Corporate tax return filing: 9 months, one deadline, no drama
The return and the payment share one deadline — nine months after your year ends — and lateness runs a monthly meter. What goes in the return, what the reliefs are, and what it costs to miss it.
- Deadline
- 9 months after FY end
- Late filing
- AED 500/month meter
- After 12 months
- AED 1,000/month
- Small Business Relief
- revenue ≤ AED 3M
Return filing: deadlines, penalties and reliefs
One deadline and a meter — these are the official numbers around the annual return.
| Item | Amount / rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Filing and payment deadline | Within 9 months of FY end | Federal Decree-Law 47/2022 |
| Late filing, months 1–12 | AED 500 per month (or part) | Cabinet Decision 75/2023 |
| Late filing, month 13+ | AED 1,000 per month | Cabinet Decision 75/2023 |
| Tax rate | 0% to AED 375,000 profit · 9% above | Federal Decree-Law 47/2022 |
| Small Business Relief | Elective, revenue ≤ AED 3M, periods ending ≤ 31 Dec 2026 | Ministerial Decision 73/2023 |
Cabinet Decision 75/2023: AED 500/month first 12 months, then AED 1,000/month.
- The meter runs per month or part of a month — a return one week late costs the same as one month late.
- Our preparation and filing fee is AED 2,500.
The annual corporate tax cycle
The deadline is annual; the work that makes it painless is monthly.
The cycle
| Milestone | When |
|---|---|
| Financial year closes | Your chosen year end |
| Accounts finalised | The months after close — where returns are won |
| Return filed + tax paid | Within 9 months of year end |
Inside the return
| Position | What it decides |
|---|---|
| QFZP test | Whether free zone income stays at 0% |
| Small Business Relief | Whether the election applies (≤ AED 3M revenue) |
| Adjustments | Accounting profit → taxable income |
Records behind the return must be kept for 7 years under the corporate tax law — the return is a summary; the defence is the books.
Where you probably are right now
Most filing conversations start in one of these three places.
First return due
New registrant- Filing the first return within 7 months of the first period end can waive the late-registration penalty
- The tax period you registered with fixes this deadline
- We work backwards from the date, not towards it
Free zone company
QFZP position- 0% is a tested outcome, not a default — activity and substance
- The return is where qualification is claimed and documented
- Audited financials are part of the QFZP package
Small business
Revenue ≤ AED 3M- Small Business Relief is elective — it must be claimed in the return
- Available for periods ending on or before 31 December 2026
- We check eligibility and make the election correctly
How return filing works, step by step
-
Books closed properly
The return is won here: reconciled ledgers, documented positions, no year-end surprises.
-
Adjustments & positions
Accounting profit to taxable income; QFZP or Small Business Relief positions documented.
-
Return prepared
The EmaraTax return built and cross-checked against the financials.
-
Filed and paid
Return submitted and any tax paid — one deadline, both obligations.
-
File kept ready
The 7-year record file organised for the day the FTA asks.
The return sits on two foundations
Accounting services
Returns filed from books we keep ourselves never fight their own numbers.
See accounting servicesRegistration first
Not registered yet? That comes first — and filing the first return within your taxpayer-specific seven-month window can waive the AED 10,000 penalty.
See CT registrationAudit support
QFZPs and larger companies file from audited financials — we coordinate the audit too.
See tax auditReturn filing vs registration: two obligations, two meters
| Feature | Registration | Return filing |
|---|---|---|
| When | Once, by the FTA schedule | Every year, within 9 months of FY end |
| Government fee | Free | Free — you pay the tax, not the filing |
| Late penalty | AED 10,000 (waivable) | AED 500/month, then 1,000/month |
| Where | EmaraTax | EmaraTax |
What a filing provider can and cannot do
What we do: file on time from books that reconcile, document every position (QFZP, reliefs, adjustments) so it survives questions, and keep the 7-year file the law expects.
What nobody can do: stop the meter once the deadline is gone, or claim QFZP without the substance to back it. Penalties are set by Cabinet Decision; positions are tested by the FTA — good filing is preparation, not magic.
The corporate tax return at a glance
- 9
- months after year end to file and pay
- 500
- AED/month — the late meter, first 12 months
- 3M
- AED revenue — Small Business Relief ceiling
- 7
- years of records the law requires behind it
Every figure traces to the corporate tax law, Cabinet Decision 75/2023 or Ministerial Decision 73/2023.
Filing as part of the whole
We run the return alongside the books it comes from — one team, one thread.
- CT return filing
- CT registration
- Accounting & bookkeeping
- VAT returns
- Tax audit support
- Company formation
What the return actually requires
The return is built from the books — the list is short if the books are real.
Financial statements
The year’s accounts — audited where QFZP or thresholds require it.
Trial balance & ledgers
The detail behind the statements, reconciled.
Prior return
If not your first year — positions carry forward.
Free zone evidence
For QFZP claims: activity, substance and income mix documentation.
Related-party dealings
Transactions with owners and group entities, for the disclosures.
EmaraTax access
The registered account the return files under.
The return, term by term
Tax period
Your financial year — the return covers it and is due 9 months after it ends.
Taxable income
Accounting profit adjusted per the law — the base the 9% applies to above AED 375,000.
QFZP
Qualifying Free Zone Person: the 0% claim a free zone company documents inside its return.
Small Business Relief
Elective treatment as having no taxable income — revenue ≤ AED 3M, periods ending ≤ 31 Dec 2026.
Transfer pricing disclosure
The related-party schedule filed with the return when dealings cross thresholds.
The meter
Our name for Cabinet Decision 75/2023’s late-filing penalty: AED 500/month, doubling after a year.
Return filing: your questions, with the official numbers
When is the UAE corporate tax return due?
Within 9 months of your financial year end — and any tax is paid by the same date. One deadline, two obligations. A December year end means a 30 September deadline the following year.
What does filing late cost?
A monthly meter under Cabinet Decision 75/2023: AED 500 for each month (or part of one) for the first twelve months, then AED 1,000 per month from month thirteen. A return two years late has already cost AED 18,000 before any tax is counted.
How much tax will the return show?
0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it — computed from your accounting profit with the law’s adjustments. Qualifying free zone income can stay at 0% under the QFZP regime, claimed and documented in the return itself.
How does Small Business Relief work?
If revenue is AED 3 million or less, you can elect to be treated as having no taxable income — available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. It is elective: you claim it in the return, and you still file the return to do so.
Anything special about the first return?
Two things: it fixes positions that carry forward (accounting policies, elections), and under the FTA initiative it can waive the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty for those who registered late when it is filed within 7 months of the end of that taxpayer’s first tax period. This is a taxpayer-specific deadline, not one global calendar date.
What does a free zone company file?
The same return — plus the QFZP documentation: the qualifying-income analysis, substance evidence, and audited financial statements, which are mandatory for every QFZP. The 0% is a tested claim, not a default.
What records must sit behind the return?
Books and supporting documents kept for 7 years under the corporate tax law, reconciled to the return. The return is a summary — if the FTA examines it, the defence is the file, not the memory.
Can a filed return be corrected?
Yes, through a voluntary disclosure — and finding your own error is consistently cheaper than the FTA finding it. If you suspect a filed return is wrong, the clock argues for reviewing it now.
Where these numbers come from
Deadlines and penalties trace to the corporate tax law and Cabinet Decision 75/2023. Rules change — we verify before every engagement.
Nine months goes fast
Tell us your year end. Within 24 hours you get the deadline, the plan and the fee — in writing.
Start now