The UAE corporate tax cheatsheet every finance team should keep on file

What is a UAE corporate tax cheatsheet?

A UAE corporate tax cheatsheet is a one-page summary of the rates, thresholds, deadlines, and rules that apply to businesses under Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022. It helps owners and finance teams remember the 9% rate above AED 375,000, the 9-month filing window, small business relief, and free zone conditions without rereading the full law.

This UAE corporate tax cheatsheet pulls the key numbers into clean tables and short rules. It is written for owners, accountants, and finance leads who need a fast reference during planning, board meetings, or tax season. For the full topic hub, see our UAE Corporate Tax guide.

Every figure below comes from the UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). If a number is not in this cheatsheet, treat it as out of scope and check the official sources before acting.

UAE corporate tax at a glance

The UAE corporate tax regime started for financial years on or after June 1, 2023. It applies to most businesses, including mainland companies, free zone entities, and certain natural persons running a business with revenue above AED 1,000,000.

Headline rates

DMTT stands for Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax. It is part of the global Pillar Two framework and only applies to very large multinational groups. Most UAE businesses sit firmly in the 0% or 9% bands.

Who must register

• All juridical persons resident in the UAE, including free zone companies.
• Non-resident persons with a permanent establishment or UAE-sourced income in scope.
• Natural persons running a business with turnover above AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year.
• Government entities and qualifying public benefit entities only where the law requires it.

Even a company in a loss position must register and file. Registration is done through the FTA EmaraTax portal and produces a Tax Registration Number (TRN) for corporate tax.

Small business relief and the AED 3,000,000 rule

Small business relief lets a resident business elect to be treated as having no taxable income for a tax period. To qualify, revenue in the current and all previous tax periods must stay at or below AED 3,000,000. The relief is available through the end of tax periods ending on or before December 31, 2026.

Conditions to remember

• Election must be made in the corporate tax return for the period.
• Tax losses and unused interest expense cannot be carried forward in periods where the relief is used.
• QFZPs and members of large multinational groups cannot use it.

If you are close to the AED 3,000,000 line, model both scenarios with our UAE Corporate Tax Calculator 9 Percent before electing.

Free zones and the QFZP regime

Free zone businesses are not automatically tax-free. To keep the 0% rate on Qualifying Income, an entity must meet every QFZP condition. Fail one, and the entire taxable income is taxed at 9% for that period and the next four.

QFZP conditions in plain English

1. Maintain adequate substance in the UAE, including staff, assets, and expenditure.
2. Earn Qualifying Income as defined by the Cabinet Decisions on free zones.
3. Not elect to be subject to the standard 9% regime.
4. Meet the de minimis rule: non-qualifying revenue under the lower of 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000.
5. Prepare audited financial statements.
6. Comply with transfer pricing rules and documentation.

Deadlines you cannot miss

UAE corporate tax uses the financial year of each business, so deadlines move depending on year-end. The two fixed rules are registration and the 9-month filing window.

For example, a company with a December 31, 2024 year-end must file and pay by September 30, 2025. A June 30, 2025 year-end pushes the deadline to March 31, 2026. Plot your own dates with our UAE Corporate Tax Deadline Calendar.

Taxable income: how to get from accounts to tax

Start with accounting net profit prepared under IFRS or IFRS for SMEs. Then apply a fixed set of adjustments to arrive at taxable income. The cheatsheet version below covers the items most businesses see.

Common adjustments

• Add back: non-deductible fines, bribes, related-party expenses failing transfer pricing, donations to non-approved entities, 50% of client entertainment.
• Deduct: depreciation aligned with tax rules, interest within the general interest limitation, approved donations.
• Exclude: dividends from UAE juridical persons, qualifying participation exemption income, foreign permanent establishment income if elected.
• Apply: tax loss relief up to 75% of taxable income, group relief, and business restructuring relief where conditions are met.

Use the UAE Corporate Tax Liability Calculator to translate adjusted profit into a final tax number, then move it into a UAE Corporate Tax Return Template for review.

Records, audits, and transfer pricing

Records must be kept for 7 years after the end of the tax period. Audited financial statements are required for taxable persons with revenue above AED 50,000,000 and for all QFZPs. Tax groups must keep records that support consolidated taxable income.

Transfer pricing in three lines

• Apply the arm's length principle to all related party and connected person transactions.
• Prepare a master file and local file if revenue is above AED 200,000,000 or you are part of a group above EUR 750,000,000.
• Submit the transfer pricing disclosure form with each corporate tax return.

Penalties: what late or wrong filings cost

Penalties sit in Cabinet Decisions on tax procedures and corporate tax. The amounts below are the most common ones finance teams encounter.

Separately, e-invoicing violations under Cabinet Decision 106 of 2025 carry penalties from AED 2,500 to AED 50,000 per violation. Corporate tax and e-invoicing compliance are now linked, since e-invoice data will feed audit trails.

Worked example: a small trading LLC

Imagine an LLC with revenue of AED 4,200,000 and accounting net profit of AED 600,000 for the year ended December 31, 2024.

• Revenue above AED 3,000,000, so small business relief is not available.
• Add back AED 20,000 of non-deductible entertainment, giving taxable income of AED 620,000.
• First AED 375,000 taxed at 0%, balance of AED 245,000 taxed at 9%.
• Corporate tax payable: AED 22,050.
• Filing and payment deadline: September 30, 2025.

This is the kind of calculation our UAE Corporate Tax Filing guide walks through in more detail, step by step.

Quick compliance checklist

1. Register for corporate tax in EmaraTax and store the TRN.
2. Confirm the financial year and first tax period in writing.
3. Decide on tax group, QFZP, or small business relief positions early.
4. Map related parties and connected persons for transfer pricing.
5. Reconcile accounting profit to taxable income each quarter.
6. Keep contracts, invoices, and e-invoices for 7 years.
7. File and pay within 9 months of year-end.

Official sources to bookmark

Read the law from the source. The three links below are the only ones a finance team really needs for corporate tax research.

• UAE Ministry of Finance for decrees, Cabinet Decisions, and policy explainers.
• UAE Federal Tax Authority for EmaraTax, guides, and public clarifications.
• UAE MoF e-invoicing portal for the e-invoicing rules that feed your corporate tax audit trail.

Pair this cheatsheet with the full UAE Corporate Tax hub for deeper dives into specific topics like tax groups, participation exemption, and foreign tax credits.

Ready to align corporate tax and e-invoicing?

Corporate tax audits will lean on invoice-level data once UAE e-invoicing goes live. EInvoice Direct keeps your sales and purchase records clean, structured in PINT AE, and ready for the FTA. An accredited service provider is included with the software at no extra charge, so your finance team has one less vendor to manage. To get UAE e-invoicing pricing, send us a short note about your business and we will reply with numbers, not a sales pitch.