UAE Corporate Tax Calculator 2026

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“Taxable income” under UAE corporate tax is not your gross revenue. It starts with your accounting profit for the financial year, adjusted for non-deductible expenses (entertainment above the 50% cap, fines, penalties, personal costs), minus exempt income (qualifying dividends, certain capital gains). The result is your adjusted taxable income — the figure this calculator uses, per Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022.

The UAE applies a two-tier rate: the first AED 375,000 of taxable income is taxed at 0%, and everything above that threshold is taxed at 9%. A company earning AED 500,000 of taxable income pays 9% only on the AED 125,000 above the threshold — AED 11,250 in tax, not AED 45,000.

Small Business Relief (SBR) lets businesses with total revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less elect for 0% tax, treating the entire taxable income as nil. You must actively elect SBR on each CT return — it does not carry over. The relief is available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, and businesses with revenue above AED 3M in any prior period since 1 June 2023 cannot elect it. Small Business Relief sounds good until you look at the 4 cases where electing it costs you more.

Qualifying Free Zone Persons (QFZP) benefit from a 0% rate on qualifying income, provided they maintain adequate economic substance, pass the de minimis test (non-qualifying income must not exceed 5% of revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower), and file a CT return. Losing QFZP status means the current period and the following four periods are fully taxable at 9% — a significant financial consequence that should inform your compliance planning (Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2023).

Prior-year tax losses can be carried forward to offset future taxable income, but are capped at 75% of the current year's taxable income (Art. 37, FDL 47/2022). The remaining 25% is always taxable at 9%.

Filing deadline: CT returns must be filed within 9 months after the end of the relevant financial year. For a company with a calendar-year financial year ending 31 December 2025, the filing deadline is 30 September 2026.

All UAE-incorporated companies — both mainland and free zone — must register for corporate tax with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) via the EmaraTax portal, regardless of whether they have taxable income. This includes holding companies, dormant entities, and companies that have not yet commenced trading.

Natural persons (individuals) conducting business in the UAE fall within scope only if their annual business turnover exceeds AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year. Freelancers with turnover below this threshold are not subject to corporate tax. Non-residents who earn UAE-sourced income through a permanent establishment in the UAE must also register and file.

The registration deadline is within 3 months of the start of your first tax period (for existing businesses) or within 3 months of incorporation (for newly formed entities). The penalty for late registration is AED 10,000. Haven't registered yet? Our CT Registration service handles it end-to-end.