Quick Answer
UAE Corporate Tax is the 9% federal tax on net taxable income above AED 375,000 introduced in June 2023. Every UAE company — including freelancers and free-zone entities — must register with the FTA and file annually, even if loss-making.
Corporate Tax (CT) applies for fiscal years starting on or after 1 June 2023. The headline rates: 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income, 9% on everything above. Qualifying free-zone income gets 0% at the entity level (free-zone-to-free-zone, exports, qualifying activities), while non-qualifying free-zone income is taxed at 9%.
Every taxable person — every UAE company, branch, or partnership — must register with the FTA, even if they expect to make no taxable profit. Returns are due 9 months after fiscal year-end via EmaraTax, with audited financial statements required for entities above certain revenue thresholds.
Small Business Relief is in place until December 2026: businesses with revenue under AED 3 million can elect to be treated as having zero taxable income. After SBR ends, the standard 0% / 9% bracket applies.
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