Saturday ^[1]. Low-peak hours are 10am to 4pm and 8pm to 1am, and the off-peak, free window runs from 1am to 6am ^[5].

Sunday is different. On a normal Sunday there is no separate peak: motorists pay a flat AED 4 per crossing, or AED 4.20 with VAT, except during the free early-morning hours ^[1][5]. That Sunday rule does not apply on event days, when Salik announces a special schedule shortly before the date ^[5][7].

What decides the cost of a crossing is the time of day at which the car passes the gate ^[1]. A trip that starts at 9:50am and crosses a second gate at 10:05am is charged AED 6 at the first gate and AED 4 at the second, before VAT (our example based on the published bands) ^[1].

Why are Salik rates different on 15 November 2026?

Because Dubai hosts the T100 Triathlon, Salik applies a variable schedule on Sunday 15 November 2026 instead of the usual flat Sunday rate ^[5][6]. Salik announced the revised rates in a post on its official Instagram account, according to Gulf News ^[5].

For that day, crossings from 6am to 10am cost AED 6, the evening window from 4pm to 8pm costs AED 4, low-peak hours from 10am to 4pm and 8pm to 1am cost AED 4, and crossings from 1am to 6am stay free ^[5]. VAT of 5% applies to all of them, so the morning peak works out at AED 6.30 ^[5]. Khaleej Times reports that the triathlon runs from 13 to 15 November and that Salik revises its rates for the event every year ^[6]. Its text describes both the 6am to 10am and the 4pm to 8pm windows as AED 6, which differs from the Gulf News schedule above, so check Salik's own announcement before an evening trip ^[5][6].

The same pattern was used two weeks earlier. For the Dubai Ride cycling event on Sunday 1 November 2026, when Sheikh Zayed Road was closed to regular traffic, Salik charged AED 6 only between 6am and 10am and kept the evening peak at AED 4 ^[7]. Dubai Ride was part of the opening weekend of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, which runs until 29 November and coincides with the triathlon ^[6][7].

What are Salik timings in Ramadan?

Salik uses a separate Ramadan schedule; in 2026 the peak rate applied from 9am to 5pm and crossings were free from 2am to 7am ^[4]. Khaleej Times reported the revised fees on 16 February 2026 ^[4].

From Monday to Saturday during Ramadan 2026, the AED 6 peak rate ran from 9am to 5pm, the AED 4 low-peak rate from 7am to 9am and from 5pm to 2am, and the off-peak rate of AED 0 from 2am to 7am ^[4]. On Sundays the 9am to 5pm window cost AED 4, the same as low-peak, and the free window stayed at 2am to 7am ^[4]. Khaleej Times linked the change to revised office and school timings across the city ^[4].

Those 2026 figures were published before VAT was added on 1 June 2026 ^[2][4]. If the same structure is used in the next Ramadan, the amounts would carry 5% VAT on top, but Salik announces each Ramadan schedule separately, so the 2026 hours are history, not a forecast ^[2][4].

Does VAT apply to Salik now?

Yes: since 1 June 2026, Salik adds 5% VAT to toll tariffs and the tag activation fee ^[2]. Salik said the VAT is remitted to the Federal Tax Authority and that the underlying tariff structure remains unchanged, with VAT treated as a pass-through item ^[2].

In practice, a AED 6 crossing became AED 6.30 and a AED 4 crossing became AED 4.20 ^[3]. Parkin, the operator set up in January 2024 to manage Dubai's paid parking, applied 5% VAT to its parking services from the same date, so a AED 4 parking fee became AED 4.20 ^[3]. Salik also said that VAT for the earlier period from 1 July 2022 to 31 May 2026 would be fully compensated by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), with no financial impact on the company ^[2].

For a motorist the change is small per crossing but adds up. Someone who passes one gate at peak time twice a day pays AED 0.60 a day more than before June, or AED 13.20 over 22 working days (our arithmetic) ^[2][3]. The cost table below shows typical monthly totals.

How do I get a Salik tag and avoid fines?

Buy a Salik tag before using toll roads, fix it to the windscreen and keep enough balance; missing a top-up or driving without a tag leads to fines after a grace period ^[1][8]. Tags are sold online and at petrol stations, and the balance is recharged as needed ^[1].

1. Buy a tag: The National reported in May 2026 that a tag cost AED 100 in person and AED 120 online ^[3].
2. Fix it to the front windscreen of the vehicle; tolls are then deducted automatically at each gate ^[1].
3. Keep the registered mobile number up to date, because low-balance warnings go by SMS to that number ^[8].
4. If your balance runs short, recharge within 5 working days of the trip; otherwise an AED 50 fine is issued, limited to one per vehicle per day ^[8].
5. If you drove through a gate without a registered tag, you have 10 working days from the first trip to buy, activate and fit one; after that the fines are AED 100, then AED 200, then AED 400 for each further offence, again one per vehicle per day ^[8].

Pay only through official channels such as the RTA Dubai app, the Dubai Police app or Salik's own website, which Gulf News lists as the places to check and pay Salik fines ^[8]. Messages that demand an urgent toll payment through a link deserve suspicion; the Pouyam guide What Is Phishing? How to Recognise Fake Emails, Texts and QR Codes explains how such texts work.

Where are the Salik gates in Dubai?

Salik operates ten gates across Dubai, including on Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road ^[3]. The system started in 2007 with gates at Al Garhoud and Al Barsha; Al Safa and Al Maktoum Bridge followed a year later ^[3].

Three more gates opened in 2013, at the Airport Tunnel and at Al Mamzar South and North, and the Jebel Ali gate was added in 2018 ^[3]. In November 2024 two more gates went live: Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road and Al Safa South on Sheikh Zayed Road ^[3]. That makes ten gates, which matches the count in The National's history of the network (our count from its list) ^[3].

Traffic data show how heavily the network is used. Salik reported about 197 million trips by registered vehicles in the first quarter of 2026, down 6.4% from about 210 million a year earlier, which The National reported Salik attributed to the Iran war ^[3]. Khaleej Times reported the same 197.2 million figure from Salik's results ^[2].

Will Salik rates change again?

The sources used here report no new standard tariff as of 15 November 2026; the next changes to watch are event days and the Ramadan schedule ^[5][7]. Salik has so far adjusted rates for specific Sundays tied to events, such as Dubai Ride on 1 November and the T100 Triathlon on 15 November ^[5][7].

The Dubai Fitness Challenge continues until 29 November, so further event-day schedules are possible; Salik has so far published them a day or two before the date ^[5][7]. For anything beyond that, the official Dubai portal notes only that Ramadan peak hours are "changeable" ^[1].

This guide covers Dubai's Salik only, and every figure here is dated: check the operator's own announcement before a long trip on a holiday or event day ^[1][5].