Since June 2023 every company in the UAE, including free zone entities and small businesses, must register for corporate tax with the Federal Tax Authority. Registration is separate from filing, and both carry deadlines and penalties.
Register first
New companies must register within three months of incorporation. Registration is done through the EmaraTax portal and requires the trade licence, passport and Emirates ID of the authorised signatory and the memorandum of association.
Then file, nine months after year end
The corporate tax return is due nine months after the end of the financial year. A company with a December year end files by 30 September of the following year. The first return covers the first financial year that starts on or after 1 June 2023.
Small business relief
Companies with revenue under AED 3 million in the tax period and in every previous period may elect small business relief, which treats them as having no taxable income. The election is made in the return, and records must still be kept.
Free zone companies
A qualifying free zone person pays 0% on qualifying income and 9% on other income. The test looks at substance in the zone, the type of income and transactions with mainland customers. It is worth an assessment before you assume the 0% rate applies.
