UAE Corporate Tax Return and Small Business Relief

When is my Corporate Tax return due?

Nine months after the end of your tax period, and any Corporate Tax due must be paid by the same date (Articles 53 and 48). The tax period is your financial year: the calendar year, or the 12-month period you prepare financial statements for (Article 57). For an individual it is the calendar year (FTA).

Calendar year. Financial year 1 January to 31 December 2026: file and pay by 30 September 2027. The FTA gives the same pattern for 2025: a year ending 31 December 2025 was due by 30 September 2026.

Year ending 31 March. Financial year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027: due by 31 December 2027.

Year ending 30 September. Financial year 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026: due by 30 June 2027.

For a first tax period that is not a full year, count from the period end shown for that filing on EmaraTax. The law does not say whether a deadline on a weekend or public holiday moves, so file before the last day.

Corporate Tax return due dates by financial year end, 2025 to 2027

Find the month your financial year ends, then the year it ends in. The same date is the payment deadline.

* For a year ending on the 28th or 30th, nine months can be counted to the same day (30 March 2027 for a year ending 30 June 2026) or to the last day of that month. The law only says nine months and the FTA has not published an example, so the table shows the earlier date; filing by it is on time under either reading.

Who qualifies for Small Business Relief?

A UAE resident person, a company or an individual, whose revenue is AED 3,000,000 or less in the tax period and in every previous tax period (Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, Article 2). It covers tax periods starting on or after 1 June 2023 and ending on or before 31 December 2029, after Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 replaced the original end date of 31 December 2026. Revenue means the gross income for the period under the accounting standards accepted in the UAE.

Two kinds of business cannot elect it (Article 3): a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and a member of a multinational enterprise group, which the FTA describes as a group with consolidated revenue above AED 3.15 billion. A free zone company that is not a Qualifying Free Zone Person can elect it if it meets the revenue test. If the FTA finds that a business was split up artificially to stay under the threshold, the election counts as an arrangement to obtain a tax advantage under the Law's anti-abuse rule (Article 6).

With the relief, the business is treated as having no taxable income for that period (Article 21), so no Corporate Tax is due. Exemptions, other reliefs and deductions do not apply in that period, a tax loss made in it cannot be carried forward, and neither can net interest expense (Articles 4 and 5 of the Decision).

What happens if revenue crosses AED 3 million?

You lose the relief for that tax period and every later one: a business cannot elect it if revenue in the period or any previous period went over AED 3,000,000 (Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, Article 2(3)). The FTA's example: revenue of AED 4,300,000 in 2025 and AED 1,900,000 in 2026 means no relief for 2026.

From then on the return works out taxable income in full: 0% on the first AED 375,000 and 9% above (FTA small business bulletin), with financial statements attached to the return. Losses from the years you used the relief cannot be brought in. The same normal rules apply to everyone once the relief ends after 31 December 2029, unless it is extended again.

What do I still have to file and keep if I elect it?

You still register for Corporate Tax, file a return for every tax period by the nine-month deadline, and keep the records that support it; the relief only reduces what goes in the return (FTA, 3 August 2026). In practice:

• Make the election in the return for each tax period you want it; it does not roll over on its own (FTA bulletin).
• File the simplified return. Attaching financial statements is not mandatory when you elect the relief, but you must still have them (FTA Tax Returns guide, section 22.4). The FTA's bulletin says businesses under the relief may prepare them on a cash basis.
• Keep evidence that revenue stayed at or under AED 3,000,000 in every period: the FTA can ask for it (Article 21(3)).
• No transfer pricing documentation is required, but dealings with related parties must still be at arm's length (FTA).
• Keep all records for seven years (next section).

What is the penalty for filing late?

AED 500 for each month or part of a month the return is late, for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month, charged from the day after the deadline and on the same date each month (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended, item 7). It applies to the return itself, so it applies even when you elect Small Business Relief and owe nothing.

Worked example. A calendar year 2026 return is due 30 September 2027. Filed on 15 December 2027, it is late into a third month (charges on 1 October, 1 November and 1 December 2027): AED 1,500.

Paying late is separate: 14% a year on the unpaid tax, charged monthly (item 8). An incorrect return costs AED 500 unless you correct it before the filing deadline (item 9). These Corporate Tax penalties sit in their own decision; the VAT penalty changes of 14 April 2026 (Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025) did not change them.

If you registered late, the FTA's waiver initiative removes the AED 10,000 late registration penalty when the first return is filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period, two months earlier than the normal deadline. Details are on the Corporate Tax registration deadline calculator.

How do I file the Corporate Tax return on EmaraTax?

You file online on EmaraTax yourself, or through a tax agent or legal representative (FTA Tax Returns guide). The steps, from the FTA's Corporate Tax Return user manual:

1. Sign in to EmaraTax with your login or UAE Pass. Select the taxable person and click “View”.
2. Click “Corporate Tax”, then “View All” on the Corporate Tax Filings tile, and “File” next to the tax period.
3. Read the instructions and guidelines, tick the box to confirm and click “Start”.
4. Check the taxpayer and address details, which come from your registration. If they are wrong you are asked to submit an amendment to your registration; once it is submitted you can carry on with the return. The return has between two and nine sections, depending on the revenue you enter and the type of taxable person.
5. In the Elections section, elect Small Business Relief if you qualify: you answer whether the business is a member of a multinational enterprise group, then “Yes” to the election. The question only appears when your answers show you are eligible.
6. Complete the remaining sections EmaraTax shows you. Attaching financial statements is mandatory unless you elected Small Business Relief.
7. In Review and Declaration, tick the declaration, click “Submit” and confirm. Note the reference number; the status shows as “Submitted”.
8. If tax is due, pay from “My Payments” → “Select & Pay” on the Corporate Tax payments tile, in full or in parts up to the due date, and download the acknowledgement.

You can save the return as a draft and come back to it. The manual is dated September 2024, so a screen may be labelled slightly differently today.

What records do I need?

Every record that supports the return and lets the FTA work out your taxable income, kept for seven years from the end of the tax period (Article 56). The FTA lists financial statements, bank statements, loan documents, sales and purchase ledgers, invoices or till rolls, purchase orders and delivery notes, and business correspondence, and its August 2026 notice adds records of assets, liabilities and shareholdings. Seven years is longer than the 5 years VAT asks for; which records count, keeping them digitally and what happens when you close the business are in how long to keep invoices and records in the UAE.

Do freelancers file a Corporate Tax return?

Only once their business turnover goes over AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year. They then register by 31 March of the following year and file for each calendar year: turnover over AED 1 million in 2026 means registering by 31 March 2027 and filing by 30 September 2027 (FTA). A freelancer can elect Small Business Relief too; the AED 1 million that triggers registration and the AED 3,000,000 relief limit are separate tests.

The registration deadline calculator gives your registration date, and do freelancers pay Corporate Tax in the UAE? covers what counts as turnover.