UAE tax questions, answered

Every taxable person carrying on a business in the UAE must register for Corporate Tax and obtain a CT TRN — including mainland companies, free zone entities and, in many cases, natural persons with business turnover above AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year. Registration is required regardless of whether any tax is ultimately payable.

0% applies on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on taxable income above that threshold. Qualifying Free Zone Persons may keep a 0% rate on qualifying income, while large multinationals within scope of Pillar Two may face a 15% minimum top-up tax.

Small Business Relief lets a resident taxable person with revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less in the current and all previous tax periods elect to be treated as having no taxable income for that period. The election is made in the CT return on EmaraTax and is available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026.

The CT return and any payment are due within 9 months of the end of your tax period. For a financial year ending 31 December 2025, the deadline is 30 September 2026. There is no extension mechanism, so audit-ready books need to be closed well ahead of the date.

Late registration attracts an AED 10,000 administrative penalty. Late filing is AED 500 per month for the first twelve months and AED 1,000 per month thereafter, with additional monthly penalties on unpaid tax. Our CT Registration service is AED 799 and CT Return Filing is AED 999*.

Free zone companies must register and file. A Qualifying Free Zone Person that meets the qualifying-income, substance, transfer-pricing and de-minimis conditions retains 0% on qualifying income; non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%. Failing a condition can remove the benefit for five tax periods.

No. Employment income, personal real estate investment and personal investment income of natural persons are outside the scope of UAE Corporate Tax. Business or business-like activity carried on by an individual is in scope once turnover exceeds AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year.

Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 in the previous 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days. Voluntary registration is available above AED 187,500, which many start-ups use to recover input VAT on setup costs.

To add VAT, multiply the net amount by 1.05. To extract VAT from a VAT-inclusive amount, divide by 1.05 to get the net figure and subtract it from the gross to isolate the VAT. Our VAT calculator does both instantly.

Form 201 and any payment are due within 28 days of the end of each tax period, which is usually quarterly. The FTA assigns monthly periods to some larger businesses. Late filing is AED 1,000 first time and AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months.

Zero-rated supplies (exports, international transport, certain healthcare and education) carry 0% VAT but still allow input VAT recovery. Exempt supplies — most margin-based financial services, bare land, local passenger transport — carry no VAT and generally block related input VAT recovery.

VAT return filing starts from AED 499 per return, scaled by monthly transaction volume. VAT registration and VAT deregistration are AED 799 each, filed end-to-end on EmaraTax with a tax expert review before submission.

No. Input VAT on entertainment for customers, shareholders and other non-employees is blocked, as is VAT on motor vehicles available for personal use (unless a taxi, lease or emergency vehicle). Most other business expenses used for taxable supplies remain recoverable.

You must apply within 20 business days of ceasing to make taxable supplies, or when supplies fall below the AED 187,500 voluntary threshold for 12 consecutive months. Late deregistration is AED 1,000 per month up to AED 10,000.

Fees are based on monthly transaction volume rather than headcount — from micro businesses under 30 transactions a month up to enterprises above 300. You receive a fixed AED monthly fee after a short review of your bank and sales volumes.

Corporate Tax law requires records to be kept for 7 years after the end of the tax period, and VAT law requires 5 years (15 years for real estate records). Records must be retrievable in a form the FTA can audit.

Corporate Tax requires audited financial statements for taxable persons with revenue above AED 50,000,000 and for Qualifying Free Zone Persons. Many free zone authorities and banks require audits at lower thresholds, so IFRS-compliant books matter either way.

Yes. Our backlog accounting service reconstructs prior-period ledgers from bank statements, invoices and payroll records, reconciles VAT already filed, and produces the closing balances your CT return needs. Voluntary disclosures are prepared where earlier filings were wrong.

We work in cloud platforms such as Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online and Xero, and can also work directly in your ERP export files. You keep ownership of the ledger and full access at all times.

Taxable income starts from accounting income prepared under IFRS (or IFRS for SMEs where revenue does not exceed AED 50,000,000), then adjusts for exempt income, non-deductible expenditure, interest limitations and reliefs claimed.

There is no personal income tax or payroll tax on salaries in the UAE. Employer obligations are labour-law based: WPS salary transfers, gratuity accrual and — for UAE and GCC nationals — pension contributions.

For unlimited service after one year, gratuity is 21 days of basic salary per year for the first five years and 30 days per year thereafter, capped at two years' total pay. Only basic salary counts — allowances are excluded.

The Wages Protection System requires employers registered with MoHRE to pay salaries through approved UAE banks or exchange houses using a SIF file. Non-compliance can suspend new work permits, so payroll files must match contract values.

Basic salary is normally 50–60% of gross pay, with housing, transport and other allowances making up the balance. Because gratuity is based on basic salary only, the split affects both monthly cost and long-term liability — our payroll calculator models both.

The headline date is 30 September 2026 — the Corporate Tax return and payment deadline for financial years ended 31 December 2025. VAT returns remain due 28 days after each tax period, and any registration obligation must be met as soon as the threshold is crossed.

EmaraTax is the FTA's online portal for tax registration, returns, payments, refunds and deregistration. Every filing we prepare is submitted through your own EmaraTax account so you keep full visibility and control.

The FTA can reduce or instalment penalties in limited circumstances where there is a valid excuse supported by evidence, via a penalty reconsideration or waiver application. Voluntary disclosure before an audit usually produces the best outcome.

A voluntary disclosure (Form 211 for VAT) corrects an error in a submitted return or registration. Filing it promptly limits penalties compared with the same error being found during an FTA audit.

Yes. Every client on a filing service receives reminders ahead of each VAT period and the Corporate Tax return date, with a document checklist so nothing is collected at the last minute.

Yes. Onboarding, document collection, review and EmaraTax submission are handled remotely for clients across all seven Emirates. You share documents digitally and approve filings before anything is submitted.

Fixed AED pricing: Corporate Tax registration AED 799, CT return filing AED 999*, VAT registration AED 799, VAT deregistration AED 799 and VAT return filing from AED 499. Bookkeeping is quoted on transaction volume. *Mainland returns; complex or free zone cases are quoted after review.

Typical WhatsApp response time is 30 minutes on business days. Enquiries submitted through the site reach our team by email immediately and receive a same-day reply.

Work is prepared with an AI-assisted workflow and reviewed by a UAE tax expert before submission, so every return is checked against current FTA rules and supported by audit-ready documentation.

Usually a trade licence, Emirates ID and passport copy of the owner or manager, MOA or free zone incorporation documents, and recent financial or bank records. We send an exact checklist for your specific service after the first call.

Both, along with branches and natural persons with business turnover. Free zone cases receive a qualifying-income assessment before we quote, since the compliance requirements differ from mainland entities.