Corporate tax registration in the UAE: filed in 1 to 3 days
Every UAE company registers for corporate tax with the Federal Tax Authority within 3 months of incorporation, free of charge, and we file the application in 1 to 3 days.
- Corporate tax for the year
- AED 56,250
- Share of the profit
- 5.6%
UAE corporate tax calculator, 2026 rates.
Who registers for corporate tax in the UAE, and the last date
| Who registers | Last date to apply | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| A company set up in the UAE since 1 March 2024, free-zone companies included | 3 months | The date of incorporation |
| A company licensed before 1 March 2024 | A date in 2024, now passed | The month in which its license was issued |
| A foreign company managed and controlled in the UAE | 3 months | The end of its financial year |
| A foreign company with a permanent establishment in the UAE | 6 months | The day the establishment exists |
| A foreign company with a nexus in the UAE | 3 months | The day the nexus arises |
| A person in business with turnover above AED 1 million in a calendar year | 31 March | Of the following year |
Corporate tax registration deadline for companies licensed before 1 March 2024
1 to 3 daysA late application, filed now
A company licensed before 1 March 2024 and still not registered applies now, and we file its application in 1 to 3 days. From a full application the Federal Tax Authority issues the TRN, the tax registration number, within 20 business days.
31 May 2024How the 2024 dates were set
For a company licensed before 1 March 2024 the date fell in 2024 and was set by the month in which the license was issued, whatever the year. A company licensed in January or February had until 31 May 2024, and one licensed in December until 31 December 2024. A company with more than one license counts from the earliest.
A new company has 3 months from its incorporation. The Federal Tax Authority charges AED 10,000 for a late application. It waives the charge, and refunds one already paid, when the first return is filed within 7 months of the end of the first tax period. We prepare that return together with the registration.
What clients write about Legarithm
4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.
We had long been looking for someone to register a company in the UAE and help with the account. With Legarithm it went as it should: a clear process, help with the documents, no red tape.
Everything is well coordinated and clear. Half an hour of the first meeting was more useful than two weeks of trying to work it out myself.
What corporate tax registration costs in the UAE
The Federal Tax Authority registers a company free of charge. Our prices are before VAT.
Accounting with the corporate tax and VAT returns
from $350 a monthGet a quote- Federal Tax Authority's registration fee
- AED 0
- Corporate tax registration alone
- in your quote
- One yearly return alone
- in your quote
- Transfer-pricing file
- in your quote
Corporate tax fines, as the Federal Tax Authority sets them
We register and file inside each deadline. These are the amounts the law attaches to a missed one.
| What went wrong | Fine | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Late registration | AED 10,000 | An application filed after the last date |
| Late return | AED 500 a month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month | From the day after the filing date |
| Late payment | 14% a year on the unpaid tax | Charged monthly from the day after the due date |
| Incorrect return | AED 500 | A return corrected before its filing date carries none |
| Records not kept | AED 10,000 | AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months |
| A change not reported to the authority | AED 1,000 | AED 5,000 for a repeat within 24 months |
| Late deregistration | AED 1,000 a month | Up to AED 10,000 |
UAE corporate tax filing: the rates, Small Business Relief and the yearly return
Each company has its own band of AED 375,000 in every tax year, and the 9% rate falls on the part above it.
| What is taxed | Rate | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable income up to AED 375,000 | 0% | Every company, every tax year |
| Taxable income above AED 375,000 | 9% | On the part above the threshold |
| Qualifying income of a free-zone company | 0% | Staff and premises in the zone, audited accounts |
| A company under Small Business Relief | No tax | Revenue up to AED 3 million, tax years ending by 31 December 2029 |
| Dividends and capital gains from a subsidiary | Exempt | 5% or more held for 12 months, subsidiary taxed at 9% or more |
| Groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more | 15% | A top-up tax in force since 1 January 2025 |
9 monthsAfter the year end, for the return and the tax
The return and the payment are due 9 months after the financial year ends. A year that closes on 31 December 2026 is filed and paid by 30 September 2027, and one that closes on 30 June 2026 by 31 March 2027.
AED 3 millionSmall Business Relief and losses
A company elects Small Business Relief in the yearly return, year by year, when its revenue in the year and in every earlier year is AED 3 million or less. A loss carries forward with no time limit and offsets up to 75% of the taxable income of a later year.
Which income of a free-zone company is taxed at 0%
Sales to another free-zone company qualify, unless the activity is on the excluded list.
Manufacturing and processing, trading of qualifying commodities, holding of shares, fund and wealth management, reinsurance, ships, aircraft finance, head-office and treasury services for the group, logistics, and distribution from a designated zone. This income qualifies whoever the customer is.
