Registering for UAE Corporate Tax is only the first step. Once registered, businesses need to understand when their Corporate Tax Return is due and when any Corporate Tax liability must be paid.
Missing these deadlines can result in unnecessary penalties, so knowing your company's Tax Period is essential.
What Is the UAE Corporate Tax Filing Deadline?
As a general rule, a UAE Corporate Tax Return must be filed with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) within nine months from the end of the relevant Tax Period.
Any Corporate Tax payable is generally also due within this timeframe.
A Taxable Person generally files one Corporate Tax Return for each Tax Period.
Example: Company With a 31 December Year End
Suppose a company's Tax Period ends on 31 December 2025.
Its Corporate Tax Return and Corporate Tax payment would generally be due by 30 September 2026.
The nine-month filing period therefore gives the business time after its year end to finalise its accounts, calculate taxable income and prepare its Corporate Tax Return.
What About a 31 March Year End?
For a company with a Tax Period ending 31 March 2026, the normal nine-month deadline would be 31 December 2026.
The deadline is therefore driven by the company's Tax Period rather than there being one universal Corporate Tax filing date for every UAE company.
What Needs to Happen Before Filing?
Businesses should avoid waiting until the filing deadline before considering Corporate Tax.
Before a return can be completed properly, the business will generally need reliable accounting records and financial information for the relevant period.
The accounting profit may then require adjustments to arrive at taxable income. Depending on the circumstances, this could include reviewing:
- non-deductible expenditure;
- entertainment expenses;
- interest expenses;
- Exempt Income;
- related-party transactions;
- Tax Losses;
- available Corporate Tax reliefs; and
- Free Zone Qualifying and non-Qualifying Income.
Good bookkeeping throughout the year can make the eventual Corporate Tax process significantly easier.
Do You Still Need to File if There Is No Tax to Pay?
Potentially, yes.
A Corporate Tax filing obligation should not be confused with having Corporate Tax to pay.
For example, a business may have taxable income below the threshold at which the standard 9% rate begins to apply. That does not automatically mean that the business has no filing obligations.
Similarly, a Free Zone company benefiting from a 0% rate on Qualifying Income can still have Corporate Tax compliance requirements.
How Long Should Corporate Tax Records Be Kept?
Businesses subject to Corporate Tax should generally retain the records and documents supporting their Corporate Tax position for at least seven years following the end of the relevant Tax Period.
This is another reason why businesses should establish proper accounting and record-keeping processes rather than attempting to reconstruct their figures when a filing deadline approaches.
What Happens if You Miss the Deadline?
Late filing and late payment can expose a business to administrative penalties.
Under the current penalty framework, late submission of a Corporate Tax Return can attract a penalty of AED 500 for each month, or part of a month, for the first 12 months and AED 1,000 for each month, or part of a month, thereafter.
Other penalties can also apply depending on the nature of the non-compliance.
If you believe a deadline has already been missed, the best approach is usually to establish the correct position and deal with the outstanding compliance as soon as possible.
How SOA Accountants Can Help
At SOA Accountants, we can help businesses manage the Corporate Tax process from start to finish, including:
- Corporate Tax registration;
- confirming your Tax Period and filing deadline;
- reviewing your accounting records;
- preparing the Corporate Tax computation;
- identifying relevant tax adjustments and reliefs;
- preparing and filing the Corporate Tax Return; and
- advising on the payment due.
If you are unsure when your UAE Corporate Tax Return is due, speak to SOA Accountants and we can review your company's position and confirm the key deadlines.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and should not be treated as tax advice. UAE Corporate Tax treatment depends on the facts and circumstances of each business and the legislation and guidance in force at the relevant time.
