Obligations / UAE

What a company files in UAE [AE]

Every entry below is the rule as UAE publishes it. It is a reference, not a calendar: where a deadline runs from something only you know, this page says so instead of showing a date.

A template, not your deadline

This is the rule as published by the registry, checked against the primary source on the date shown. It is not your filing date. Where a deadline runs from incorporation, from a fiscal year the company itself elects, or from an event only you know about, no date can be derived here at all — the figure you see is the formula, not the answer. Extensions, transitional regimes and entity-specific exemptions are not reflected. Confirm with the registry before you rely on a date.

How the financial year is set — Chosen by the company

The Financial Year of a UAE Taxable Person is not tied by statute to a single date: under the Corporate Tax Law it is either the Gregorian calendar year or the twelve-month period for which the person prepares its financial statements, and the Tax Period is that Financial Year or a part of it. The Federal Tax Authority's public clarification on the first Tax Period adds that a first Financial Year may run between six and eighteen months and will be accepted as the first Tax Period without an application to change it. Because the company itself settles its year end, every corporate tax deadline in this record is counted from a date the user must supply, and none of them can be shown as a calendar number.

Federal Tax Authority — Corporate Tax Public Clarification on the First Tax Period: the Financial Year is «the Gregorian calendar year, or the 12-month period for which the Taxable Person prepares financial statements», and a first Financial Year of between six and eighteen months is accepted as the first Tax Period without a change application · checked 2026-09-07

Corporate Tax registration application

Fixed date
Filed to
Federal Tax Authority, through the EmaraTax portal
Who it applies to
Every entity in the jurisdiction
Every resident juridical person, free zone persons included, must apply for Corporate Tax registration. For a person incorporated, established or otherwise recognised on or after 1 March 2024, Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 3 of 2024 sets the deadline at three months from the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition; a person holding no licence registers within three months of meeting the conditions that make it a taxable person. Persons that already held a licence before 1 March 2024 were placed on a one-off calendar keyed to the month the licence was issued, running from 31 May 2024 to 31 December 2024. Those dates are historic and do not repeat, so they are not modelled here.
Deadline
Counted from an event, not from the calendar.
If missed
AED 10,000, imposed once, for failure to submit a Tax Registration application within the timeframe specified in the Corporate Tax Law (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, violation 14).
Proof of filing
The Tax Registration Number issued by the Federal Tax Authority and the registration confirmation held in the EmaraTax account.
Primary source: Federal Tax Authority — new Decision on specified timeframes for Corporate Tax registration (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024): a resident juridical person incorporated on or after 1 March 2024 «must apply to register for Corporate Tax within three months from the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition». Historic calendar by month of licence issue from the FTA infographic «Mandatory Period for Registering» (tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Pdf/Infographic/1CT Infographic -Mandatory Period for Registering.pdf). Penalty from Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments, published by the Ministry of Finance (mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Cabinet-Decision-No.-75-of-2023-and-its-amendments-...pdf), violation 14
checked 2026-09-07 · Rechecked every 6 months

Corporate Tax return

Formula, not a date
Filed to
Federal Tax Authority, through the EmaraTax portal
Who it applies to
Every entity in the jurisdiction
Every Taxable Person registered for Corporate Tax files a Tax Return for each Tax Period, whether or not tax is payable. A free zone person is not excused: a Qualifying Free Zone Person taxed at zero per cent on its qualifying income still files. The Federal Tax Authority states the obligation as submitting «Tax Returns (or Annual Declarations)» within nine months of the end of the Tax Period, the annual declaration being the form used by persons registered as exempt.
Deadline
Day undefined of month 9 after the end of the financial year.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
AED 500 for each month, or part of a month, for the first twelve months of delay, and AED 1,000 for each month, or part of a month, from the thirteenth month onwards, running from the day after the filing deadline (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, violation 7). The penalty is a monthly accrual rather than a single sum, so the numeric fields are left empty.
Proof of filing
The submitted Tax Return for the Tax Period and its acknowledgement in EmaraTax.
Primary source: Federal Tax Authority — taxable persons must «submit their Tax Returns (or Annual Declarations) within a period not exceeding nine months from the end of their respective Tax Periods». Penalty from Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments, published by the Ministry of Finance, violation 7: «500 for each month, or part thereof, for the first twelve months» and «1,000 for each month, or part thereof, from the thirteenth month onwards»
checked 2026-09-07 · Rechecked every 24 months

