What is a Corporate Tax Return?
Under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, every taxable person holding a Corporate Tax Registration Number must file a Corporate Tax Return via EmaraTax, reporting taxable income, allowable deductions, reliefs claimed, and tax due for the relevant tax period. This applies whether you completed Corporate Tax Registration yourself or through Tax Easy UAE.
The return must be filed within 9 months of the end of your financial year, and any Corporate Tax payable is due by the same date. For businesses with a financial year ending 31 December 2025, this creates a hard 30 September 2026 filing and payment deadline that applies across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, and RAK.
If your financial year ended 31 December 2025, your Corporate Tax return and any payment due must both reach the FTA by 30 September 2026. Late filing and late payment penalties apply independently, so plan ahead rather than waiting for the final weeks.
Who must file a Corporate Tax return
- Mainland companies with a Corporate Tax TRN, regardless of profit or loss.
- Free zone entities, including Qualifying Free Zone Persons in IFZA, DMCC, Meydan, SHAMS, and JAFZA claiming the 0% rate.
- Branches of UAE and foreign companies with UAE-sourced taxable income.
- Natural persons registered for Corporate Tax with business turnover above AED 1 million.
- Tax groups, which file a single consolidated return covering all group members.
Even loss-making or dormant companies with a Corporate Tax TRN must submit a 'nil' or loss return — filing is mandatory once registered, independent of tax payable.
Corporate Tax rates and reliefs
| Taxable income band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to AED 375,000 | 0% |
| Above AED 375,000 | 9% |
| Qualifying Free Zone Person — qualifying income | 0% |
| Qualifying Free Zone Person — non-qualifying income | 9% |
Businesses with revenue under AED 3 million may elect Small Business Relief to be treated as having no taxable income — use our small business relief calculator to check eligibility, and our corporate tax calculator to estimate your liability before filing.
Filing deadlines and penalties
The 9-month rule means every business's deadline is tied to its own financial year end. A March financial year end creates a December filing deadline; a December year end creates the widely referenced 30 September 2026 deadline for the 2025 tax period.
| Financial year end | Filing & payment deadline |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | 30 September 2026 |
| 31 March 2026 | 31 December 2026 |
| 30 June 2026 | 31 March 2027 |
| Non-compliance | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Late filing of Corporate Tax return | AED 500 per month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 per month |
| Late payment of tax due | 14% per annum on unpaid tax, calculated monthly |
| Failure to keep required records | AED 10,000, rising to AED 20,000 for repeat failures |
Use our penalty calculator to see exactly how much delay could cost your business before you file.
Documents required to file your return
- Audited or management financial statements for the tax period (profit and loss, balance sheet).
- General ledger and trial balance covering the full financial year.
- Fixed asset register and depreciation schedules.
- Related party transaction details (for transfer pricing disclosures).
- Details of any tax group elections or Qualifying Free Zone Person qualifying income.
- Prior year Corporate Tax return (if applicable) for carried-forward losses.
- Bank statements reconciled against the ledger for the period.
If your books are incomplete or you're behind on entries, our backlog accounting and bookkeeping and accounting services bring your records current before we prepare your return.
Our step-by-step Corporate Tax filing process
- 1Share your financial statements and supporting documents via contact or WhatsApp — 30-minute reply guaranteed.
- 2Our UAE tax expert reviews revenue, expenses, adjustments, and eligibility for Small Business Relief or Qualifying Free Zone Person status.
- 3We compute taxable income, apply permitted deductions and reliefs, and prepare the full computation.
- 4We prepare and review the return internally before EmaraTax submission to catch errors early.
- 5We file the return through EmaraTax within your 9-month deadline and confirm any tax payable.
- 6We advise you on payment methods and deadlines to avoid the 14% per annum late payment penalty.
- 7We retain a copy of your filed return and computations for your records and future audits.
Transparent pricing: from AED 999*
Corporate Tax return filing starts from AED 999*, with the final fee depending on transaction volume, complexity, and whether a tax group or transfer pricing disclosure is involved. See our full pricing page or combine filing with bookkeeping and accounting in one of our packages for ongoing compliance at a lower blended cost.
Simple small-business filings with clean records start at AED 999*. Businesses with multiple entities, tax groups, or transfer pricing requirements receive a custom quote after a free review of your financials.
Free zone filing considerations
Free zone entities in IFZA, DMCC, Meydan, SHAMS, and JAFZA claiming the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate must clearly evidence qualifying versus non-qualifying income within the return, along with substance and audited financial statement requirements. Misclassifying income can trigger loss of the 0% rate for the entire tax period, so our tax experts review free zone filings with extra scrutiny before submission.
Worked example
A DMCC trading company with AED 4.2 million annual revenue and a 31 December financial year end engaged Tax Easy UAE in July 2026, ahead of the 30 September 2026 deadline. We reconciled their books, confirmed AED 620,000 in taxable income after allowable deductions, calculated AED 22,050 in Corporate Tax due at 9% above the AED 375,000 threshold, and filed the return with 6 weeks to spare — avoiding any late filing exposure.
Why choose Tax Easy UAE
- 100% online filing — serving businesses across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, and RAK without office visits.
- Every computation reviewed by a UAE tax expert before submission.
- Transparent pricing from AED 999* with no hidden costs.
- WhatsApp response within 30 minutes.
- Deadline tracking so you never miss your 9-month filing window.
Explore our financial reporting and tax advisory services to stay ahead of next year's filing, or read our blog for the latest FTA guidance.