Two separate penalties
The first is the late registration penalty: a fixed AED 10,000 for failing to register for corporate tax on time. It applies to free zone companies, to companies that will pay 0%, and to companies that made a loss. Registration is a duty on its own, separate from how much tax is due.
The second is the late filing penalty, which grows every month a return stays outstanding: AED 500 a month for the first twelve months, then AED 1,000 a month. A return filed two years late carries roughly AED 18,000 in filing penalties, before any late payment charge and before the registration fine if that was missed too.
When your return is due
The return and the payment are due within nine months of the end of your financial year. A 31 December 2025 year end means 30 September 2026. A 31 March year end means 31 December. There is no general extension, so the date you calculate is the date that counts.
| Year end | Return and payment due |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | 30 September 2026 |
| 31 March 2026 | 31 December 2026 |
| 30 June 2026 | 31 March 2027 |
The two groups most often caught
Free zone companies that assume 0% means nothing to do. The 0% rate is claimed on the return, so the company must register and file every year, and a qualifying free zone person must also keep audited financial statements to keep the rate.
Small businesses on small business relief. Relief takes the tax to nil for revenue up to AED 3 million, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. The company is still a taxable person and still files a return each year.
If a deadline has already passed
The penalties do not go away on their own, and the filing penalty keeps growing. The right move is to register or file now, then deal with the penalty. The Federal Tax Authority has run waiver programs for late registrants who filed their first return within seven months of the end of their first tax period. Whether a waiver applies to your case depends on your dates, so ask before you assume.
Four things that keep you clear
- Confirm the company is registered on EmaraTax and note the registration number.
- Work out the exact filing date from your year end and calendar it with a 60-day warning.
- Finish the accounts early. The return is built on the financial statements, and audited ones where required.
- Have a registered Tax Agent file it, so the numbers on the return agree with the accounts and with the VAT returns already filed.