Cessation date and deadline
We establish the date that starts the three-month clock: the business ceasing, the company being dissolved or liquidated, or the company ceasing to exist after a merger.
Comply · Deregistration
Deregister within three months, with nothing left open
When an entity stops trading, is dissolved or liquidated, or ceases to exist after a merger, it has three months to apply to deregister for corporate tax. The FTA approves only once every return is filed and all tax and penalties are paid, so we plan the final return and the settlement into the closure timetable.
- Apply within
- 3 months
- of cessation, dissolution or liquidation
- Late application
- AED 1,000
- per month, up to AED 10,000
- Before approval
- All settled
- every return filed, all tax and penalties paid
- Keep records for
- 7 years
- after the end of the final tax period
Comply
Who this is for
- A group simplifying its structure and liquidating dormant or surplus subsidiaries.
- A company merging into another group entity and ceasing to exist.
- An entity whose licence has been cancelled, with no clear view of what the FTA still expects.
- A closure where the three-month window has passed and the late-application penalty is accruing.
- UAE entities of a group in scope of the 15% Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, which must also deregister for Top-up Tax.
- Individuals registered for corporate tax whose business carried on in their own name has stopped.
What we do
The work, end to end.
Final tax return
We prepare and file the return for the period up to cessation, covering everything in that period, including gains as assets are sold or transferred.
Missing returns and open balances
We review the EmaraTax account for unfiled returns, unpaid tax and outstanding penalties, and clear them before the application goes in.
Mergers and intra-group transfers
Where the business or its assets move to another group company, we test the ownership-based reliefs before the transaction. Qualifying Group Relief and the transfer of tax losses both need at least 75% common ownership.
The deregistration application
We file the application on EmaraTax as your tax agent and answer the FTA's questions until it is approved.
Top-up Tax deregistration
For entities of groups in scope of the Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, we handle the separate Top-up Tax deregistration, which also requires all top-up tax and penalties to be settled first.
Records after closure
We agree who will hold the records, and for how long, once the company no longer exists.
How it works
Clear steps. No guesswork.
- 1
Day 1
Scoping call
At no charge, we confirm the cessation date, the three-month deadline and what remains open on EmaraTax.
- 2
About 1 week
Position review
We check every tax period for missing returns, unpaid tax and penalties.
- 3
Typically 2 to 4 weeks
Final return and settlement
We prepare and file the return up to cessation, and you pay any tax and penalties due.
- 4
Varies
Application filed
We submit the deregistration application on EmaraTax and respond to any FTA queries.
- 5
Varies
Deregistration confirmed
You receive the FTA's confirmation and a note of the records to retain.
What you get
Deliverables
- A confirmed cessation date and deregistration deadline
- The final corporate tax return for the period up to cessation
- An EmaraTax account with every return filed and every balance settled
- The deregistration application, filed and followed through to approval
- Top-up Tax deregistration, where the group is in scope
- A note of which records to keep, and until when
Know the law
The rules in brief
- 1
A Taxable Person must apply to deregister within three months of ceasing business, or of ceasing to exist, being dissolved or being liquidated.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 52; FTA Decision No. 6 of 2023
- 2
The FTA deregisters a person only once all returns are filed, including for the period up to cessation, and all tax and penalties are paid.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 52(2)
- 3
A late deregistration application costs AED 1,000 for each month, up to a maximum of AED 10,000.
Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023
- 4
The FTA can deregister a person on its own initiative.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 52(4)
- 5
Records must be kept for seven years after the end of the tax period they relate to.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 56
- 6
Entities in scope of the Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax deregister for it separately, within six months of ceasing to exist or leaving scope.
FTA Decision No. 12 of 2026
From cessation. For a company, that is when it ceases to exist or is dissolved or liquidated; for an individual, when the business stops. The last trading day, the licence cancellation and the end of a liquidation can fall on different dates, so we confirm which applies before the deadline is set.
No. Every return must be filed, including the one for the period up to cessation, and all tax and penalties paid before the FTA will deregister the entity. We check the EmaraTax account for anything outstanding before applying, so the application is not held up.
Apply as soon as possible. The late-application penalty is AED 1,000 a month, up to AED 10,000, and it must be paid with everything else before deregistration is approved.
It should not be relied on. The FTA can deregister a person on its own initiative, but the duty to apply within three months, and the penalty for applying late, remain with the company.
Yes. A return covering the period up to cessation is a condition of deregistration, and any tax it shows must be paid. Build it into the closure timetable, because the FTA will not deregister the entity until it is filed.
Whether the company that disappears must deregister (it must, within three months, if it ceases to exist), and whether any relief applies to the transfer. Qualifying Group Relief and the transfer of tax losses both depend on at least 75% common ownership, and both are best tested before the merger, while the terms can still change.
Yes, if they were registered. A natural person must apply within three months of the business ceasing, on the same conditions: all returns filed and all tax and penalties paid.
Seven years after the end of the tax period they relate to, including the final period. The FTA can audit or assess a period for five years after it ends, or 15 years in cases of tax evasion or failure to register, so agree now who will hold the records once the company has gone.
Often needed together
Talk to us
Liquidating, merging or closing an entity?
Tell us the cessation date and we will confirm the three-month deadline and what remains open on EmaraTax. The first consultation is free.
- FTA Registered Tax Agency
- Tax team with Big Four audit-firm experience
- Mon to Fri, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (GST)
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