To file a UAE Corporate Tax return, you complete the return online in the Federal Tax Authority's (FTA) EmaraTax platform and pay any tax due, both no later than nine months after the end of your Tax Period. Every Taxable Person must file, including businesses that elect Small Business Relief and those with no income or a loss.

Who has to file a corporate tax return in the UAE?

Every Taxable Person must file a Corporate Tax return for each Tax Period, whether or not it owes tax. That includes UAE companies (free zone companies too), foreign companies with a UAE permanent establishment, Tax Groups and individuals whose business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. Most Exempt Persons do not file a return.

Is corporate tax filing mandatory in the UAE?

Yes, for every Taxable Person. The FTA's FAQs say a return is required whatever the company's income or status, so a dormant company or one with no income still files (sometimes called a nil return). A loss-making business also files, which keeps the loss available to reduce future taxable income.

  • Small Business Relief. Businesses that elect it still register and file, using a simplified return.
  • Tax Groups. The Parent Company files one return for the whole group.
  • Exempt Persons. Government Entities, Government Controlled Entities and qualifying extractive and non-extractive natural resource businesses file only for any taxable business they carry on. The other Exempt Persons, such as Qualifying Public Benefit Entities, Qualifying Investment Funds and pension and social security funds, file an annual declaration instead, within nine months of the end of the Tax Period.
  • Closing a business. The FTA will not deregister a business until it has filed every return, including one up to the date the business ceased, and paid all tax and penalties due.

You file one return per Tax Period, which is normally your financial year but can be shorter or longer than 12 months; for a new company, see how to work out your first Corporate Tax period.

What is the due date for filing a corporate tax return?

The return must be filed, and any Corporate Tax paid, no later than nine months after the end of the Tax Period. For a financial year ended 31 December 2025, the deadline was 30 September 2026. Individuals in scope usually have a calendar-year Tax Period, so their deadline is also 30 September of the following year.

The nine-month rule applies whatever your year end: a Tax Period ending 31 March 2026 must be filed and paid by 31 December 2026. Filing on time does not stop late-payment penalties if the tax is paid late.

Has the deadline been extended?

Not generally. FTA Decision No. 7 of 2024 moved it to 31 December 2024 only for UAE businesses incorporated or established on or after 1 June 2023 whose Tax Period ended on or before 29 February 2024. The FTA restated the 30 September 2026 deadline on 26 September 2026 and did not extend it.

Missing the deadline triggers monthly penalties; see which Corporate Tax penalties apply and what triggers each one.

How do I file my corporate tax return on EmaraTax?

Log in to EmaraTax, open your Corporate Tax filings and click File against the Tax Period. Complete each section of the return, attach your financial statements, then tick the declaration and submit. EmaraTax gives you a reference number, and you pay any tax due from My Payments by card or by bank transfer to your GIBAN.

The FTA's user manual sets out these steps:

  1. Log in. Sign in to EmaraTax with UAE PASS (the FTA's website says its services are available only through UAE PASS), select the Taxable Person and click View. An FTA-approved Tax Agent or a Legal Representative can also file for you.
  2. Open the return. Click Corporate Tax, then View All on the Corporate Tax Filings tile, then File for the Tax Period.
  3. Read the instructions. The Instructions and Guidelines page explains what information to have to hand. Tick to confirm and click Start.
  4. Check your details. Your name, Tax Registration Number, address and Tax Period are pre-filled from your registration. If something is wrong, you are prompted to apply to amend your registration, after which you can carry on.
  5. Complete the sections. Depending on your Revenue and type of Taxable Person, the return has two to nine sections: Taxpayer Details, Free Zone Details, Elections, Accounting Schedules, Accounting Adjustments and Exempt Income, Reliefs, Other Adjustments, Tax Liability and Tax Credits, and Review and Declaration. You must complete mandatory fields to move on, and can save a draft.
  6. Attach documents. Financial statements are mandatory unless you elect Small Business Relief; the other listed attachments are optional if you give a reason.
  7. Submit. In Review and Declaration, tick the declaration, click Submit and confirm, then note the reference number.
  8. Pay. Under My Payments, use Select & Pay for a part payment or Pay All. You can pay by card or by bank transfer to your unique GIBAN, in instalments or in full, up to the due date.

The return starts from your accounting profit and adjusts it to reach Taxable Income; see from accounting profit to taxable income.

How do I elect for Small Business Relief in the return?

Answer Yes to "Would the Taxable Person like to make an election for Small Business Relief?" in the Elections section. EmaraTax asks only if you appear eligible: a Resident Person, not a Qualifying Free Zone Person or a member of a Multinational Enterprise Group, with Revenue of AED 3 million or less in this and every earlier Tax Period.

  • Elect for each period. You must be registered, and the election must be made in the return for each Tax Period it should cover.
  • You cannot add it later. Once a return is submitted without the election, the relief cannot be claimed for that period.
  • What changes. You file a simplified return, do not calculate Taxable Income, pay no Corporate Tax for the period and need not attach financial statements.
  • What you give up. Exempt income, reliefs, deductions and Tax Loss relief do not apply, and a loss from an elected period cannot be carried forward.
  • How long it lasts. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extended the threshold to Tax Periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.

Keep evidence of Revenue for every period, such as bank statements, sales ledgers and invoices, because the FTA can ask you to prove eligibility; see Small Business Relief extended to 2029.

What documents and records do I need before filing?

Have your financial statements for the Tax Period ready: the return asks for figures from them and, unless you elect Small Business Relief, you must attach them. They must be audited if your Revenue exceeds AED 50 million or you are a Qualifying Free Zone Person. You also need the records that support every figure.

  • Financial statements. Use standalone statements (a Tax Group reports for the group as a whole), prepared under IFRS, or IFRS for SMEs if Revenue is AED 50 million or less. The cash basis is allowed if Revenue is AED 3 million or less, or in exceptional circumstances on application to the FTA.
  • Audit. These tests come from Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 for Tax Periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, which also requires a Tax Group to prepare audited special purpose statements; Ministerial Decision No. 82 of 2023 set the same tests for earlier periods. The return asks whether they were audited and, if so, for the opinion and the auditor's name.
  • Information the return asks for. Revenue, accounting basis, number of employees and shareholder details, plus any related party and connected person transactions, tax losses brought forward and foreign tax credits.
  • Supporting records. The FTA's essential records include a record of the period's transactions, an asset register showing purchases and disposals, a record of liabilities, and a record of shares or ownership interests held at the end of the period.

Keep records for seven years after the end of the Tax Period they relate to; see Corporate Tax records: what to keep and for how long.

What happens if I file late or make a mistake?

Filing late costs AED 500 for each month or part month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month, and unpaid tax attracts a monthly penalty at 14% a year. Errors in a submitted return are corrected by voluntary disclosure or, if small, in your next return; correcting before the filing deadline avoids the AED 500 incorrect-return penalty.

These amounts are set by Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024. The late-payment penalty applies for each month or part month that tax remains unpaid after the due date.

If an error means you declared too little tax, you must correct it: by voluntary disclosure within 20 business days of finding it if the difference is more than AED 10,000, or in your next return if it is AED 10,000 or less. If you declared too much, a disclosure is optional. Penalties on a disclosure are calculated on the tax difference and are higher if you disclose only after the FTA has notified you of a tax audit. For the process, see fixing errors in a UAE Corporate Tax return.

Getting help

For help preparing, reviewing or correcting a Corporate Tax return, see our Corporate Tax services or contact us.