UAE corporate tax.
Corporate tax at 9% arrived in June 2023 and a substantial number of UAE companies still treat it as optional. It is not. Registration is mandatory regardless of profit, returns are due within nine months of the financial year end, and penalties attach to the entity — which means they follow it into any future sale. The most consequential upcoming date: Small Business Relief closes on 31 December 2026.
What is involved
Register with the FTA within the deadline for your first tax period. Determine whether the entity qualifies as a Qualifying Free Zone Person — a test with substance and activity conditions, not a status inherited with the licence. Prepare accounts to a standard that supports the position taken. File within nine months of year end. Maintain records for the statutory period.
What people get wrong
Zero tax due has never meant no return due, and that misunderstanding is the most expensive one in this market. A licence that is not corporate-tax compliant also creates friction in visa processes, because ICP checks licence status.
What I do
- Establish the full picture before the first step is taken
- Set the correct sequence — most problems come from the wrong order
- Coordinate the specialists: lawyers, PRO agents, accountants, the bank
- Take it to documentary confirmation, not to a verbal assurance that it is done
- Hand over the file in order, so it can be relied on years later
From AED 20,000
Government fees, free zone charges and third-party work are separate and paid directly by the client.
Common questions
What does the process involve?
Register with the FTA within the deadline for your first tax period. Determine whether the entity qualifies as a Qualifying Free Zone Person — a test with substance and activity conditions, not a status inherited with the licence. Prepare accounts to a standard that supports the position taken. File within nine months of year end. Maintain records for the statutory period.
How long does it take?
Ongoing in the normal course.
What do people most often get wrong?
Zero tax due has never meant no return due, and that misunderstanding is the most expensive one in this market. A licence that is not corporate-tax compliant also creates friction in visa processes, because ICP checks licence status.
What does coordination cost?
From AED 20,000. Government fees, free zone charges and third-party work are separate and paid directly by the client.
Can I do this myself?
Technically yes. In practice the bottleneck is not the individual steps but their sequence, and the fact that every missed step surfaces later — usually at the moment you need the result.
Reviewed by Denis Chernikov, Private Client Advisor, nine years in the UAE private client sector.
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