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What you need to know now
This article records the introduction of Corporate Tax. The ordinary calculation is 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000, with separate rules for Qualifying Free Zone Persons and in-scope multinational groups.
The original article is preserved below as a historical record. Earlier deadlines, rates, offers and approval statements should not be used as current guidance.
- Taxable income is determined after the relevant accounting adjustments.
- A return and payment are generally due within nine months after the Tax Period ends.
- The UAE DMTT applies for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025 to qualifying large MNE groups.
Understand the first applicable financial year
Corporate Tax applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 June 2023. That commencement rule did not put every business into the same first return period. A calendar-year company and a company with a June-to-May financial year can have different first Tax Periods and deadlines. Establish the actual financial year and retain the supporting records. The original pre-implementation article is useful history, but its speculative filing estimates should not control a current calendar.
Apply the ordinary rate to the correct measure
For an ordinary taxable person, the calculation concerns taxable income, not sales or total cash received. Start with the financial statements and make the relevant adjustments before applying the ordinary 0% band and 9% rate on the excess. Expenses recorded in the accounts are not automatically deductible in full, and reliefs have their own conditions. Keep a computation showing the bridge from accounting profit or loss so the result is explainable rather than a percentage applied without context.
Keep special regimes separate
Qualifying Free Zone Persons require their own income classification and conditions. In-scope large multinational groups must also review the UAE Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, effective for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025. These are not interchangeable calculations. An ordinary-rate illustration should state its assumptions, and a business should not use the AED 375,000 band as a shortcut for every Free Zone or group situation merely because the headline Corporate Tax rate is familiar.
Use the actual period-end deadline
The general filing and payment deadline is nine months after the relevant Tax Period ends, subject to any specifically applicable FTA decision. For a calendar-year period ending 31 December 2024, the ordinary date was 30 September 2025. Keep registration, return preparation and payment as separate tasks with supporting evidence for each. Review the relevant current rules when preparing a later return instead of rolling forward the original article’s launch assumptions or changing its publication date to make them appear current.
YOUR NEXT STEPS
A practical way forward
- 01
Set the year
Confirm the business’s first and subsequent Tax Periods.
- 02
Use an adjusted figure
Reconcile profit before using a rate example.
- 03
Check the actual deadline
Use the period end and any specific FTA decision.
CLEAR ANSWERS
Frequently asked questions
Was a calendar-year 2024 return normally due in mid-2025?
No. The ordinary nine-month deadline leads to 30 September 2025.
Does the 9% headline settle every multinational calculation?
No. Check whether the separate DMTT rules apply.
Read the original article First published 28 December 2022 · retained for context
This earlier article is preserved for context. Its rates, deadlines, approvals and announcements may have been superseded. Use the current guidance and official references on this page for your next step.
UAE Corporate Tax 2023 -An Over view
UAE corporate tax 2023/UAE Corporate Tax Rate : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced on 31 January 2022 that the region’s tax landscape would undergo another change when it announced that a new federal corporate tax system (CT) would be implemented beginning with the financial year 2023.
It is recommended that UAE corporate tax rates be set at a standard rate of 9%, the lowest corporate income tax rate in the GCC region
The key points
- UAE corporate tax start date
- UAE corporate tax and its applicability
- UAE corporatr tax rate
- Corporate Tax registration
- Effective date
- Excempt Incomes
- UAE Corporate tax 2023 Free zones
Effective Date
The UAE CT will be applicable for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023.
For a Tax Period from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024, the ordinary nine-month filing and payment deadline is 28 February 2025, subject to any specifically applicable FTA decision.
For a calendar-year company first subject to Corporate Tax for the year ended 31 December 2024, the ordinary filing and payment deadline was 30 September 2025.
UAE corporatr tax rate
The announced UAE CT regime introduces a tier system with 3 rates:
- All annual taxable profits that fall under AED 375,000 shall be subject to zero rate.
- All annual taxable profits above AED 375,000 shall be subject to 9% rate.
- The UAE Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax applies to in-scope constituent entities of MNE groups with consolidated global revenue of at least EUR 750 million in at least two of the four preceding financial years. It applies for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025 and requires a separate computation.
Excemptions
The following income shall be in general exempt from income Tax:
- Dividend income earned by UAE company from its qualifying shareholdings (to be defined in the law)
- Capital gains
- Profits from group reorganization
- Profits from Intra-group transactions
There will be no UAE withholding tax on domestic and cross-border payments.
Considering the exempt income scheme it can be anticipated that the Law shall include a participation exemption or similar principles commonly seen in international markets and businesses would need to evaluate if they will be able to meet the prescribed conditions (if any) to avail the exempt income scheme.
Free zones and UAE CT
The UAE intends to honor its commitment to businesses registered in Free Trade Zones to the extent that such businesses do not conduct business with mainland shall be subject to zero percent tax (or be exempt as the case may be) until the end of the holiday period. All free zones have to file an annual CT return.
Financial Records
Taxpayers are expected to prepare and maintain financial statements for the purposes of calculating their taxable income, and should maintain all documents and records that support the information in the CT return or in any other filing made with the Authority.
Exempt persons are required to maintain all records to support their exempt status.
Records and documents should be kept for at least seven years following the end of the relevant Tax Period.
UAE corporate tax 2023 Registration
Taxpayers will be able to electronically register for UAE CT through the website of the Federal Tax Authority. Further guidance on this will be provided in due course. There is no registration threshold for UAE CT.
More FAQ’s UAE Corporate Tax Services Corporate Tax Consultant In Dubai
VERIFY THE DETAIL
Official sources & further reading
- FTA — Corporate Tax General Guide CTGGCT1
- FTA — Tax Returns Guide CTGTXR1
- MoF — UAE Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax
Source checks support this general guide. Your treatment depends on the facts, tax period and applicable legislation.
