Corporate tax, international planning, VAT compliance, AML governance, and regulatory advisory — precision in every filing.
Every UAE company now has a tax and regulatory calendar, and this section is where we run it. Corporate tax at 9 per cent, VAT at 5 per cent, beneficial owner and economic substance reporting, anti-money laundering duties for designated businesses, and the visa and labour filings that keep a licence usable all have fixed deadlines and published penalties. The seven services here are corporate tax advisory, tax return filing on EmaraTax, VAT, international tax planning, ESR and UBO, AML compliance and PRO services; the books that support them sit in Accounting.
Corporate tax came in for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023 under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. The Ministry of Finance publishes the rates: 0 per cent up to and including AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9 per cent above it, with 0 per cent for a Qualifying Free Zone Person on its Qualifying Income. A company formed on or after 1 March 2024 must apply to register within three months of incorporation; the return and payment are due nine months after the end of the tax period, which for a 2025 calendar year means 30 September 2026. The difference between our two corporate tax pages is simple: advisory decides the position, such as free zone status, grouping, Small Business Relief and transfer pricing; filing prepares the computation and submits it. Most clients need both once and filing every year.
VAT has been in force since 2018 at 5 per cent. Registration becomes compulsory when taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 over twelve months, or are expected to within 30 days, and the application must be filed within 30 days of crossing the line; returns are usually quarterly and due by the 28th day after the period. Free zone status does not change the VAT position unless the zone is a Designated Zone for goods. International tax planning sits beside these: the UAE has 137 double taxation agreements and a withholding tax rate currently set at 0 per cent, so the work is usually about tax residency certificates, the participation exemption and the treaty position of the paying country rather than UAE tax itself.
Two reporting regimes apply regardless of profit. Cabinet Decision No. (109) of 2023 requires every legal person licensed in the UAE, including the commercial free zones, to keep a register of beneficial owners, the natural persons with 25 per cent or more of capital or votes through any chain, and a register of partners or shareholders, to file them with the registrar and to update them within 15 days of a change; the financial free zones run their own equivalent rules. The Economic Substance Regulations require entities carrying on a Relevant Activity to maintain an adequate economic presence in the UAE and to notify and report within 12 months of year-end. Anti-money laundering law reaches further than most owners expect: Federal Decree by Law No. (10) of 2025 and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 make real estate brokers, accountants, dealers in precious metals and company service providers designated businesses that must register on goAML, appoint a compliance officer at management level, screen customers and report suspicions. Our AML page covers programme design and the registration; our ESR and UBO page covers the registers and the filings.
PRO services are the government-relations side of the same calendar: MOHRE work permits, ICP and GDRFA residence visas, establishment cards, licence renewals and attestations. They belong here because a lapsed permit or an unpaid wage file blocks the company’s other filings. We handle them for the companies we administer and as a standalone service for mainland and free zone employers. The table shows who needs each service and the deadline or threshold that triggers it.
| Service | Who needs it | Deadline or threshold | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax advisory | Every UAE company; free zone companies relying on 0%; groups | 9% above AED 375,000; 0% on Qualifying Income for Qualifying Free Zone Persons | Federal Tax Authority; Ministry of Finance |
| Tax return filing | Every registered taxable person, including loss-makers and Small Business Relief electors | Register within 3 months of incorporation; return and payment 9 months after period end | Federal Tax Authority (EmaraTax) |
| VAT advisory and compliance | Businesses with taxable supplies above AED 375,000; voluntary from AED 187,500 | Register within 30 days of exceeding the threshold; returns by the 28th day after the period | Federal Tax Authority |
| International tax planning | Groups and individuals with cross-border income | 137 UAE tax treaties; withholding tax currently 0%; tax residency certificates | Federal Tax Authority; Ministry of Finance |
| ESR and UBO filings | Every licensed company; entities with a Relevant Activity | UBO registers filed with the registrar and updated within 15 days; ESR notification and report within 12 months of year-end | Registrars; Ministry of Finance; Federal Tax Authority |
| AML compliance | Designated non-financial businesses: real estate, accountants, precious metals, company service providers | goAML registration; compliance officer at management level; report suspicions without delay | Ministry of Economy and Tourism; Financial Intelligence Unit |
| PRO services | Mainland and free zone employers and their staff | Work permit before employment starts; residence completed within 60 days of entry; renewals before expiry | MOHRE; ICP; GDRFA |
The 9% regime: Qualifying Free Zone Person status, tax groups, Small Business Relief, transfer pricing and audited-statement thresholds.