Settlement of Payable Corporate Tax

Formula, not a date
Filed to
Federal Tax Authority, through the EmaraTax portal
Who it applies to
Every entity in the jurisdiction
Any Taxable Person with Corporate Tax payable for a Tax Period. The Federal Tax Authority puts payment on the same nine-month clock as the return and illustrates it: for a business whose Financial Year ended on 31 December 2024 the payment deadline was the end of September 2025. Filing and paying are separate obligations with separate penalties, which is why they are separate records here.
Deadline
Day undefined of month 9 after the end of the financial year.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
A monthly penalty at 14% per annum, for each month or part of a month, on the unsettled Payable Tax, running from the day following the due date of payment and on the same date each month thereafter (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, violation 8). The penalty is a rate on an unknown balance, so the numeric fields are left empty.
Proof of filing
The payment reference and the cleared balance shown for the Tax Period in EmaraTax.
Primary source: Federal Tax Authority — corporate tax liabilities are to be settled within nine months from the end of the Tax Period, with the worked example of a Financial Year ending 31 December 2024 and a payment deadline at the end of September 2025. Penalty from Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments, published by the Ministry of Finance, violation 8: «a monthly penalty of 14% per annum, for each month or part thereof, on the unsettled Payable Tax amount»
checked 2026-09-07 · Rechecked every 24 months

Audited financial statements for the Tax Period

Formula, not a date
Filed to
Prepared and maintained by the Taxable Person and produced to the Federal Tax Authority
Who it applies to
Only above a threshold — revenue ≥ 50000000 AED
Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 requires audited financial statements from a Taxable Person that is not a Tax Group and «derives Revenue exceeding AED 50,000,000 (fifty million United Arab Emirates dirhams) during the relevant Tax Period», and from every Qualifying Free Zone Person whatever its revenue. A Tax Group prepares audited special purpose financial statements in the form, procedures and rules the Authority specifies. For a Non-Resident Person, only revenue attributable to a Permanent Establishment or nexus in the State counts towards the threshold. The revenue threshold is the kind of figure that moves with policy, hence decay «annual».
Deadline
Day undefined of month 9 after the end of the financial year.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 carries no penalty of its own. Failure to keep the records and documents required by the Corporate Tax Law is penalised at AED 10,000 for each violation, or AED 20,000 in each case of a repeated violation within 24 months of the last one (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, violation 1).
Proof of filing
The signed auditor's report on the financial statements for the Tax Period. Read the deadline with care: Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 sets no filing date of its own. The nine months in this record is the Corporate Tax return deadline, by which the audited statements have to exist — it is a derivation from the two obligations read together, not a date quoted from the decision.
Primary source: Ministry of Finance — Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 on the Requirement to Prepare and Maintain Audited Financial Statements, Article 2(1)(a) and (b) and Article 2(2) and 2(4). Nine-month timing taken from the Corporate Tax return deadline stated by the Federal Tax Authority, not from this decision. Record-keeping penalty from Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments, published by the Ministry of Finance, violation 1
checked 2026-09-07 · Rechecked every 12 months

VAT return and payment of VAT due

Formula, not a date
Filed to
Federal Tax Authority, through the EmaraTax portal
Who it applies to
Only above a threshold — taxableSuppliesAndImports ≥ 375000 AED
VAT registration is mandatory once the total value of a business's taxable supplies and imports has exceeded AED 375,000 over the previous twelve months, or when the business anticipates exceeding that figure in the next thirty days; voluntary registration opens at AED 187,500. Once registered, the person files for every tax period, nil returns included. On the UAE Government's official platform the tax period is quarterly for businesses with annual turnover below AED 150,000,000 and monthly at or above that figure; the assignment of the period is made by the Authority, so the user must read their own period from EmaraTax rather than assume the quarterly default.
Deadline
Counted from an event, not from the calendar.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
AED 1,000 for a first failure to submit the VAT return within the timeframe and AED 2,000 in case of repetition within 24 months. Payable tax left unsettled additionally carries a monthly penalty at 14% per annum for each month or part of a month (Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 on administrative penalties, as amended, violations 8 and 9).
Proof of filing
The submitted VAT return for the tax period and the payment reference in EmaraTax.
Primary source: Federal Tax Authority — Filing VAT Returns and Making Payments: «you are required to file your VAT return and make related VAT payments within 28 days from the end of your tax period». Thresholds from the FTA page Registration for VAT (mandatory AED 375,000, voluntary AED 187,500). Quarterly / monthly split from the UAE Government platform u.ae, File VAT returns. Penalties from Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 and its amendments, consolidated text published by the Ministry of Finance (v14.11.25), violations 8 and 9
checked 2026-09-07 · Rechecked every 12 months

