UAE Corporate Tax Services in Dubai

Corporate Tax has applied in the UAE to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. Every company, branch and most sole establishments must now register with the Federal Tax Authority, keep proper accounts, and file an annual Corporate Tax return, whether or not any tax is payable. Dawn Consultancy’s tax team handles registration, return preparation, free zone qualification, transfer pricing documentation and FTA correspondence for mainland, free zone and offshore entities, alongside the audits many of those entities already need.

How UAE Corporate Tax works

• Rate: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on the amount above it. Large multinational groups with global revenue of EUR 750 million or more are subject to a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax from financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025.
• Who is in scope: UAE-incorporated companies, foreign companies effectively managed in the UAE, UAE branches of foreign companies, and natural persons conducting business in the UAE with turnover above AED 1 million a year. Free zone companies are in scope but may qualify for a 0% rate on qualifying income.
• Tax period: the company’s financial year. The return and any payment are due within nine months after the end of the tax period.
• Accounting basis: taxable income starts from accounting profit under IFRS (or IFRS for SMEs where eligible), adjusted for exempt income, disallowed expenses and reliefs. Audited financial statements are mandatory for Qualifying Free Zone Persons and for any taxable person with revenue above AED 50 million.
• Small Business Relief: resident businesses with revenue of AED 3 million or less in the current and all previous tax periods can elect to be treated as having no taxable income, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. A return must still be filed.

Our Corporate Tax services

• Corporate Tax registration on EmaraTax, including late-registration penalty reconsideration requests
• Corporate Tax return preparation and filing, with tax computation, disclosure schedules and payment scheduling
• Qualifying Free Zone Person assessment: qualifying income, de minimis test, substance and the audited financial statements condition
• Transfer pricing: related-party disclosure, local file and master file, benchmarking
• Tax group formation, restructuring relief and business restructuring reviews
• Exempt-person applications for qualifying investment funds, public benefit entities and government-related entities
• Deregistration on liquidation or cessation, with final return
• FTA audit support, voluntary disclosures and penalty waiver applications
• Tax residency certificates for treaty relief

Deadlines and penalties to know

• Registration deadlines are fixed by the month in which the trade licence was first issued; missing the deadline carries a fixed penalty of AED 10,000.
• The return is due nine months after the year end. For a 31 December year end, the return and payment are due by 30 September of the following year.
• Late filing penalties start at AED 500 per month for the first twelve months and rise thereafter; late payment attracts a monthly percentage penalty on the unpaid tax.
• Records must be kept for seven years after the end of the tax period.

Corporate Tax and your audit

Because taxable income is derived from the financial statements, the audit and the tax return are best prepared by the same team. Our auditors flag related-party transactions, non-deductible expenses, interest limitation exposure and free zone qualifying-income issues during the audit, so the return is not a separate exercise months later. For companies we audit, the Corporate Tax return is prepared from the audited numbers as a single engagement.

Note on Economic Substance Regulations

The Economic Substance Regulations (ESR) were repealed for financial years ending after 31 December 2022, and the FTA has confirmed that ESR notifications and reports are no longer required for later periods. Substance requirements now arise instead through the Corporate Tax rules for Qualifying Free Zone Persons and through anti-avoidance provisions. If you were still filing ESR reports, we can confirm what, if anything, remains outstanding.

Frequently asked questions

My company makes a loss. Do I still need to register and file?
Yes. Registration and annual filing are mandatory for every taxable person regardless of profit. Tax losses can be carried forward and set against up to 75% of taxable income in later years, but only if returns are filed.

Is a free zone company automatically exempt?
No. A free zone company pays 0% only if it meets all the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions in each tax period, including audited financial statements and the de minimis test on non-qualifying income. Otherwise it pays 9% like a mainland company.

Do I need audited accounts to file a Corporate Tax return?
Audited financial statements are required if revenue exceeds AED 50 million or if the company claims Qualifying Free Zone Person status. Other companies must still keep proper financial statements prepared under IFRS.

Are salaries paid to owners deductible?
Salaries and other payments to owners and related parties are deductible only to the extent they are at arm’s length and incurred wholly for the business. Excess amounts are added back.

What is the penalty for not registering?
AED 10,000 for late registration, in addition to penalties for any returns that are then filed late.

Get started

Send your trade licence and latest financial statements to info@dawnconsultancy.com, call +971 55 441 1036, or request a call back. We will confirm your registration deadline, tax period and whether any relief or free zone treatment applies.