UAE corporate tax return deadlines and what the return contains

By Junaid IqbalUpdated 1 August 20265 min read

CA Finalist, ACCA FinalistEditorial team: Chartered Advisory Team of Chartered Accountants

Quick answer: The corporate tax return and any payment are due within nine months of the end of the tax period. Payment counts when funds clear, so a transfer initiated on the deadline can still be late.

UAE corporate tax has one filing deadline and it is not a date in the calendar. It is nine months after your tax period ends, which means two businesses on the same street can have deadlines eight months apart. Assuming everyone files in September is the single most common way UAE businesses collect a penalty.

The one-line version. The return and the payment are both due nine months after the end of your tax period. There is no extension, no separate later payment date, and the obligation applies even where the tax is nil.

Your deadline, from your year end

Your deadline, from your year end
Tax period ends	Return and payment due	Waiver deadline for a first period (7 months)
31 December 2025	30 September 2026	31 July 2026
31 March 2026	31 December 2026	31 October 2026
30 June 2026	31 March 2027	31 January 2027
30 September 2026	30 June 2027	30 April 2027
31 December 2026	30 September 2027	31 July 2027
31 March 2027	31 December 2027	31 October 2027

The third column applies only to a first tax period. Filing that first return within seven months rather than nine waives the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty, and refunds it if already paid. It is the only circumstance in which filing early is worth money.

Working out your tax period

The tax period follows the financial year in your constitutional documents — not the calendar, and not your VAT quarters.

Default. The Gregorian calendar year, unless the entity uses a different financial year.
First period. Runs from the date the entity became a taxable person to its first financial year end, and can therefore be longer or shorter than twelve months.
Changing it. Possible on application to the FTA with a valid commercial reason, but it is not a casual amendment.
Check the licence. Founders frequently believe their year ends in December when the memorandum says March or June. Read it before diarising anything.

What the return contains

THE CORPORATE TAX RETURN — what you are assembling 1. THE ENTITY TRN, tax period, licence details, elections in force 2. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Prepared under IFRS or IFRS for SMEs. Audited where revenue exceeds AED 50m or the entity is a QFZP. 3. ACCOUNTING PROFIT TO TAXABLE INCOME Accounting profit per the statements ............ X Add back disallowed entertainment Add back fines and penalties Add back non-business and owner personal expenditure Add back interest above the deductibility cap Add back related-party charges above arm's length Deduct exempt income (qualifying dividends, participation gains) Deduct brought-forward tax losses, within the cap = TAXABLE INCOME ............................... X 4. THE CHARGE First AED 375,000 ......................... at 0% Excess .................................... at 9% Free zone: qualifying income at 0%, the rest at 9% with NO AED 375,000 band 5. ELECTIONS AND DISCLOSURES [ ] Small Business Relief election, if claimed [ ] Free zone qualifying income and de minimis figures [ ] Related-party transactions and connected persons disclosure [ ] Transfer pricing documentation, where thresholds met 6. PAYMENT Same deadline as the return. Not a later date.

Nil returns are still returns

Every registered taxable person files, whatever the outcome. That includes a company below the AED 375,000 band, one electing Small Business Relief, a Qualifying Free Zone Person at 0 per cent, and a dormant company that traded not at all.

Why this catches people. The late-filing penalty is charged on the failure to file, not on the tax. A dormant company that owes nothing and files nine months late still accrues AED 500 a month, rising to AED 1,000 a month after twelve. Nothing about a nil position slows it down.

If you have missed it

File as soon as possible. The monthly penalty stops on filing, and the rate doubles at twelve months, so each week of delay costs more than the last.
Pay whatever you can immediately. The 14 per cent annual late-payment charge runs on the outstanding balance and reduces proportionately as you pay it down.
File the oldest period first where more than one is outstanding — it is the one accruing at the higher rate.
Check the seven-month waiver if the outstanding return is your first. It may still be worth AED 10,000.
Then fix the calendar. Set reminders at nine, six, three and one month before the next deadline, measured from your year end.

Deadline approaching, or already passed?

Chartered Advisory prepares the statements and the computation, files the return on EmaraTax, and quantifies the exposure where a period is already late.

Avail our UAE corporate tax services

The mistakes that cost the most

Assuming a 30 September deadline when the financial year does not end in December.
Treating the payment as due later than the return. They share a date.
Waiting for an FTA reminder. The deadline is not re-sent, and a notice you never opened is still served.
Skipping a nil return. Penalties accrue on the failure to file, not on the tax.
Leaving the first return to month nine and forfeiting the AED 10,000 waiver that expired in month seven.
Starting the books in month eight. The return is prepared from finished financial statements, and an audit takes weeks of its own.

Confirm before you rely on this. Deadlines run from your own tax period and penalty amounts have been amended more than once, including during 2026. Check the current position with the Federal Tax Authority before relying on any date or figure here. Chartered Advisory prepares and supports; a licensed UAE professional signs where the law requires it.

Sources

This guide is written against the official and clearly labelled professional references below. Rates, thresholds and portal procedures change between reviews, so open the primary source before relying on a figure.

Questions people also ask

When exactly is my corporate tax return due?

Nine months after the end of your tax period, with the payment due on the same date. A 31 December year end means 30 September; a 31 March year end means 31 December. There is no single national filing date, which is why businesses that assume September get caught — check the financial year in your constitutional documents rather than assuming December.

Is the payment due later than the return?

No. The return and the tax are due on the same day, nine months after the period ends. There is no separate payment window and no extension mechanism, so cash for the liability needs to be planned across the nine months rather than found in the ninth.

Do I file if my company owed no tax or did not trade?

Yes. Every registered taxable person files, including dormant companies, businesses below the AED 375,000 band, those electing Small Business Relief and Qualifying Free Zone Persons at 0 per cent. The late-filing penalty attaches to the failure to file, not to the tax, so a nil position accrues AED 500 a month exactly as a profitable one would.

Can I get an extension?

There is no general extension mechanism comparable to those in other jurisdictions. The nine-month window is the accommodation. If the books or the audit will not be ready, the practical answer is to start earlier — an audit alone can take several weeks, and the return is prepared from finished statements.

What if my first tax period was not twelve months?

That is normal. The first period runs from the date the entity became a taxable person to its first financial year end, so it can be shorter or longer than twelve months. The nine-month rule still runs from that period end, and if it is your first return, filing within seven months instead waives the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty.

Scope note: General educational information for Pakistan, not a legal opinion or a substitute for advice based on your documents. Law, notifications, portal procedures and individual facts can change the result.

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