Tax period and deadline
We confirm the tax period, the filing and payment date and what the return must cover, whether that is a single company, free zone income or an entire Tax Group.
Comply · Return filing
Corporate tax returns, from trial balance to EmaraTax
Every Taxable Person files a corporate tax return, and pays any tax, within nine months of the end of its tax period, even when nothing is due. We take the accounts through every adjustment to a computation that will hold up under review, file it on EmaraTax and confirm the amount and date of payment.
- File and pay within
- 9 months
- of the end of the tax period
- 0% band
- AED 375,000
- of taxable income; 9% on the excess
- Late return
- AED 500
- per month or part month for the first 12 months
- Late payment
- 14% a year
- applied monthly to unpaid tax
Comply
Who this is for
- The parent of a Tax Group, filing one return for every member and reconciling it to the aggregated audited statements.
- A finance team whose auditors close the books but where nobody owns the tax computation: add-backs, exempt income, losses and interest.
- Groups with related-party flows above AED 40 million, or payments to directors and shareholders, that must decide which disclosure schedules apply.
- Companies with 31 January, 28 February or 31 March year ends, whose returns and payments fall due between 31 October and 31 December 2026.
- Entities that missed the 30 September 2026 deadline for FY2025 and need the return filed and the penalties contained.
- Smaller subsidiaries electing Small Business Relief, which still owe a simplified return by the same deadline.
What we do
The work, end to end.
Accounting profit, checked
The computation starts from the profit in the financial statements, so we confirm the accounts are complete, reconciled and consistent with the ledgers before any adjustment is made.
Adjustments
We add back what the law restricts: half of entertainment costs, net interest above the higher of AED 12 million or 30% of EBITDA, and payments to owners, directors or their related parties above market value.
Exempt income
We remove income the law exempts, such as dividends and gains on holdings that meet the participation exemption, and document why each item qualifies.
Tax losses
We bring forward losses from earlier periods, apply the 75% cap and test ownership continuity, so the losses used are losses that can be defended.
Transfer pricing disclosures
Where related-party transactions exceed AED 40 million, we prepare the transfer pricing disclosure form. Where any one connected person received more than AED 500,000 in payments or benefits, we prepare the connected-person schedule.
Filing, elections and payment
We file on EmaraTax under our Tax Agency, make the elections you have approved, such as Small Business Relief, and confirm the amount payable and the date.
How it works
Clear steps. No guesswork.
- 1
Day 1
Scoping call
At no charge, we confirm the tax period, the deadline and anything unusual about the year.
- 2
1 to 2 weeks
Records in
You share the financial statements, trial balance, ledgers and the schedules we request through a secure link.
- 3
Typically 1 to 2 weeks
Computation prepared
We build the computation from accounting profit to taxable income and record every judgement made along the way.
- 4
2 to 3 days
Review and sign-off
We take the finance lead through the tax payable, the disclosures and the elections before anything is filed.
- 5
1 day
Filed and paid
We submit the return on EmaraTax, and you pay the tax by the due date using the details we send.
What you get
Deliverables
- A tax computation from accounting profit to taxable income, with working papers
- The corporate tax return, filed on EmaraTax under our Tax Agency
- The transfer pricing disclosure form and connected-person schedule, where thresholds are met
- The tax payable, the payment date and payment instructions
- A schedule of tax losses and disallowed interest carried forward
- The next filing and payment date for each entity
Know the law
The rules in brief
- 1
The return must be filed, and any tax paid, within nine months of the end of the tax period.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Arts. 48 and 53
- 2
Taxable income up to AED 375,000 is taxed at 0%, and the excess at 9%.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 3; Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022
- 3
Tax losses carry forward with no time limit, but can offset no more than 75% of taxable income in a period.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 37
- 4
A business electing Small Business Relief, available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, must still file a return by the same deadline.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 21; Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026
- 5
The transfer pricing disclosure form is required when related-party transactions exceed AED 40 million, and the connected-person schedule when any one connected person receives more than AED 500,000.
FTA Corporate Tax Returns Guide (November 2024)
- 6
A late return costs AED 500 per month or part month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 per month; unpaid tax attracts 14% a year, applied monthly.
Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023
- 7
Records supporting the return must be kept for seven years after the end of the tax period.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 56
File and pay as soon as possible. The late-filing penalty is AED 500 for each month or part month for the first 12 months, and unpaid tax attracts 14% a year, applied monthly, so each month adds cost. We prepare and file the return from your accounts and set out the penalties that apply.
Yes. Every Taxable Person files a return, whatever the result. Filing a loss-year return keeps the loss available for later years, unless Small Business Relief is elected for that year, in which case the loss cannot be carried forward.
Where revenue is AED 3 million or less in the current tax period and every earlier one, relief treats the company as having no taxable income. Losses and net interest from a relief year cannot be carried forward, so in a loss-making year it can be better not to elect. Qualifying Free Zone Persons and members of multinational groups with revenue of AED 3.15 billion or more cannot elect it at all.
We start from the accounting profit in the financial statements. We add back costs the law restricts, such as half of entertainment spending, remove exempt income such as qualifying dividends, and offset tax losses brought forward, up to 75% of taxable income. The first AED 375,000 of the result is taxed at 0% and the rest at 9%.
Nine months after the year end, counted from month end to month end. A year ending 31 January 2026 is due by 31 October 2026, 28 February by 30 November 2026 and 31 March by 31 December 2026. Where a deadline falls on a weekend, file by the preceding business day to be safe.
Only if transactions with related parties exceed AED 40 million in total in the tax period. Each category above AED 4 million is then itemised, and dividends are left out. Separately, a connected-person schedule is needed if any one owner, director or officer, or a party related to them, received payments or benefits worth more than AED 500,000. Below those thresholds, related-party prices must still be at arm's length.
Yes. The parent company files a single return for the whole group. For tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, every Tax Group also needs audited special-purpose financial statements that aggregate its members, whatever its revenue.
In some cases. For tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, audited statements are required where revenue exceeds AED 50 million, for every Qualifying Free Zone Person and for every Tax Group. Other companies still need proper financial statements, but corporate tax does not require them to be audited.
Often needed together
Talk to us
Return due, or already late?
Tell us the year end and send the latest accounts. We will confirm the filing and payment date, or what is overdue, and what the computation will need. 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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