UAE corporate tax registration and filing deadlines explained
Most companies now reading this are past the registration stage and into the filing cycle. For a company with a calendar-year financial year, the return and any tax due for the 2025 period fell due on 30 September 2026, nine months after year-end, and the Federal Tax Authority confirmed that date publicly. If yours has a different year-end, the table below gives your own date. The registration wave of 2024, when the FTA staggered deadlines by licence month, is now background, though it explains why some older companies carry a late-registration penalty.
Who needs to register for UAE corporate tax?
UAE corporate tax, which came into force for financial years beginning on or after 1 June 2023, applies to juridical persons, companies and other legal entities incorporated or effectively managed in the UAE. That covers mainland LLCs and branches, freezone companies across all of Dubai’s freezones (DMCC, IFZA, Meydan and others), Abu Dhabi entities including ADGM companies, and RAK/RAKEZ, Sharjah (SHAMS) and other emirate-level freezones.
Natural persons carrying on business above the relevant threshold are also within scope. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) is the registering and administering body.
Registration is not optional and it is not deferred until profit arises. The obligation exists from the moment an entity falls within the law’s scope.
What are the key deadlines?
The UAE corporate tax calendar is anchored to the company’s own financial year, not a fixed national date. That means deadlines vary by entity.
| Financial year end | Tax return and payment deadline |
|---|---|
| 31 December | 30 September (following year) |
| 31 March | 31 December (same calendar year) |
| 30 June | 31 March (following year) |
| 31 May | 28 February (following year) |
The rule in all cases: nine months from the end of the tax period. Registration has its own, earlier deadline: under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, a company incorporated on or after 1 March 2024 must register within three months of incorporation, and missing it carries a fixed AED 10,000 penalty (as at October 2026).
When does the first tax period begin?
For most UAE companies, the first tax period began on the first day of the financial year that started on or after 1 June 2023. A company with a 1 January 2024 year-start had its first tax period run 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, with the return due by 30 September 2025. Its registration deadline came earlier, in 2024, set by the month its licence was issued.
Newly incorporated companies start their first tax period on the date of incorporation.
What is the corporate tax rate?
The headline rate is 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000. Income at or below AED 375,000 is taxed at 0%. There is no personal income tax in the UAE; the 9% applies at the company level only.
Qualifying freezone persons (QFZPs) may be eligible for a 0% rate on qualifying income, but must still register, file a return and demonstrate compliance with the substance and income-channel conditions each year. The 9% rate applies automatically to any non-qualifying income.
What does a corporate tax return require?
The return is filed through the FTA’s EmaraTax portal. It draws on the company’s audited or certified financial statements, applies the relevant adjustments under UAE CT law, transfer pricing, related-party transactions, exempt income, small business relief elections, and arrives at taxable income.
Companies with related-party transactions above the materiality thresholds are required to submit a transfer pricing disclosure form alongside the return. Larger groups face additional master file and local file documentation obligations.
What about small businesses?
Small Business Relief allows resident entities with revenue of AED 3 million or less in the tax period and every previous one to elect to be treated as having nil taxable income. The relief was originally available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026, announced in August 2026, extends it to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. The AED 3 million threshold is unchanged, and Qualifying Free Zone Persons and members of large multinational groups remain outside it. It is an election, not an automatic exemption, the return must still be filed.
What records must be kept?
Companies must retain financial statements, supporting documents and any election or disclosure records for a minimum of seven years from the end of the relevant tax period. The FTA has audit and inspection powers, and the record-keeping requirement applies regardless of whether any tax was ultimately due.
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Questions people ask
When does a UAE company need to register for corporate tax?
All UAE juridical persons, including freezone entities, must register with the Federal Tax Authority for corporate tax. Under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, a company incorporated on or after 1 March 2024 must register within three months of incorporation. Companies incorporated before then had deadlines during 2024 set by their licence month. Late registration carries a fixed AED 10,000 penalty.
What is the UAE corporate tax filing deadline?
The tax return must be filed, and any tax due paid, within nine months of the end of the company's financial year. For a company with a 31 December year-end, that means a 30 September deadline. For a 31 March year-end, the deadline falls on 31 December.
Do freezone companies need to file a UAE corporate tax return?
Yes. All freezone entities must register and file a return regardless of whether they qualify for the 0% qualifying freezone person regime. The return is the mechanism by which a freezone company demonstrates it meets, or does not meet, the qualifying conditions.
What happens if a UAE company misses its corporate tax filing deadline?
The FTA issues administrative penalties for late registration, late filing and late payment. Penalties are set by Cabinet Decision and can accumulate over time. Filing late is treated separately from paying late, so both obligations need to be tracked independently.
Does a dormant or newly formed UAE company still need to register for corporate tax?
Yes. A dormant company with no revenue, and a newly incorporated company that has not yet traded, are still juridical persons subject to UAE corporate tax law and must register. The return will reflect nil or minimal taxable income, but the obligation to register and file exists from the date of incorporation.