If your company's financial year ended on 31 December 2025, both your corporate tax return and the tax payment are due by 30 September 2026. That date is now three months away, and the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) does not hand out routine extensions. Miss it and the penalties start the next day.
TL;DR: UAE corporate tax returns are due nine months after your financial year ends. For a 31 December 2025 year-end, that means 30 September 2026. Filing and payment are a single obligation through EmaraTax. The rate is 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above. Late filing costs AED 500 a month, and unpaid tax attracts 14% a year.
When Is the UAE Corporate Tax Deadline in 2026?
The return and the payment are both due nine months after the last day of your tax period (FTA, 2026). For the most common case, a financial year running 1 January to 31 December 2025, the deadline is 30 September 2026.
There is no separate, later payment window. You cannot file the return and settle the bill weeks afterwards. Both must be done by the same date through EmaraTax, the FTA's online portal. The FTA urges businesses to "file their returns at the earliest opportunity, rather than wait until the end of the specified deadline" (FTA media release, 2025).
If your year-end falls on a different date, count nine months forward. A 31 March 2026 year-end gives you until 31 December 2026.
Who Needs to File a Corporate Tax Return?
Every taxable person registered for corporate tax must file a return, even if no tax is due. That includes mainland companies, free zone companies, and businesses claiming reliefs that bring the bill to zero.
A common misread is that a loss-making year or a 0% position means there is nothing to submit. It does not. If you are registered, the FTA expects a return. Free zone companies claiming Qualifying Free Zone Person status still file, and so do businesses electing Small Business Relief.
What we see most often is owners who registered in 2024, paid no attention through the year, and assume the platform will prompt them. It will not chase you. The obligation sits with the business. If this is your first corporate tax return, give yourself extra time to learn the EmaraTax workflow.
Your Pre-Filing Checklist
Before you open the return, get these in order. Rushing the inputs is how errors creep into the final figure.
- Financial statements for the period, prepared on an accruals basis
- Tax adjustments to accounting profit (disallowed expenses, exempt income, depreciation differences)
- Any relief elections, such as Small Business Relief or the free zone 0% position
- Related-party and connected-person transaction details, if applicable
- Active EmaraTax login with the correct tax registration number linked
In our experience, the figure that catches people out is the adjustment from accounting profit to taxable income. The number in your management accounts is rarely the number you tax. A short review before filing usually pays for itself.
How Much Corporate Tax Will You Pay?
The standard rate is 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000, and 0% on income up to that threshold (UAE Government, 2026). So a company with AED 600,000 of taxable income pays 9% on AED 225,000, which is AED 20,250.
Small Business Relief changes this. If your revenue for the period is AED 3 million or less, you can elect to be treated as having no taxable income, which means no corporate tax for that period. The relief is available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, so for many businesses this filing is one of the last where it applies.
Large multinational groups meeting the OECD Pillar Two criteria face a separate 15% minimum rate, but that affects a small fraction of UAE businesses. For most SMEs, the question is simply whether taxable income clears AED 375,000.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?
Penalties begin the day after the deadline, with no grace period. Late filing carries a fixed penalty of AED 500 for each month, or part of a month, for the first twelve months, rising to AED 1,000 a month thereafter (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023). Even a one-day delay counts as a full month, and the charge applies whether or not you owe tax.
Unpaid tax is treated separately. From 14 April 2026, late payment attracts a penalty of 14% a year on the outstanding amount, charged monthly with no ceiling (Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025). The longer the bill sits unpaid, the faster it grows.
There is also the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty for businesses that never registered on time. The FTA waives it in full if you file your first return within seven months of your first period end, which we cover in our guide to the penalty waiver.
The Case for Filing Early
Leaving the payment to 30 September is a risk the FTA itself flags. Bank transfers and electronic payments take time to clear, and a transfer initiated on the deadline may not land in the FTA's account until after it. That can trigger a late-payment penalty even though you "paid on time."
One question clients always ask is whether they can file the return now and pay closer to the deadline. You can submit early, but the safest approach is to settle the liability with several working days to spare. Treat the deadline as the date the money must have arrived, not the date you start the transfer.
For a wider view of how the regime fits together, our UAE corporate tax guide walks through registration, rates, and reliefs in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the UAE corporate tax deadline for a December 2025 year-end?
Both the return and the payment are due by 30 September 2026, nine months after the financial year ends. The deadline is the same for filing and paying, and the FTA does not grant routine extensions.
Do I still file if my company made a loss or owes no tax?
Yes. Any business registered for corporate tax must file a return, even with a loss, a 0% position, or a Small Business Relief election. Registration creates the filing obligation, regardless of the tax due.
How do I file my UAE corporate tax return?
You file through EmaraTax, the FTA's online portal, using the tax registration number linked to your business. You will need your financial statements, tax adjustments, and any relief elections ready before you start the return.
Can I get an extension on the corporate tax deadline?
Extensions are not routine. You can request more time through EmaraTax before the original deadline with a reasonable excuse, but an extension to file does not necessarily extend the time to pay, and interest on unpaid tax can still accrue.
Not sure whether your figures are filing-ready before 30 September? Get in touch - we work with mainland and free zone businesses across the UAE and can review your tax position, check your adjustments, and handle the EmaraTax submission so the deadline takes care of itself.