Corporate tax
UAE corporate tax registration and returns, handled by a Tax Agent the FTA knows by number.
UAE corporate tax applies to financial years starting from 1 June 2023. Our Tax Agent, TAAN 20024196, files your return under a registered agent's name.
The four duties
Every company in the UAE has to do four things. Only the amount changes.
Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022 does not exempt small companies from the process. A company with no taxable income still registers, still keeps records and still files. What the 0% band and small business relief change is the amount at the end.
- Register. Every taxable person registers with the Federal Tax Authority and receives a tax registration number, including companies with no profit and free zone companies on 0%. Natural persons with business revenue over AED 1 million a year are in scope too. Registering late costs AED 10,000.
- Keep records. Financial statements and the documents behind them, kept so that the FTA can check the return. Above AED 50 million of revenue and for qualifying free zone persons, the statements must be audited. A tax group prepares audited special purpose statements in the form the Authority specifies.
- File within 9 months. One return per tax period, due 9 months after the period ends. A 31 December 2025 year end files by 30 September 2026. The transfer pricing disclosure form is part of the same return.
- Pay. The tax is due on the same 9-month date as the return. There is no separate payment deadline to fall back on.
Rates and thresholds
What is taxed, and at what rate.
| Band | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable income up to AED 375,000 | 0% | The first AED 375,000 of every taxable person's income |
| Taxable income above AED 375,000 | 9% | On the amount above the line, not on the whole |
| Small business relief | 0% | Revenue up to AED 3 million. Elected on the return. Available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 |
| Qualifying free zone person | 0% | On qualifying income only. Non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%. Audited financial statements are a condition of the status |
Small business relief now runs to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, after the Ministry of Finance extended it in August 2026. A December year end company with revenue of AED 3 million or less can elect it for each year up to and including 2029. Once revenue passes AED 3 million in any period, the relief is gone for every later one.
Penalties
What it costs to be late.
| Failure | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Late registration | AED 10,000 |
| Late return, each of the first 12 months | AED 500 a month |
| Late return, from the 13th month | AED 1,000 a month |
The return penalty runs whether or not any tax is due. A company on 0% that files nothing for a year owes AED 6,000 in penalties on a tax bill of nothing.
The year of deadlines
One corporate tax date a year, and the others around it.
For a December year end company, the corporate tax return and payment land on 30 September. The VAT returns fall on the 28th of the month after each quarter. Where a free zone asks for audited accounts, some zones want them within six months of the year end and others at license renewal, and where the law requires an audit the audited statements go in with the return, so a late audit makes a late return. An American owner's Form 1040 is due on 15 April, moved automatically to 15 June for anyone living abroad on that date, with any tax owed still due on 15 April.
Transfer pricing
In plain English: charge your own companies what you would charge a stranger.
Articles 34 to 36 of Decree-Law 47 of 2022 say that any deal between related parties must be priced as if the two sides were unrelated. Above AED 40 million of related party dealings the return carries a disclosure schedule, and at AED 200 million of revenue, or inside a group with AED 3.15 billion, a local file and a master file are required. The rule itself applies below every one of those lines.
Questions
What owners ask us about corporate tax.
- 01
We made a loss. Do we still have to register and file?
Yes. Registration and the annual return are required for every taxable person regardless of the result. A loss year filed on time is also the record the FTA will look at when later years are checked.
- 02
Our revenue is under AED 3 million. Do we pay anything?
If you elect small business relief on the return, no tax is due for that period, and the election is available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. You still register, keep records and file. From the first period ending after that date the normal rates apply: 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above.
- 03
We are in a free zone. Are we automatically at 0%?
No. The 0% rate applies to a qualifying free zone person on qualifying income, and the status has conditions, including audited financial statements every year. Income that does not qualify is taxed at 9%. Send us your license and your main sources of revenue and we will tell you where you stand.
- 04
What is a Tax Agent, and why does it matter?
A Tax Agent is registered with the Federal Tax Authority and can file and correspond with the FTA on your behalf. Our Tax Agent holds TAAN 20024196, which you can check on the FTA's public register. Any firm can help you fill in a form. A Tax Agent is accountable to the FTA for what is filed.
- 05
What does the return cost?
A fixed fee, quoted within one business day of seeing your license and last year's accounts, before any work starts.
Related
What usually comes with it.
Transfer pricing
The related party schedules that go in with the return
ServiceExternal audit
Audited statements for the return and the license
ServiceVAT and excise tax
The other filing your Tax Agent handles
ServiceBookkeeping and CFO support
The ledger the return is built from
ServiceFTA penalties, disclosure and reconsideration
When a return or a registration is already late
ServiceTax Residency Certificate
The certificate a treaty position rests on
Contact us