Corporate Tax
The 30 September Corporate Tax Deadline: What Actually Has to Be Filed
Corporate tax returns for financial years ending 31 December 2025 fall due on 30 September 2026, and the payment falls due on the same day. A large number of UAE companies still treat that date as provisional. It is not, and the penalty regime introduced under Cabinet Decision 129 of 2025 is considerably less forgiving than the one it replaced.
Who has to file
Every taxable person. That includes free zone companies, companies that made a loss, companies that traded for two months, and companies that did not trade at all. The obligation to register and file is separate from the obligation to pay, and the 0% band on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income reduces the tax to nothing without removing the return.
Natural persons conducting business activity in the UAE are also captured once turnover from that activity exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. Those whose 2025 turnover crossed that line had a registration deadline of 31 March 2026.
The deadline is nine months, not a fixed date
The return and the payment are due nine months after the last day of the financial year. The date that matters is yours, not the calendar's.
| Financial year ends | Return and payment due |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | 30 September 2026 |
| 31 March 2026 | 31 December 2026 |
| 30 June 2026 | 31 March 2027 |
| 30 September 2026 | 30 June 2027 |
There is no provisional or instalment mechanism. The full liability is settled with the return.
Small Business Relief: model it, do not assume it
Where revenue is AED 3 million or below in the relevant tax period and in every preceding one, a resident taxable person may elect to be treated as having no taxable income. Three features of that election are routinely missed.
First, it must be actively made in the return. It is not automatic, and a company that qualifies but does not elect is taxed normally. Second, it cannot be reversed once the return is submitted. Third, electing it forfeits the ability to carry forward tax losses arising in that period.
That third point is where the arithmetic turns. A company with AED 2.6 million of revenue and a loss of AED 400,000 pays no tax either way. Electing relief saves nothing in the current year and destroys AED 400,000 of carry-forward that would have sheltered profit in 2027 and beyond. Relief is valuable to profitable small companies and expensive to loss-making ones.
Time limit — now 2029. Small Business Relief was originally due to expire with tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. Ministerial Decision 131 of 2026 extended it to 31 December 2029. The AED 3 million threshold and every other condition are unchanged. What the extension does and does not change →
Free zone companies: the 0% is conditional
A Qualifying Free Zone Person applies 0% to qualifying income. The status is not conferred by the licence; it is earned and maintained by meeting every condition, and failing any one of them applies 9% to all income for that period.
- Adequate substance in the free zone — premises, people and expenditure proportionate to the activity, with core income-generating functions actually performed there.
- Audited financial statements prepared under IFRS.
- Transfer pricing documentation for related-party transactions.
- Non-qualifying revenue held below the de minimis threshold.
Mainland customers, a virtual office arrangement, or core functions performed by a related company outside the zone are the three most common reasons the status fails on examination.
What the penalties now cost
| Failure | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Late filing of the return | Fixed penalty in the region of AED 10,000 per return |
| Tax paid late | Monthly interest of approximately 1% on the unpaid amount |
| Late payment under the April 2026 regime | 14% per annum, non-compounding |
| Error found by the FTA | 15% of the unpaid amount |
| Voluntary disclosure before the FTA finds it | 1% per month |
| Late registration | Separate administrative penalty, assessed on its own |
The penalties are not capped collectively. Registration, filing and payment failures accumulate independently, which is why a company that is late on all three ends up with an exposure out of proportion to the tax at stake.
What to have ready
- Financial statements for the period — audited where revenue or free zone status requires it.
- A trial balance that agrees to those statements.
- Schedules for the standard adjustments: entertainment, non-deductible interest, provisions, fines and unrealised gains.
- Related-party transaction listings and the basis on which they were priced.
- Prior-year tax losses and their expiry position.
- The Small Business Relief calculation, if you intend to elect it.
If you are already late
The exposure grows monthly, and the difference between disclosing voluntarily at 1% a month and being found by the FTA at 15% is usually larger than the underlying tax. Late registration carries a fixed penalty that does not compound; unpaid tax does. The practical order is to register, file, and deal with the penalty — not to wait until the position is tidy.
Figures, thresholds and deadlines in this article were accurate on 24 August 2026. UAE tax rules change. This is general information, not advice on your circumstances — confirm your own position before acting.
Frequently asked
Do I file if my company made a loss?
Yes. Filing is mandatory for every taxable person. A loss is reported and, unless Small Business Relief is elected for that period, carried forward against future profits.
Can I get an extension?
The nine-month deadline is statutory. There is no general extension mechanism.
Do I need audited accounts?
Above the relevant revenue threshold, and for any entity claiming Qualifying Free Zone Person status, yes. Below that, properly prepared financial statements are sufficient — but they must support the return if queried.
Not sure where you stand?
Thirty free minutes with a senior advisor. We will tell you what applies to you, what is due, and whether anything is already overdue.