UAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax Registration and Filing Deadlines
Understand which UAE Corporate Tax registration timeline applies and how to calculate the return and payment deadline from the Tax Period.
Reviewed against official UAE sources ·
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What is the UAE Corporate Tax filing deadline?
Corporate Tax registration does not have one universal date. It depends on the person’s legal category, incorporation or recognition date, licence, permanent establishment or nexus. After registration, the Corporate Tax Return and payment are generally due within nine months after the end of the Tax Period.
Generally due within nine months after the end of the relevant Tax Period.
When UAE business turnover exceeded AED 1 million, registration is generally due by 31 March of the following calendar year.
The FTA publishes an AED 10,000 administrative penalty, with a conditional waiver initiative.
How to identify the registration deadline
First identify whether the taxable person is a resident juridical person, non-resident juridical person, resident natural person or non-resident natural person. Historic licence-month deadlines applied to many entities already in existence when the regime began; newly created persons and non-residents use event-based timelines.
- Resident juridical persons incorporated or recognised on or after 1 March 2024 generally register within three months.
- A non-resident juridical person with a UAE Permanent Establishment generally registers within six months of the Permanent Establishment arising.
- A non-resident juridical person with UAE nexus generally registers within three months of establishing the nexus.
- A resident natural person exceeding AED 1 million of UAE business turnover generally registers by 31 March of the following year.
How to calculate the filing and payment deadline
The standard deadline is nine months after the end of the Tax Period. A company with a Tax Period ending 31 December would therefore generally file and pay by 30 September of the following year. A different financial year produces a different deadline.
- Confirm the Tax Period shown in EmaraTax.
- Count nine months from the end of that Tax Period.
- Use the same deadline for the return and Corporate Tax payment unless a specific rule changes it.
- Start the close and tax calculation well before the final month.
Late-registration penalty waiver
The FTA’s published initiative can waive the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty when the qualifying taxable person submits its first Tax Return within seven months from the end of the first Tax Period. Equivalent timing applies to an annual declaration for an exempt person where relevant.
- The initiative can apply even if the registration application has not yet been submitted.
- It can apply where the penalty has already been charged.
- A paid qualifying penalty may be credited back to the taxpayer’s account.
- Check the current FTA conditions before relying on the waiver.
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Common questions
What is the UAE Corporate Tax filing deadline?
A Taxable Person must generally submit its Corporate Tax Return and pay the tax due within nine months after the end of its Tax Period.
When must a new UAE company register for Corporate Tax?
A resident juridical person incorporated, established or recognised on or after 1 March 2024 generally has three months from that event, subject to the detailed FTA rules and any applicable category-specific provisions.
When must a natural person register for Corporate Tax?
A resident natural person whose UAE business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a Gregorian calendar year generally registers by 31 March of the following year. Different timing applies to a non-resident natural person.
Can the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty be waived?
Potentially. The FTA’s initiative provides a waiver where the published conditions are met, including submitting the first return or relevant annual declaration within seven months after the first period or financial year.
Official sources
These primary UAE sources support the figures and rules summarised above. Review the source and any later amendment before acting.