The threshold test
We total business turnover for each calendar year, excluding salary, personal investment income and income from real estate investment that needs no licence, and confirm whether and when registration is required.
Comply · Freelancers & individuals
Over AED 1 million in your own name? Corporate tax applies.
For freelancers and sole establishments, corporate tax applies once business turnover passes AED 1 million in a calendar year. We test the threshold, register you on EmaraTax, the FTA's online portal, and prepare and file the return each year.
- Turnover threshold
- AED 1m
- of business turnover in a calendar year
- Register by
- 31 March
- of the year after the threshold is crossed
- File and pay by
- 30 September
- of the following year; the tax period is the calendar year
- Rates
- 0% / 9%
- 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income
Comply
Who this is for
- Consultants, contractors and professionals trading under a licence in their own name whose 2026 business turnover may pass AED 1 million.
- Owners of a sole establishment unsure how corporate tax applies to it.
- Employees with a business alongside their salary who need to know what counts towards the AED 1 million.
- Individuals holding property or investments personally who want to confirm these stay outside corporate tax.
- Individuals whose business turnover passed AED 1 million in 2025 and who have not yet registered or filed.
What we do
The work, end to end.
Registration as a natural person
Once AED 1 million is crossed, we file the registration by 31 March of the following year and you receive a Tax Registration Number (TRN).
Business and personal, separated
We draw a clear line between business income and costs and personal ones, so only the business is taxed and only business costs are deducted.
Small Business Relief, or not
If revenue is AED 3 million or less this year and in every earlier year, we compare electing relief with the normal 0% and 9% computation. Relief means no taxable income, but a loss made in a relief year cannot be carried forward.
Records that hold up
A straightforward routine for invoices, receipts, bank statements and contracts, kept for seven years. A separate business bank account makes the line between business and personal easy to show.
Annual return and payment
After each calendar year ends, we prepare the computation, file the return by 30 September and confirm what to pay.
How it works
Clear steps. No guesswork.
- 1
Day 1
Initial consultation
At no charge, we review your income streams and tell you whether the AED 1 million test is likely to be met.
- 2
1 to 2 weeks
Turnover and records review
You share invoices, bank statements and your licence. We test the threshold year by year and flag any gaps in the records.
- 3
Typically 2 to 4 weeks
Registration
Where registration is required, we file the application on EmaraTax and handle any FTA queries.
- 4
1 to 2 weeks
Computation and return
After the year ends, we prepare the computation, agree the Small Business Relief decision with you and file the return.
- 5
By 30 September
Payment
You pay any tax due by 30 September, and we set up the records for the year ahead.
What you get
Deliverables
- A turnover test for each calendar year, showing what counts and what does not
- Corporate tax registration and a TRN, where required
- A tax computation and return filed on EmaraTax
- A Small Business Relief recommendation for each year
- A records checklist and a monthly routine
- Dated deadlines for registration, filing and payment
Know the law
The rules in brief
- 1
A natural person is subject to corporate tax only on business activities whose total turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year.
Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023
- 2
Wages, personal investment income and income from real estate investment that needs no licence are excluded, whatever the amount.
Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023
- 3
A resident natural person must register by 31 March of the year after the threshold is crossed.
FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024
- 4
The tax period is the calendar year, and the return and any tax are due by 30 September of the following year.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 53; FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024
- 5
The 0% and 9% bands apply, and Small Business Relief is available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Arts. 3 and 21; Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026
- 6
Late registration costs AED 10,000, and a late return AED 500 per month or part month for the first 12 months.
Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024
No. Wages are excluded whatever the amount, as are personal investment income and income from real estate investment that does not need a licence. Only the turnover of business activities counts.
Turnover. The test looks at the total turnover of business activities in a calendar year, before any costs. Once it is passed, tax is calculated on taxable income, and the first AED 375,000 is taxed at 0%.
Not if it is a personal investment that does not need a licence. For natural persons, income from selling or leasing real estate without a licence is excluded, whatever the amount. If the property is held within a licensed business, the answer can change, so tell us how it is held.
Yes, if UAE resident and business revenue is AED 3 million or less in the current tax period and in every earlier one. It is elected in the return each year, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. Registration, a simplified return and records are still required, and a loss made in a relief year cannot be carried forward.
Register by 31 March 2027. The first tax period is calendar 2026, so the return must be filed, and any tax paid, by 30 September 2027.
Every sales invoice, purchase receipt, bank statement and contract for the business, for seven years after the end of the tax period. A separate business bank account makes the split between business and personal spending easy to show. Where records are kept electronically, the FTA expects complete copies that it can access.
Register now, then file the 2025 return and pay any tax, both of which were due by 30 September 2026. Late registration costs AED 10,000 and a late return AED 500 a month for the first 12 months. The FTA's waiver of the registration penalty needs the first return filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period, which for calendar 2025 was 31 July 2026, so it will not help here. If there are grounds to ask the FTA to reconsider a penalty, we will prepare the request; the decision is the FTA's.
Often needed together
Talk to us
Getting close to AED 1 million?
Send us a rough split of your 2026 income and we will confirm whether registration is needed, and by when. 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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