UAE corporate tax in 2026: who registers, who pays 9%, and the Small Business Relief extension to 2029

Key takeaways

• Rates: 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income; 9% above. Large multinational groups face a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax.
• Registration is separate from paying. Most companies must register, including those in the 0% band and free zone companies.
• Freelancers and sole traders: register when business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year, by 31 March the following year.
• Small Business Relief: revenue ≤ AED 3 million, now available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 (Ministerial Decision No. 131, August 2026).
• Late registration penalty: AED 10,000, waivable if you file your first return within seven months of the end of your first tax period.
• Individuals’ property income from real estate held personally (not through a licensed business) isn’t subject to corporate tax.

Who has to register

“The number of transactions completed by the Tax Registration Department increased by more than 20%…”

Federal Tax Authority, 2025 Annual Report release (June 2026)

Registration is free through EmaraTax or Tas’heel centres.

Small Business Relief, extended

Resident businesses with revenue of AED 3 million or less in a tax period can elect to be treated as having no taxable income for that period. In August 2026 the Ministry of Finance extended the relief to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, through Ministerial Decision No. 131.

Things to know:

• It’s an election, made in your return. You still register and file.
• Revenue, not profit, decides eligibility.
• Some businesses, such as qualifying free zone persons and members of large multinational groups, can’t use it.
• Splitting a business artificially to stay under the threshold is caught by anti-abuse rules.

Filing and penalties

Registration volumes show enforcement is real: the FTA completed more than 245,000 corporate tax registration applications in 2025 (FTA 2025 Annual Report).

• Returns are due within nine months of the end of your tax period.
• Late registration: AED 10,000. The FTA waives it if you file your first return within seven months of the end of your first tax period.
• Record-keeping failures: AED 10,000, rising to AED 20,000 for repeat breaches within 24 months.

Property investors

If you own Dubai property as an individual and rent it out, without a trade licence for real estate activity, that rental income is real estate investment income and outside corporate tax. If you hold property through a company, the company’s income is in scope. Before you set up a company to hold property, compare it with personal ownership, and remember tax in your home country. See corporate tax advisory.

VAT is separate

Corporate tax registration is separate from VAT. VAT registration is mandatory once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 a year, and the e-invoicing rollout starts in 2027. See VAT and e-invoicing.