Deadline check, entity by entity
We confirm whether and when each entity must register: by incorporation date, as a foreign company managed from the UAE, as a non-resident with a permanent establishment or nexus, or as a natural person.
Comply · Registration
Corporate tax registration for every entity you own
Every UAE company needs a Corporate Tax Registration Number, including free zone entities, holding companies and companies that will owe nothing. We confirm each entity's deadline, prepare the EmaraTax application, deal with the FTA's queries and see the TRN issued.
- Deadline (new companies)
- 3 months
- from incorporation, establishment or recognition
- Late-registration penalty
- AED 10,000
- flat, per Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024
- Waiver
- 7 months
- first return filed within 7 months of the first period end
- Who must register
- Every company
- including 0% and free zone entities
Comply
Who this is for
- The group is adding a UAE subsidiary, branch or free zone entity, and its three-month registration clock started on incorporation.
- Your entity register includes companies whose corporate tax registration, or tax period, has never been confirmed.
- A foreign-incorporated company is managed and controlled from the UAE, or has a permanent establishment here, and needs to know which deadline applies.
- VAT registration was assumed to cover corporate tax. It does not: they are separate registrations with separate numbers.
- The FTA has rejected an application or asked for more information, and the response window is running.
- An entity registered late and you want its AED 10,000 penalty waived through the first return.
What we do
The work, end to end.
Document pack
Trade licence, memorandum and articles, shareholder and UBO details, Emirates IDs and passports, and proof of the signatory's authority. We assemble the pack and check it before anything is uploaded.
Tax period and financial year
We align the tax period with the financial year, so the first filing deadline is the one your finance team expects. A long or short first year is flagged at this stage, not after it.
EmaraTax application
We file under our Tax Agency, track the application and answer the FTA's requests for information until the Tax Registration Number is issued.
Penalty relief for late registrations
Where the deadline has passed, we plan the first return so the AED 10,000 penalty is waived under the FTA's initiative. A penalty already paid is credited back to the EmaraTax account.
Compliance calendar
Each entity receives a dated schedule of what follows: first return, payment, record-keeping duties and any audit requirement.
How it works
Clear steps. No guesswork.
- 1
Day 1
Initial review
In a short call, at no charge, we confirm each entity's registration deadline and flag complications.
- 2
1 to 3 days
Documents in
You share licences and constitutional documents through a secure link. We check them and report any gaps.
- 3
1 day
Application filed
We complete and submit the EmaraTax application as your registered tax agent.
- 4
Varies
FTA queries answered
We respond to any request for additional information within the FTA's window.
- 5
Typically 2 to 4 weeks
TRN issued
You receive the Tax Registration Number, the certificate and the entity's compliance calendar.
What you get
Deliverables
- Corporate Tax Registration Number (TRN) and electronic certificate for each entity
- A confirmed tax period aligned to the financial year
- A dated compliance calendar: first return, payment and audit requirement
- A check on whether a late-registration penalty can be waived
- A short note for the finance team on the records to keep from day one
Know the law
The rules in brief
- 1
Every Taxable Person must register for Corporate Tax, even if no tax will be payable.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 51
- 2
UAE companies incorporated on or after 1 March 2024 must register within three months of incorporation, establishment or recognition.
FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024
- 3
Resident individuals must register by 31 March of the following year once their business turnover passes AED 1 million in a calendar year.
Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023; FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024
- 4
Late registration attracts a flat administrative penalty of AED 10,000.
Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024
- 5
The penalty is waived, or credited back if paid, when the first tax return is filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period.
FTA Public Clarification CTP006
Yes. Registration does not depend on profit. Every resident company is a Taxable Person and must register and file a return, even when the tax due is zero. Filing a loss-year return also keeps the loss available to carry forward.
No. VAT and corporate tax are separate registrations on EmaraTax, with separate numbers and separate returns. Where an entity is already VAT-registered, many of its details pre-fill, which shortens the corporate tax application.
Yes. A free zone company must register even if it expects to be a Qualifying Free Zone Person paying 0% on qualifying income. Its eligibility for the regime is then tested every year in the return.
The entity's first corporate tax return (or, for an exempt person, its first annual declaration) must be filed within seven months of the end of its first tax period, instead of the usual nine. If it qualifies, an unpaid penalty is cancelled and a paid one is credited to the EmaraTax account. A member's first period in a Tax Group can also qualify where the group return is filed within seven months.
With a complete document pack, the FTA usually issues a TRN within a few weeks. Most delays come from mismatched or missing documents, which is why we check every pack before it is submitted.
It depends on the connection. A foreign-incorporated company effectively managed and controlled in the UAE registers within three months of the end of its financial year. A permanent establishment arising on or after 1 March 2024 registers within six months of coming into existence, and a nexus within three months.
When turnover from business activities carried on in their own name passes AED 1 million in a calendar year. Registration is then due by 31 March of the following year. Salary, personal investment income and unlicensed real estate investment income do not count towards the threshold.
Often needed together
Talk to us
Not sure every entity is registered?
Send us the trade licences and we will confirm each entity's registration deadline and its seven-month waiver date. 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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