Key takeaways
- The AED 10,000 late-registration penalty is waived, or credited back if paid, when your first return is filed within 7 months of the end of your first tax period.
- The FTA has not published an end date for the waiver; 31 July 2026 was one group of taxpayers' 7-month cut-off, not the end of the programme.
- The waiver does not move your payment deadline: tax is still due 9 months after the tax period ends.
- If your 7-month date falls on a weekend, file by the preceding business day to be safe.
The FTA charges a flat AED 10,000 penalty for registering late for corporate tax. The late registration penalty waiver allows that penalty to be cancelled, or credited back if it has already been paid, provided the first corporate tax return is filed within 7 months of the end of the first tax period. The condition is a single date, and it is unforgiving. A return filed one day after it leaves the penalty in place, even when the return itself is comfortably on time.
For groups the point is easy to lose. Newly incorporated subsidiaries, entities acquired in a transaction and companies that only recently came within the regime can each have their own first tax period, and each has its own 7-month date.
How the waiver works
The late-registration penalty is a flat AED 10,000. Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024 added it to the corporate tax penalty table in Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, with effect from 1 March 2024.
The Cabinet approved the waiver with effect from 14 April 2025, and the FTA explained its operation in Public Clarification CTP006 in July 2025. It reaches back to penalties from 1 June 2023. The first corporate tax return must be filed within 7 months of the end of the first tax period, instead of the usual 9. For an exempt person, the test is the first annual declaration.
Where the condition is met, an unpaid penalty is cancelled. A paid penalty is credited to the corporate tax account on EmaraTax, the FTA's online portal, where it can be used against other tax liabilities or claimed as a refund. No separate application is needed: the waiver is applied automatically, and any pending reconsideration request for the penalty lapses.
Counting the 7 months
The FTA counts month end to month end. A first tax period ending on 31 March gives a 7-month date of 31 October; one ending on 30 April gives 30 November.
| First tax period ended | 7-month waiver date | Safe date to file | Return and payment due (9 months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Dec 2025 | 31 Jul 2026 | Passed | 30 Sep 2026 |
| 31 Mar 2026 | 31 Oct 2026 (Saturday) | Fri 30 Oct 2026 | 31 Dec 2026 |
| 30 Apr 2026 | 30 Nov 2026 | Mon 30 Nov 2026 | 31 Jan 2027 (Sunday) |
| 31 May 2026 | 31 Dec 2026 | Thu 31 Dec 2026 | 28 Feb 2027 (Sunday) |
| 30 Jun 2026 | 31 Jan 2027 (Sunday) | Fri 29 Jan 2027 | 31 Mar 2027 |
On weekends, the position is not fully settled. Under the Tax Procedures Law, a deadline that falls on a non-business day moves to the next business day, and the UAE weekend is Saturday and Sunday. The FTA applies this to VAT returns, but we have not seen it confirmed for corporate tax returns or for the waiver window. We therefore treat the preceding business day as the deadline. The deadline finder and the tax calendar give the dates for any year end.
Example 1: first period ended 31 March 2026
Company A registered late. Its first tax period ended on 31 March 2026, so its 7-month date is 31 October 2026. That is a Saturday, so it should file by Friday 30 October 2026. If it does, the AED 10,000 is cancelled, or credited to its EmaraTax account if already paid. Its tax remains due by 31 December 2026, the normal 9-month date.
Example 2: first period ended 31 May 2026
Company B's 7-month date is 31 December 2026, a Thursday. Its return and payment are due by 28 February 2027. That is a Sunday, so it should pay by Friday 26 February 2027 to be safe. Filing early for the waiver does not bring that payment date forward.
Example 3: on time for the return, too late for the waiver
Company C's first tax period was calendar year 2025. It filed on 15 August 2026, well inside the 30 September 2026 deadline, so no late-filing penalty arises. Its 7-month date, however, was 31 July 2026, so the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty stands. Fifteen days cost it AED 10,000.
Did the waiver end on 31 July 2026?
It did not. Many websites give 31 July 2026 as the waiver deadline. That date is only the 7-month cut-off for businesses whose first tax period ended on 31 December 2025. For first periods that ended on 31 December 2024, the cut-off was 31 July 2025. Each is a cut-off for one group of taxpayers, not an end date for the programme.
CTP006 states that the initiative applies to first tax periods whether they fall in the past or the future, and the FTA has not published an end date. That conclusion rests on the absence of an announcement, so the current position should be checked before relying on it.
Take-up has been substantial. On 14 May 2026 the FTA reported that 68,600 businesses had benefited, with 22,000 more eligible and about 91,000 beneficiaries expected in total.
Tax Groups and exempt persons
A member of a Tax Group can also benefit, provided the group's return is filed within 7 months and it is the member's first tax period in the group. Because the parent files that return for the whole group, the member's waiver depends on the parent's timetable. When a late-registered company joins a group, its waiver becomes a reason to finish the group return two months early.
A business that is later approved as an exempt person also qualifies, by filing its first annual declaration within 7 months of the end of its first tax period or financial year.
Who cannot use the waiver
The waiver is tied to the first tax period. Once that 7-month window has passed, a later period does not offer a second opportunity, and a business that has already received the waiver cannot receive it again.
It also covers the late-registration penalty only. Late filing (AED 500 per month or part month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month) and late payment (14% a year, applied monthly) are separate penalties.
Where the window has closed, or other penalties apply, our penalties and voluntary disclosures team reviews the position and prepares any request to the FTA. The decision rests with the FTA.
The payment date does not move
The waiver changes the date by which you must file. It does not change the date by which you must pay. Tax remains due within 9 months of the end of the tax period.
Late payment attracts a penalty from the day after the due date at 14% a year, applied monthly, or about 1.17% for each month or part month. On AED 60,000 of tax paid two months late, that is AED 60,000 × 14% ÷ 12 × 2 = AED 1,400. The penalty estimator runs the same calculation on your figures.
What to do now
- Establish the end date of each entity's first tax period. Everything else follows from it.
- Count 7 months, month end to month end, and move a weekend date back to the preceding business day.
- Bring the year-end close forward. The window is two months shorter than the normal filing period, and the return still has to be right.
- File by the safe date, then pay by the 9-month date.
- If the penalty was already paid, confirm the credit on the EmaraTax account and decide whether to use it or claim a refund.
Where the first tax period was calendar year 2025, the waiver date has passed, but the return and payment are still due tomorrow, 30 September 2026. The FTA confirmed on 26 September 2026 that there is no extension.
How ebs can help
ebs Chartered Accountants is an FTA Registered Tax Agency (TAN 30022834). We confirm each entity's first tax period and 7-month date, plan the year-end close around it, prepare and file the first return, and check that the penalty has been cancelled or credited on EmaraTax. Where registration is still outstanding, we handle the registration first. The first consultation is free: contact us.
This article is general information as at 29 September 2026, not advice on your specific circumstances. Tax rules change; check the current position before acting.