Corporate Tax in the UAE, Explained for Owners

The UAE has a federal corporate tax. It has a published law and published rates, and it comes with registration and filing obligations that the Ministry of Finance states apply to "All Taxable Persons".

This article explains the regime in plain language, using the Ministry of Finance's and the Federal Tax Authority's own words. It is a map, not advice.

RINJAZ is not a licensed tax adviser. This article describes published requirements. Obtain advice from a licensed UAE tax adviser before acting.

The law and when it started

The Ministry of Finance names the law as "Federal Decree-Law No. (47) of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses". The UAE Government Portal states that "Corporate tax is governed by provisions of the Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and its amendments". The Ministry of Finance's consolidated text lists amending decree-laws issued in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

On timing, the UAE Government Portal states: "The Federal Decree-Law applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 June 2023."

Corporate tax registration is a Federal Tax Authority service, offered through its EmaraTax platform. The Authority's login page states: "FTA services are only available through UAEPass!" How UAE PASS works for a business is covered separately.

The rates

The UAE Government Portal states the rates, as published by the Ministry of Finance, as "0 per cent for taxable income up to AED 375,000" and "9 per cent for taxable income above AED 375,000".

The same page, last updated on 30 March 2026, refers to "a different tax rate (not yet specified) for large multinationals that meet specific criteria set with reference to 'Pillar two' of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project". Separately, the Ministry of Finance publishes a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax. It states that the tax "is applied to Constituent Entities that are members of Multinational Enterprises ("MNEs") operating in the UAE with annual global revenues of €750 million or more" in at least two of the four preceding financial years. It states that the tax was "effective across the UAE for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025". If your business belongs to a group of that size, this is a question for your tax adviser, not for this article.

Who is in scope

The Ministry of Finance states that, broadly, corporate tax applies to three groups of "Taxable Persons":

• "UAE companies and other juridical persons that are incorporated or effectively managed and controlled in the UAE"
• "Natural persons (individuals) who conduct a Business or Business Activity in the UAE"
• "Non-resident juridical persons (foreign legal entities) that have a Permanent Establishment in the UAE"

Individuals. The Federal Tax Authority states that a natural person is subject to corporate tax only if they conduct business or business activity in the UAE and their "Total Turnover derived from Business or Business Activities exceeds AED 1 million within the calendar year (Jan to Dec)".

Free Zone Persons are included in the registration statement. The Ministry of Finance states: "All Taxable Persons (including Free Zone Persons) will be required to register for Corporate Tax and obtain a Corporate Tax Registration Number." The next section covers what is published about the rate for free zone persons.

Free zone treatment, in principle

The Ministry of Finance states that "a Free Zone Person that meets the conditions to be considered a Qualifying Free Zone Person can benefit from a Corporate Tax rate of 0% on their Qualifying Income."

Separately, the UAE Government Portal states that the regime "will continue to honour the CT incentives currently being offered to free zone businesses that comply with all regulatory requirements and that do not conduct business set up in the UAE's mainland".

We are not going to summarise the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions into a rule of thumb, because a summary would leave out conditions that matter. The Federal Tax Authority publishes a dedicated guide, "Free Zone Persons", reference CTGFZP1, dated 20 May 2024 on the guides page. Your adviser will work from that guide and from the legislation. You should expect them to.

Choosing where to set up is covered in the emirate and free zone selection framework.

Exempt persons

The Ministry of Finance lists "Exempt Persons", and its page shows that the route to exemption differs by category. Government Entities, and Government Controlled Entities that are specified in a Cabinet Decision, are listed under "Automatically exempt". Extractive and non-extractive natural resource businesses are "Exempt if notified to the Ministry of Finance (Subject to meeting certain conditions)". Qualifying Public Benefit Entities are "Exempt if listed in a Cabinet Decision". Pension and social security funds, qualifying investment funds and certain wholly owned subsidiaries are "Exempt if applied to and approved by the Federal Tax Authority (Subject to meeting certain conditions)".

If you think one of these categories might apply to your business, that is an adviser's question.

