Federal Tax Authority rules · updated for 2026
Free calculator built on the FTA rules — 0% up to AED 375,000, 9% above it, with Small Business Relief and Free Zone treatment included. No signup, no spreadsheet.
Accounting net profit after adjustments — your best estimate is fine.
Corporate tax due
11,250 AED
Deadline finder
Corporate tax returns are due within 9 months of your financial year end. Pick yours — we'll do the calendar math.
File and pay by
30 September 2027
The rules, in plain language
UAE corporate tax applies to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. Almost every calculation comes down to these bands.
0%
The first AED 375,000 of taxable income is always taxed at zero — for every mainland business, every year.
9%
Everything above the threshold is taxed at 9% — one of the lowest headline rates in the world.
AED 3M
Revenue AED 3M or less? Elect relief on your return and pay nothing for that period — extended to end of 2029.
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0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it. Qualifying Free Zone Persons pay 0% on qualifying income and 9% on non-qualifying income — the AED 375,000 band doesn't apply to them.
Resident businesses with revenue of AED 3M or less in the current and all previous tax periods can elect the relief on their return, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 — extended three years by Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026. Once elected, you're treated as having no taxable income for that period.
Only on non-qualifying income. Meeting the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions — adequate substance, qualifying activities, transfer pricing compliance — keeps qualifying income at 0%.
Only if annual turnover from licensed business activity exceeds AED 1M. Salaries, personal investments and personal real estate income are outside corporate tax entirely.
Every taxable person must register with the FTA. Returns are due within 9 months of your financial year end — and registering late costs AED 10,000, so register early even if you'll owe nothing.
Yes. Registration applies to every taxable person, including free zone companies and businesses claiming Small Business Relief or sitting under the AED 375,000 band. Late registration is a fixed AED 10,000 penalty regardless of profit.
Nine months after the end of your financial year. A year ending 31 December 2025 is due by 30 September 2026. Filing and payment share the same deadline.
No. You must qualify as a Qualifying Free Zone Person, which requires adequate substance, qualifying income, transfer pricing compliance and audited accounts. Non-qualifying revenue has to stay under the lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of total revenue.
You lose Qualifying Free Zone Person status for that tax period and the four tax periods that follow, and the AED 375,000 zero band is not available to you in the meantime.
Yes, with no time limit, but a carried-forward loss can only offset up to 75% of taxable income in any later year, and ownership continuity conditions apply.
Rarely exactly. Start from net accounting profit, then add back non-deductible items such as fines and half of entertainment costs, remove exempt dividends, and apply the interest cap of 30% of EBITDA if it is relevant to your size.
Seven years after the end of the tax period. Larger businesses and groups with related-party transactions also need transfer pricing documentation.
Laws, rules & what's next
From VAT in 2018 to e-invoicing in 2027 — every law and deadline that shaped, or will shape, what you pay.
1 June 2023
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 applies to financial years starting on or after this date.
1 January 2025
Groups with global revenue over €750M now pay an effective 15% (OECD Pillar Two). SMEs unaffected.
31 December 2029
Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extended the zero-tax election by three years — see the SBR guide.
Worked examples
| Business | Revenue | Profit | Corporate tax | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbourhood café | AED 900K | AED 180K | AED 0 | Profit under AED 375K — 0% band |
| Marketing agency | AED 2.4M | AED 650K | AED 0 | Elects Small Business Relief (revenue ≤ 3M) |
| Trading company | AED 8M | AED 1.2M | AED 74,250 | (1.2M − 375K) × 9% |
| Free zone consultancy, 70% mainland clients | AED 5M | AED 1M | AED 63,000 | QFZP: 9% on the AED 700K non-qualifying share |
Run your own numbers in the calculator above — these examples assume no other adjustments.
Before the rate
The 9% applies to taxable income, and that number starts as your accounting profit and then moves. Most first returns are wrong here rather than on the rate itself.
You begin with net profit from financial statements prepared under IFRS, then adjust:
For a small business with clean books and no unusual items, accounting profit is a close proxy. For anything with related-party transactions, borrowings or foreign income, it is not, and the gap is where the assessments happen.
Free zones
A free zone licence does not give you 0%. You have to be a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and that is a test you can fail in a year you thought was fine.
The conditions, in plain terms:
The de minimis rule is where most people trip. Non-qualifying revenue must not exceed the lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of total revenue. Whichever is smaller is your ceiling, so once total revenue passes AED 100 million the 5% stops being the binding number and the AED 5 million cap takes over.
Two consequences worth understanding before you plan around this. Qualifying income is taxed at 0% and everything else at 9%, and the AED 375,000 zero band does not apply to a Qualifying Free Zone Person at all. If you breach the conditions, you lose the status for that tax period and the four that follow.
The practical test is not which zone you picked. It is who your customers are. A free zone company invoicing mainland clients is usually generating non-qualifying income, whatever the zone's sales material implies.
Deadlines
Registration is separate from paying. Every taxable person registers, including free zone companies and including businesses that will owe nothing because of the zero band or Small Business Relief. Expecting a zero bill is not a reason to skip it.
Late registration is AED 10,000, fixed. It does not scale with your profit, which means it is the single worst value penalty in the system for a small business.
The return is due nine months after your financial year ends. A year ending 31 December 2025 is due by 30 September 2026. Filing and payment fall on the same date.
Filing is mandatory even in a loss year, even at zero profit, and even when you elect Small Business Relief. The relief removes the tax, not the return.
Keep records for seven years after the end of the tax period. Transfer pricing documentation is an additional requirement for larger businesses and for groups with related-party dealings.
Beyond year one
Losses carry forward without a time limit, but they can only offset up to 75% of taxable income in any later year, and ownership continuity conditions apply. A loss-making first year is therefore worth recording properly rather than ignoring.
Groups can file as one taxable person. A UAE parent holding at least 95% of the share capital and voting rights of its subsidiaries can apply to form a tax group and submit a single return. That lets profits and losses inside the group offset each other.
Dividends are generally not taxed. Domestic dividends are exempt, and foreign dividends are exempt under the participation exemption where the holding is at least 5% and the other conditions are met.