The short answer
Check your legal form, tax period and registration position first. A small profit or a free-zone licence does not automatically remove filing obligations. The ordinary corporate-tax calculation uses taxable income; Small Business Relief uses revenue. They are different tests.
The rate
For an ordinary taxable person under the standard regime, the first AED 375,000 of taxable income is taxed at 0%; the excess is taxed at 9%. Taxable income is not turnover or the bank balance: it starts with accounting profit or loss and the applicable tax adjustments. Qualifying Free Zone Persons have separate income rules.
A simple calculation: if taxable income is AED 500,000, with no applicable relief or other adjustment, standard corporate tax is (500,000 − 375,000) × 9% = AED 11,250. This calculation does not establish your own taxable income or eligibility.
Large multinational groups have a separate domestic minimum top-up tax regime aimed at a 15% minimum effective tax rate. Its scope includes UAE constituent entities of groups meeting the €750 million consolidated global revenue test in at least two of the preceding four financial years. It applies for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025, not as a blanket 15% tax on every UAE company.
Who must register
For a UAE-incorporated resident juridical person established on or after 1 March 2024, the normal registration deadline is three months from incorporation, establishment or recognition. Earlier companies, foreign entities managed in the UAE and non-residents have different timelines. Check the applicable category rather than applying one deadline to everyone.
For resident individuals conducting UAE business, the business-turnover test is more than AED 1 million in a calendar year; registration is due by 31 March of the following year. Wages, personal investment income and qualifying real-estate investment income are excluded from business activities under these rules. Non-resident individuals need a separate permanent-establishment and deadline assessment.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Company or individual? | Do not apply the individual AED 1 million business-turnover test to a company. |
| Revenue or taxable income? | The AED 3 million relief test and AED 375,000 standard-rate band measure different things. |
| Registration or return? | Registering does not file the annual return; keep separate deadlines. |
| Free-zone address or qualifying status? | A location alone does not establish the 0% qualifying-income treatment. |
When the return is due
The normal return and payment deadline is nine months after the end of the tax period. For a tax period ending 31 December 2025, that was 30 September 2026. Check your actual period in EmaraTax; a new company's first period is not necessarily a January-to-December year. If the date has passed, identify the missing filing and payment steps promptly rather than waiting for next year.
- 31 December year-end → 30 September
- 31 March year-end → 31 December
- 30 June year-end → 31 March
Small Business Relief
Eligible resident persons whose revenue does not exceed AED 3 million in the current and every previous relevant tax period can elect for Small Business Relief. The extension covers tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, subject to the conditions. Registration and a return are still required to claim it. Qualifying Free Zone Persons and specified large multinational-group members are excluded.
Free zone companies
A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income and 9% on taxable income outside that definition. Conditions include substance, audited financial statements and the relevant income and compliance tests. Failure can remove qualifying status for the period concerned and the next four tax periods. Assess the actual activities and transactions before assuming a free-zone licence means no tax.
What to do now
- Check you are registered and know your first tax period
- Make sure your books are complete — the return starts from your financial statements
- Assess relief and free-zone conditions early; make any applicable election in the return
- Put the filing deadline in your calendar with a month to spare
Corporate-tax support and published fees Small Business Relief eligibility checklist Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions Organise incomplete accounting records