Small Business Relief

The Ministry of Finance states that Small Business Relief "enables Taxable Persons with annual revenue not exceeding AED 3 million (the threshold) to benefit from simplified Corporate Tax compliance" requirements.

Its period has changed, and some official pages predate the change. The original decision applied the threshold to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. On 7 August 2026 the Ministry of Finance announced Ministerial Decision No. (131), which "extends the period during which Small Business Relief may be claimed to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029."

The Federal Tax Authority's topic page on the relief, updated before that announcement, states that it cannot be elected by "A Qualifying Free Zone Person" or by "A member of a multinational group with consolidated group revenue of more than AED 3.15 billion".

The Ministry of Finance's 2023 announcement of the relief describes it as something "taxable persons that are resident persons can claim" where their revenue "in the relevant tax period and previous tax periods is below AED3 million". Whether it is available to your business is a question for a licensed UAE tax adviser.

What being in scope means you have to do

These are the published obligations that follow once a business is a Taxable Person.

Register. The Federal Tax Authority states that juridical persons subject to corporate tax must register and obtain a Corporate Tax Registration Number "in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Tax Authority Decision No. (3) of 2024". The Authority's legislation page also lists "FTA Decision No. 12 of 2026 on Registration and Deregistration Timelines", issued on 16 July 2026. Your adviser should confirm which timeline applies to your business on the day you register.

Register on time. The Federal Tax Authority states: "an administrative penalty of AED 10,000 is imposed for late registration for Corporate Tax." The Ministry of Finance attributes this to Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024, which it states came into effect on 1 March 2024. The Authority also publishes a waiver initiative under which taxable persons can be exempted from that penalty, "provided that they submit their first Tax Return (or Annual Declaration for exempt persons, where applicable) within 7 months from the end of their first tax period".

File and pay. The Ministry of Finance states: "Taxable Persons are required to file a Corporate Tax return for each Tax Period within 9 months from the end of the relevant period. The same deadline would generally apply for the payment of any Corporate Tax due."

Keep records and, where relevant, transfer pricing documentation. The Ministry of Finance has issued Ministerial Decision No. 97 of 2023 on the requirements for maintaining transfer pricing documentation. Your adviser will tell you whether it applies and what your record-keeping obligations are.

The Ministry of Finance's registration and filing statements refer to Taxable Persons. Ask your adviser how they apply to your business.

Practical asset: the scope decision tree. Work through it with your adviser, not instead of one. Q1. Is the business a company or other juridical person incorporated or effectively managed and controlled in the UAE, including in a free zone? If yes, it is described by the Ministry of Finance as a Taxable Person: go to Q4. If no, go to Q2. Q2. Is it an individual conducting business in the UAE with turnover from that business above AED 1 million in a calendar year? If yes, go to Q4. If no, go to Q3. Q3. Is it a foreign entity with a permanent establishment in the UAE? If yes, go to Q4. If no, ask your adviser whether any other connection applies. Q4. Could it fall in an Exempt Person category? If possibly, ask your adviser about the route for that category. Q5. Is it a free zone business? If yes, ask your adviser to assess the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions against guide CTGFZP1. Q6. Is annual revenue at or below AED 3 million? If yes, ask your adviser about Small Business Relief. Where your adviser confirms the business is a Taxable Person, the published obligations are to register, file a return for each tax period, and keep records.

Practical asset: the obligations calendar. Build it from your own financial year. (1) The start date of your first tax period, as confirmed by your adviser. (2) Your registration deadline, taken from the FTA decision your adviser confirms applies. (3) Seven months after the end of your first tax period: the published date by which the first return must be filed to benefit from the late registration penalty waiver, if relevant. (4) Nine months after the end of each tax period: the published filing deadline, which the Ministry of Finance states would generally also apply to payment. Repeat (4) every year. Put the calendar next to your licence renewal date. Licence renewal has its own dependencies, and the two dates are easy to lose track of separately.

Four common assumptions, set against the published statements

These assumptions come up when owners first meet the regime. Each is set beside what the authority publishes. None of them is a view on your business.