Income outside these lists keeps the 0% rate in place when it stays within 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower. We measure it against your revenue before the year closes.
Most sales to individuals, banking, insurance, finance and leasing, and property other than commercial property in a free zone dealt with a free-zone company.
Staff, premises and spending that match the activity, audited financial statements and transfer-pricing records. We prepare the file that shows each of them.
A company that misses one condition is taxed at 9% for that tax year and the four that follow. We test each condition before the return is filed. The six of them are in who counts as a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP).
What we do for the corporate tax of your company
- Registration and TRN
- We register the company on EmaraTax, the Federal Tax Authority's portal, and send you its TRN, the tax registration number, with the date of the first return.
- Taxable income
- We start from the accounting profit, add back what the law disallows and deduct what it allows. The sum is worked through in how to calculate corporate tax in the UAE.
- Reliefs and exemptions
- We check Small Business Relief, the exemption for dividends from subsidiaries and the losses brought forward, and claim each one in the return.
- Transfer pricing
- For deals with related companies and with the owners we prepare the disclosure in the return and the file that supports the prices.
- Groups and holdings
- We review whether your UAE companies gain from filing as one tax group, and how dividends pass between them free of tax.
- The yearly return
- We prepare the return from the books we keep for you: see accounting in the UAE. You approve it in your account, we file it and tell you the amount to pay.
Corporate tax registration on EmaraTax, step by step
- day 11
You send the documents
You upload the trade license, the incorporation certificate and the IDs of the owners and of the signatory in your account.
- 1 to 3 days2
We file the application
We create the company's profile on EmaraTax, enter the entity, the owners with more than 25%, the contact details and the signatory, and submit.
- up to 20 business days3
The authority reviews
The Federal Tax Authority completes a full application within 20 business days and issues the TRN. We answer its questions, and the date of the first return appears in your account.
- within 9 months4
We prepare and file the return
After the year end we work out the taxable income from your books. You approve the return, we file it, and you pay the tax by the same date.
Documents for corporate tax registration and the return
Documents
To register
- Trade license, valid on the day we apply
- Certificate of incorporation or the partnership agreement
- Passport and Emirates ID of each owner with more than 25%
- Passport and Emirates ID of the authorised signatory
- Proof that the signatory may act for the company
- Date of incorporation and financial year end
For the return
- Trial balance and financial statements for the year
- Fixed-asset register
- Transactions with related companies and owners
- Free-zone companies: income by customer, staff and premises in the zone
- Last year's tax workings, where there are any
You send them in your account. We check each document the day it arrives and tell you what is missing.
See the platformQuestions about corporate tax registration in the UAE
What is the last date for corporate tax registration in the UAE?
3 months from the date of incorporation, for every company set up since 1 March 2024. A foreign company with a permanent establishment in the UAE has 6 months, and a person in business registers by 31 March of the year after turnover passes AED 1 million.
Who has to pay corporate tax in the UAE?
Every company incorporated in the UAE, free-zone and offshore companies included. A foreign company pays when it is managed from the UAE or has a permanent establishment here, and a person when business turnover passes AED 1 million a year. Salary and personal investment income stay outside the tax.
How much does corporate tax registration cost?
The Federal Tax Authority charges nothing. With us the registration comes with accounting from $350 a month, or as a one-off job at the price in your quote.
Are corporate tax registration and VAT registration the same?
No. They are two applications on the same portal, EmaraTax, and each one gives its own registration number: TRN verification in the UAE. Every company registers for corporate tax, while VAT registration in the UAE starts at AED 375,000 of turnover.
Do free-zone companies have to register for corporate tax?
Yes. A free-zone company registers, files a return every year and claims the 0% rate on qualifying income in that return. The zones are compared on our page about a free zone company in the UAE.
What is Small Business Relief in the UAE?
An election in the yearly return for a company with revenue of AED 3 million or less in that year and every earlier one. The company then pays no corporate tax, for tax years ending by 31 December 2029. Our guide to Small Business Relief and its AED 3 million test has a worked example.
Can you fix a late or missed registration?
Yes. We file the late application in 1 to 3 days and prepare the first return with it. Filed within 7 months of the end of the first tax period, that return brings the authority's waiver of the AED 10,000 charge.
Get a quote for your UAE company
Book a 30-minute call about your company
Your consultant Vladyslav Babaiev Opens in a new tab Business Setup Specialist
- We email you the Google Meet link.
- 30 minutes, free, no obligation to order.
- After the call we email you the checklist of documents for your country.
We reply by the end of the next working day with the cost and the dates for your case. The first call is free and confidential.
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Updated 13 October 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
