Every law, every deadline · updated 6 August 2026
The UAE tax timeline, start to finish
From VAT's introduction to the corporate tax era to what's still coming — the gold markers below are deadlines that haven't happened yet.
1 January 2018
VAT introduced
The UAE's first federal tax: 5% VAT, mandatory registration above AED 375,000 in taxable supplies.
9 December 2022
Corporate Tax law issued
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 published — 0% up to AED 375,000, 9% above, effective for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023.
1 June 2023
Corporate tax takes effect
Businesses with financial years starting on or after this date become subject to corporate tax.
3 May 2023
Small Business Relief announced
Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023: revenue ≤ AED 3M can elect zero taxable income — originally for periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, extended to 31 December 2029 by Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026.
2024
First corporate tax returns due
Businesses with a June 2023–May 2024 first tax period file (and pay) their first-ever UAE corporate tax return.
1 January 2025
15% Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax begins
Multinational groups with global revenue over €750M now pay an effective 15% in the UAE (OECD Pillar Two). SMEs unaffected.
April 2025 – 31 July 2026
Late-registration penalty waiver window
Businesses filing their first return within 7 months of period-end had the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty cancelled or refunded. Window has now closed.
July 2026
E-invoicing pilot phase opens
Voluntary pilot begins for the national e-invoicing system ahead of mandatory rollout.
30 October 2026
E-invoicing provider deadline (AED 50M+)
Businesses with revenue ≥ AED 50M must appoint an accredited service provider by this date (extended from 31 July 2026). Check your exact deadline.
1 January 2027
E-invoicing goes live — large businesses
AED 50M+ businesses must issue e-invoices for B2B/B2G transactions from this date.
31 March 2027
E-invoicing provider deadline (all other businesses)
Every remaining business must appoint an accredited provider by this date.
1 July 2027
E-invoicing goes live — everyone else
Mandatory e-invoicing extends to all remaining UAE businesses conducting B2B/B2G transactions.
31 December 2029
Small Business Relief ends (extended from 2026)
Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 (7 August 2026) extended the zero-tax SBR election by three years. From 2030, the standard 0%/9% bands apply to everyone.
Stay current
This timeline gets updated as things change
Bookmark this page or the Updates feed — both are refreshed whenever the FTA or Ministry of Finance announce something that affects the dates above.
Working the calendar
Building your own compliance year
Nearly every penalty in the UAE system is a missed date rather than a disagreement about tax. The fix is unglamorous: put the dates in a calendar once, with reminders early enough to act.
Anchor everything to your financial year end
Corporate tax deadlines are relative, not fixed. The return and payment fall nine months after your financial year end, so a 31 December year end means 30 September, while a 30 June year end means 31 March. Nothing about the calendar year matters here, which is why generic advice about September deadlines misleads businesses on a different cycle.
A workable set of reminders
| Year end minus 1 month | Confirm your position on Small Business Relief and, if you are in a free zone, check where non-qualifying revenue sits against the de minimis limit. After year end it is too late to act on either. |
|---|---|
| Year end | Close the books. Start the audit if you need one, which you do if you are claiming QFZP status. |
| Year end plus 6 months | Draft the return. This leaves three months to resolve anything unexpected rather than discovering it in the final week. |
| Year end plus 9 months | File and pay. Both, not one of them. |
| 28 days after each VAT period | VAT return and payment. |
The one-off dates that are coming
E-invoicing has two waves. Businesses at or above AED 50,000,000 of revenue appoint an accredited service provider by 30 October 2026 and issue e-invoices from 1 January 2027. Everyone else appoints by 31 March 2027 and goes live on 1 July 2027. Both dates need lead time, because the real work is cleaning customer data rather than installing software.
Non-tax obligations that share the calendar
Ultimate beneficial ownership records, trade licence renewal, establishment card renewal, employee visa and Emirates ID expiry, and anti-money-laundering registration for designated businesses all run on their own cycles. They are not FTA matters, but they generate their own penalties and they tend to be forgotten precisely because they sit outside the tax calendar. See the UBO guide and the compliance guide.
Common questions
When is my UAE corporate tax return due?
Nine months after your financial year end. A 31 December year end means 30 September, and a 30 June year end means 31 March. The deadline is relative to your own year end, not to the calendar year.
When are VAT returns due?
Within 28 days of the end of each tax period, which is quarterly for most businesses and monthly for larger ones.
What are the e-invoicing deadlines?
Businesses with revenue of AED 50,000,000 or more appoint an accredited service provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027. All others appoint by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027.
General information about UAE rules, not tax or legal advice. Verify anything that affects a decision with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser. About · Contact · Terms · Privacy