Treaty access across the UAE’s 137 agreements, tax residency certificates, participation exemption, foreign tax credits and Pillar Two exposure.
Corporate tax registration within three months, returns nine months after year-end, voluntary disclosures and penalty management on EmaraTax.
VAT registration at AED 375,000, quarterly returns, refunds, deregistration, Designated Zones and the e-invoicing timetable from 2027.
Bookkeeping, IFRS financial statements, audit support, payroll and management reporting: the records every filing on this page depends on.
AML programmes for designated businesses under the 2025 law: goAML registration, compliance officer, customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting.
Beneficial owner and shareholder registers under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023, 15-day updates, and Economic Substance notifications and reports.
MOHRE work permits, ICP and GDRFA residence visas, establishment cards, licence renewals, Emiratisation and attestations.
Answers drawn from the published rules of the UAE authorities and regulators. Each answer links to its official source. Last reviewed 5 November 2026.
The Ministry of Finance publishes two bands: 0 per cent on taxable income up to and including AED 375,000 and 9 per cent on taxable income above that. Every company incorporated in the UAE, including free zone companies, is a taxable person; a Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0 per cent on its Qualifying Income and 9 per cent on the rest, without the AED 375,000 band. Natural persons are taxed only once business turnover exceeds AED 1 million a year; salaries and personal investment income are outside the regime. Taxable income starts from the accounting profit in your financial statements and is adjusted under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, which is why the tax and accounting pages on this site work together.
Source: Ministry of Finance — Corporate Tax FAQs (accessed 3 November 2026)
A company incorporated on or after 1 March 2024, including a free zone company, must apply to register within three months of incorporation under Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 3 of 2024; late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty. The return and the tax are then due nine months after the end of each tax period, so a company with a 31 December 2025 year-end files and pays by 30 September 2026, as the FTA confirmed in its 2026 reminder. Loss-making companies and those electing Small Business Relief still file. We register every company we form as part of the incorporation and diarise the first return against the financial year chosen in its articles.
Sources: Federal Tax Authority — Federal Tax Authority issues new Decision on specified timeframes for Corporate Tax registration; Federal Tax Authority — FTA: 30 September 2026 is the deadline for filing Tax Returns and paying Corporate Tax for the financial year ended 31 December 2025 (accessed 3 November 2026)
When the total value of its taxable supplies and imports exceeds AED 375,000 over the past twelve months, or is expected to exceed that figure within the next 30 days. The Federal Tax Authority requires the registration application to be submitted within 30 days of becoming liable, and the threshold does not apply to foreign businesses, which register from their first UAE supply. Voluntary registration is open from AED 187,500 of taxable supplies, imports or expenses. Registration is free on EmaraTax. Registering late means accounting for VAT on supplies made before registration as well as a penalty, so we fix the registration date with you as soon as turnover approaches the line.
Source: Federal Tax Authority — Value Added Tax (VAT) Registration (service card) (accessed 3 November 2026)
All legal persons licensed or registered in the UAE, including those in the commercial free zones; only wholly government-owned companies, entities in the financial free zones and government partners are exempt. Cabinet Decision No. (109) of 2023 identifies the beneficial owner as the natural person who owns or controls 25 per cent or more of the capital or voting rights, directly or through a chain of ownership, or who controls the company by other means such as appointing most of its directors. The company keeps that register and a register of partners or shareholders, files them with its registrar and updates them within 15 days of any change. Penalties escalate from a warning to fines of AED 100,000 and licence suspension.
Source: Ministry of Economy and Tourism — Cabinet Decision No. (109) of 2023 on Regulating the Beneficial Owner Procedures (accessed 3 November 2026)
It does if you are a designated non-financial business. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism, as supervisory authority, lists them: real estate agents and brokers, dealers in precious metals and stones, independent accountants and auditors, and trust and company service providers. All of them were required to register on goAML, the Financial Intelligence Unit’s reporting system, and the Ministry warns that failure to register may result in severe penalties. Registration is the start: the law also requires a compliance officer at management level, risk assessment, customer due diligence before a relationship begins, five-year record-keeping and suspicious transaction reports regardless of value. We design and run that programme, and we operate under the same rules ourselves.
Sources: Ministry of Economy and Tourism — goAML Suspicious Transaction Reporting System in the UAE; Ministry of Economy and Tourism — Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing (accessed 3 November 2026)
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