Corporate tax returns for UAE businesses
Alliance CA prepares and files UAE corporate tax returns from Deira, Dubai, and handles corporate tax registration, amendments and de-registration. Corporate tax filing starts from AED 1,000 per tax period, exclusive of VAT, with the final fee agreed after we scope your records.
The standard rates are 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it (UAE Government portal). Every taxable business files a return for each tax period, even when no tax is due (Corporate Tax Law, Article 53).
When is your corporate tax return due?
Your return and any tax are due nine months after your tax period ends. The tax period is your financial year, or part of it, and the FTA can set a different due date (Corporate Tax Law, Articles 48, 53 and 57).
Financial year ends | Return filed and tax paid by |
|---|---|
31 December 2025 | 30 September 2026 |
31 March 2026 | 31 December 2026 |
30 June 2026 | 31 March 2027 |
30 September 2026 | 30 June 2027 |
31 December 2026 | 30 September 2027 |
The FTA confirmed 30 September 2026 as the deadline for financial years that ended on 31 December 2025 (FTA, 3 August 2026). If your year does not end in December, or this is your first tax period, see determining your first corporate tax period. Not sure where you stand? Our free health check covers corporate tax, VAT and your books.
What corporate tax filing covers
- the corporate tax computation and the FTA return, including Small Business Relief checks
- nil returns and Small Business Relief returns
Who we file for
- businesses that provide financial statements, or clean and fully reconciled accounting data
- businesses without financial statements: we prepare the financials needed for the return from data you provide
Where we prepare financials from your data, our responsibility is limited to preparing those financials for filing. We do not vouch for the accuracy or legitimacy of the underlying transactions.
If your business needs audited financial statements, your appointed external auditor carries out the audit and issues the audit report. Our Audit & Assurance service prepares the records and coordinates the audit.
Corporate tax filing fees
Service | Starting fee, exclusive of VAT |
|---|---|
Corporate tax return: computation and filing | From AED 1,000 per tax period |
Corporate tax registration, amendment or de-registration | From AED 500 |
Compliance & Finance package: bookkeeping plus every VAT and corporate tax filing, for turnover up to AED 5M | From AED 1,800 a month |
The fee depends on your turnover, whether financial statements are available, complexity, data quality and the number of business locations, and is confirmed after scoping. Backlog cleanup is quoted separately. Return filing is also included in our Compliance & Finance packages and fractional CFO packages.
How we prepare and file your return
- Scoping. In a complimentary scoping consultation, we look at your records and confirm the fee.
- Engagement. Once you accept our proposal, we send an engagement letter for you to sign.
- Documents and access. You share the documents and EmaraTax access listed below.
- Computation. We prepare the tax computation and the return, including Small Business Relief checks.
- Filing. The return is submitted through your EmaraTax account.
What we need from you
- your trade licence, and the owners' passports and Emirates IDs
- a signed engagement letter, which we send once you accept our proposal
- access to your EmaraTax account
- your financial statements or reconciled accounting data, or the data inputs for your financials if you do not have them
Keep the records behind each return for seven years after the end of the tax period (Article 56). Our guide explains which corporate tax records to keep.
Who leads our tax practice?
Our tax practice is led by Kiran Kumar CR, Strategic Finance Director, who has over 13 years across corporate finance, taxation, audit and FP&A (our founders).
"We've worked with Alliance CA for over 7 years, across both accounting and tax. The true value comes in the advice they provide…" Bernice Sanvictores, Store Manager, Peonies & Petals
Registration, tax groups, free zones and transfer pricing
- Registration and de-registration. We register, amend and de-register businesses for corporate tax, from AED 500. A business is only de-registered once it has filed all its returns and paid all corporate tax and penalties due (Article 52).
- Tax groups. The parent company files one return on behalf of the whole group (Article 53). We advise on tax grouping and structuring; see when two UAE companies can form a corporate tax group.
- Free zone companies. A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on its qualifying income and 9% on its other taxable income (Article 3). See how to apply the qualifying income test.
- Transfer pricing. The FTA can require a disclosure of your transactions with related parties and connected persons to be filed with the return, and some businesses must keep a master file and a local file (Article 55). We provide benchmarking, arm's-length analysis, OECD-aligned documentation and related-party disclosures.
Questions about corporate tax filing
How much does it cost to file corporate tax in Dubai?
At Alliance CA, corporate tax filing starts from AED 1,000 per tax period, exclusive of VAT. The final fee depends on your turnover, whether you have financial statements and the state of your records, and is agreed after scoping. Registration starts from AED 500.
My business qualifies for Small Business Relief. Do I still need to file?
Yes: you elect for the relief in the corporate tax return itself, so a return is still filed, in a simplified form (FTA). Relief is open to eligible resident businesses whose revenue does not exceed AED 3 million in the tax period and in every previous tax period (FTA), for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 (Ministry of Finance). See Small Business Relief extended to 2029.
Do we have to file if the business made a loss?
Yes. Every taxable person must file a return for each tax period, and a loss-making year is no exception (Article 53).
What if we missed the 30 September 2026 deadline?
File as soon as you can, because the FTA applies penalties for late submission (FTA). If your books are behind, we can prepare the financials needed for the return from your data, and backlog cleanup is quoted separately.
We do not have financial statements. Can you still file?
Yes. We can prepare the financials needed for the return from the data you provide.
How is taxable income worked out?
It starts from the accounting net profit or loss in your financial statements, which is then adjusted for tax (FTA guide). See from accounting profit to taxable income.
Where is Alliance CA based?
Our office is at 904 Al Reem Tower, Al Maktoum Street, Deira, Dubai. If you are comparing providers, our guide to choosing an accounting firm in Dubai lists the questions to ask about fees, scope and who does the work.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance: Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on corporate tax, consolidated text, Articles 3, 48, 52, 53, 55, 56 and 57; Small Business Relief extended to 31 December 2029, 7 August 2026
- Federal Tax Authority: Small Business Relief returns and the 30 September 2026 deadline, 3 August 2026; Corporate Tax Guide: Determination of Taxable Income
- UAE Government portal: Corporate tax
