UAE Corporate Tax Registration with Expert Clarity and Speed

Corporate tax is a tax on profits of a business. Businesses need to pay a certain percentage of their business profits to the government. Government then invest these funds in defence and welfare schemes for the residents of the UAE.

1. Business License
2. Memorandum of Association
3. Passport and Emirates ID Copies of all owners
4. Address Proof Document (Ejari etc)
5. Email, Contact Number
6. Bank Account Details

There is no fee to register for corporate tax in UAE. However, if you are getting it done through a professional tax advisor, they might charge a small consulting and facilitation fee. It is strongly recommended to get it done through a Tax Consultant, since along with Corporate Tax Registration, they will provide you valuable insights about Corporate Tax Strategy for your business to optimixze the Corporate Tax Liability.

If you get the Corporate Tax Registration done from an expert tax consultant, they will make an accurate registration application and it will not take more than one to two business days to get approved.

Corporate Tax is to be assessed annually. Therefore the filing requirements are annual. So if your Corporate Tax Year is from 1st Jan 2024 to 31st December 2024, then you are supposed to submit your Corporate Tax Return on or before 30th September 2025 (next year).

Simple answer is, since its the law. But we are not here for simple answers we are here to give clarity. Here it goes, Unlike UAE VAT (Value Added Tax), The Corporate Tax is a tax on profits, therefore the eligibility for its registration is not dependent on profits or sales. If a business exists, it will either make profits or losses, both cases will have a Corporate Tax implication. If it makes profits, it may pay corporate tax and if it makes losses, the losses can be carried forward to next year to be adjusted against that year’s profits for determining final corporate tax liability. Therefore, mere existence of a business make its eligible for Corporate Tax Registration.

Yes. All businesses in UAE, whether new or old, profitable or not, making sales or not, in free zone or mainland or offshore, need to register for Corporate Tax.

If for some reason you skip relevant deadline for Corporate Tax Registration, your business may be exposed to a penalty of upto AED 10,000 (even more).

Assuming you are either a business owner or manager, let us explain this difference in that context. Simply put, Corporate Tax is a business expenses, whereas VAT is not a business expense for most businesses. How ? A business collects AED 105 for a product or service that costs AED 100 (since 5% VAT is added in the sale price) and then the business deposit that additional AED 5 with the government. Business still gets AED 100 (the full price of its product / service). In this cases, business only acted as tax collector on behalf of the government. In same example, let’s suppose the product sold was bought by that business for AED 70. Which means the business made the profit of AED 30 (105-5-70=70). Now, business is supposed to pay 9% Corporate Tax on this AED 30. So Corporate Tax laibility will be AED 2.7 (9% of AED 30). This AED 2.7 will be paid by business to the government from its own pocket (profits). That’s how the Corporate Tax is different from VAT.

UAE Corporate Tax applies to juridical persons incorporated in the UAE and juridical persons effectively managed and controlled in the UAE, as well as to foreign juridical persons that have a permanent establishment in the UAE. Individuals will be subject to C. Tax only if they are engaged in a business or business activity in the UAE, either directly or through an unincorporated partnership or sole proprietorship.

A 0% withholding tax may apply to certain types of UAE sourced income paid to non-residents. Withholding tax will not apply to transactions between UAE resident persons.