"The UAE is tax-free, so this does not apply to me." The Ministry of Finance publishes a corporate tax with rates of 0 and 9 per cent, and states that "All Taxable Persons" will be required to register. Confirm your own position with a licensed UAE tax adviser.

"We are in a free zone, so we pay nothing and file nothing." The Ministry of Finance states that Free Zone Persons are included in the registration requirement, and that a Free Zone Person that meets the conditions to be considered a Qualifying Free Zone Person "can benefit from a Corporate Tax rate of 0% on their Qualifying Income". Confirm your own position with a licensed UAE tax adviser.

"We are small, so we do not need to register." The Ministry of Finance describes Small Business Relief as something "taxable persons that are resident persons can claim", and its registration statement refers to all Taxable Persons. Confirm your own position with a licensed UAE tax adviser.

"No tax is due, so no return is needed." The Ministry of Finance states that Taxable Persons "are required to file a Corporate Tax return for each Tax Period". Confirm your own position with a licensed UAE tax adviser.

VAT is a separate tax

Corporate tax is a tax on business profits. Value Added Tax is a different tax with its own rules. The UAE Government Portal states: "Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced in the UAE on 1 January 2018. The rate of VAT is 5 per cent." Nothing in this article describes VAT obligations, which will be covered in their own article in this series.

Where to read the official material yourself

Four official places hold almost everything referred to in this article.

• The UAE Government Portal's corporate tax page gives the plain-language overview, including the rates and the start date, and links onward to the Ministry and the Authority.
• The Ministry of Finance's corporate tax page sets out the regime in summary: who is taxable, the exempt categories, the free zone principle, and the filing deadline.
• The Ministry of Finance's tax legislation page lists Cabinet and Ministerial Decisions, including Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 on Small Business Relief. The law and its amendments are published by the Ministry as a consolidated text.
• The Federal Tax Authority's guides and references page lists its published guides by reference code, and its legislation page lists Authority decisions, including those on registration timelines.

Reading them will not replace advice. It will make the conversation with your adviser faster, because you will know which documents the adviser is working from.

Questions to take to your adviser

This list is ours. It turns the published material above into the questions an owner should ask.

1. Is the business a Taxable Person, and on what basis?
2. When does its first tax period start and end?
3. Which registration timeline decision applies, and what is the deadline?
4. If it is in a free zone, does it meet the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions, and which of its income is Qualifying Income?
5. Is Small Business Relief available to it?
6. Does it belong to a group large enough for the Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax?
7. Do the transfer pricing documentation requirements apply?
8. What records must it keep, and for how long?
9. Who in the business will hold access to EmaraTax, and how is that access kept when people leave?
10. Which dates go in the obligations calendar, and who owns each one?

What this article does not do

It does not tell you whether your business owes tax, whether any relief or treatment is available to you, or how to structure anything. Those are questions for a licensed UAE tax adviser, working from the law and the Federal Tax Authority's guides. The Federal Tax Authority's guides page lists guides by reference, including the Corporate Tax General Guide (CTGGCT1), Free Zone Persons (CTGFZP1) and Small Business Relief. Ask your adviser which ones apply to you.

For where corporate tax sits among the other decisions in setting up a company, see the Dubai setup overview.

Information verified against official sources on 18 September 2026.

Book a compliance calendar review. RINJAZ does not give tax advice and does not assess tax positions. What we can do, within our licensed activity, is help you assemble the documents your adviser will ask for, keep the registration, filing and renewal dates in one calendar, and track the transactions around them. Send us your licence details, and we can prepare a calendar template in the format above, with each tax date left for your adviser to fill in and confirm.

Corporate tax registration, returns, reliefs and penalties are administered by the Federal Tax Authority, which the UAE Government Portal states is responsible for the administration, collection and enforcement of the tax. The Authority makes the decisions. No private provider, RINJAZ included, decides any registration, return, relief or penalty. Nothing in this article, and nothing a service provider does, changes a tax position or an outcome that belongs to the Authority.