Update of the real beneficiary register and notice to the registrar

Formula, not a date
Filed to
The registrar of the licensing authority — the economic development department of the emirate or the free zone authority — under the framework of the Ministry of Economy
Who it applies to
Only registered foreign entities
A legal person must create and keep a register of real beneficiaries and a register of partners or shareholders, submit that data to the registrar, «update this Register and include any change in it within fifteen (15) days from the date of being informed thereof», and «submit any amendment or change to the data or information under this resolution to Registrar within (15) fifteen days from the date of the amendment or change». The obligation is not annual: it fires on each change, which is why the basis is an event. The scope exclusions of the resolution — government-owned entities and the DIFC and ADGM financial free zones, which run their own regimes — were not verified against the text in this pass and are therefore not asserted here.
Deadline
Counted from an event, not from the calendar.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
Escalating, not a single sum. Failure to create and keep the register: a written notice with thirty days to comply, then AED 50,000 on a second violation and AED 100,000 on a third, with possible suspension of the commercial licence. Failure to update the register: a written notice with fifteen days to comply, then AED 15,000 and AED 30,000. Failure to provide the data to the registrar: a written notice, then AED 15,000 and AED 30,000. Numeric fields are left empty because the amount depends on which stage of the escalation applies.
Proof of filing
The updated register kept at the company's office and the registrar's acknowledgement of the notified change.
Primary source: UAE Legislation portal — Cabinet Resolution No. (109) of 2023 Regulating the Real Beneficiary Procedures: registers of real beneficiaries and of partners or shareholders, data to the registrar, update «within fifteen (15) days from the date of being informed thereof» and notification of any amendment «within (15) fifteen days from the date of the amendment or change». Penalties from the Cabinet Resolution on the Administrative Penalties Imposed on Violators of the Provisions of the Cabinet Resolution Concerning the Regulation of Real Beneficiary Procedures (uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2314), violations 3, 4 and 9
checked 2026-09-07 · Rechecked every 24 months
Conditions attached to a right, not a filing

Verification of the supplier and the supply before input VAT is deducted

Nothing is filed here and no deadline runs. What follows is a condition: fail it and the deduction is not available.

The Federal Tax Authority has issued a decision setting out measures, procedures and conditions a taxable person must carry out to verify the validity and integrity of supplies. Its subject matter is the deduction of input tax, not a filing.

Right affected: Recovery of input VAT
Instrument: FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026 on Measures Procedures Conditions required by Taxable Persons for Verification of Validity and Integrity of Supplies
Issued: 2026-07-22 · Published on the authority's site: 2026-08-20
In force from: 2026-10-01 — reported, not verified against the source
Confirmed against the primary source
  • •The decision exists, is published by the Federal Tax Authority in its legislation register under the VAT category, and is dated 22 July 2026 with a site publication date of 20 August 2026.
  • •Its stated subject is the measures, procedures and conditions required of taxable persons for verification of the validity and integrity of supplies — that is, checks performed by the recipient, not a new return or payment.
Reported, not confirmed — do not rely on this
  • •It takes effect on 1 October 2026.
  • •It sits under Article 54 bis of the VAT Law, inserted by Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2025, which allows the Authority to deny input tax recovery where the recipient knew or should have known that a supply was connected to tax evasion.
  • •Holding a valid tax invoice will no longer be sufficient on its own; documented evidence of the checks is required before deducting.
  • •Three thresholds set the depth of work: AED 10,000 per supply as a de minimis, AED 100,000 over twelve months at which the de minimis falls away, and AED 375,000 per supplier over twelve months above which enhanced checks apply.
  • •Existing suppliers are in scope, not only new ones, and verification must be repeated at least every twelve months.
  • •Supplier checks cover identity, authorised representatives and a genuine place of business; supply checks cover commercial rationale, pricing and margins, and whether the goods or services fall within the supplier's licensed activity. A written policy naming who performs and supervises the checks is required.
Why it is not confirmed

The text of the decision is published as a PDF that is closed to automated retrieval by the site's robots.txt. We do not work around such a refusal, so everything above in this second list stands on secondary reporting until the text is read by a permitted route.

Primary source · checked 2026-09-09
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