How to use the calculator
- Enter the last day of the tax period. For most businesses the tax period is the financial year, so a calendar year ends on 31 December.
- Read the filing and payment deadlines. Once the page has loaded, the calculator also counts the days left from today's date in the UAE.
- If the deadline has passed, the calculator links to the penalty calculator.
How the deadline is worked out
The law gives 9 months from the end of the tax period. The calculator counts them from the day after the period ends, so the deadline is the day before the same date 9 months later:
Deadline = (day after the period ends + 9 months) − 1 day
A period ending on 31 December 2026 gives 30 September 2027, which matches the FTA's own example: a year ending 31 December 2025 was due by 30 September 2026. Counting from the day after also means that a year ending 30 June 2027 runs to 31 March 2028, not to the same day number in that month.
The deadlines in the law
| Rule | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Filing the corporate tax return | 9 months after the end of the Tax Period |
| Paying the corporate tax | 9 months after the end of the Tax Period |
| FTA postponement for early short tax periods | 31 December 2024 for Tax Periods ending on or before 29 February 2024 |
Sources: Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments (consolidated, unofficial translation, v13.1.26), Article 48, Ministry of Finance; Persons Subject to Corporate Tax Urged to File Returns and Settle Payables within Legal Timeframes (press release, 3 December 2024), Federal Tax Authority. Checked .
What the tax period is
Financial year (calendar year or 12-month accounting period)
A Taxable Person's Tax Period is its Financial Year, which is the Gregorian calendar year or the 12-month period for which it prepares financial statements; a business can apply to the FTA to change its Tax Period.
- Applies to
- All Taxable Persons
- Source
- Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments (consolidated, unofficial translation, v13.1.26), Articles 57 and 58, Ministry of Finance
- Checked
The FTA's example deadline
30 September 2026
Taxable Persons whose financial year ended on 31 December 2025, including those eligible for Small Business Relief, had to file their Corporate Tax Return and pay the tax due no later than 30 September 2026.
- Applies to
- Taxable Persons with a financial year ending 31 December 2025
- Source
- Federal Tax Authority Calls on All Persons subject to Corporate Tax to File Their Tax Returns and Pay the Corporate Tax Due Within the Specified Timeframes to Avoid Late-Payment Penalties (press release, 2 September 2026), Federal Tax Authority
- Checked
Worked example: common year ends
Worked example
Deadlines for four financial year ends
The year ends are illustrations; each deadline is the calculator's result.
| Tax period ends | Return and payment due |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2026 | 30 September 2027 |
| 31 March 2027 | 31 December 2027 |
| 30 June 2027 | 31 March 2028 |
| 30 September 2027 | 30 June 2028 |
A calendar year ending 31 December 2026 is due by 30 September 2027.
What the calculator assumes and leaves out
- Another date set by the FTA. The law lets the FTA set a different deadline. The calculator includes the one postponement found on the FTA's site, for tax periods ending on or before 29 February 2024.
- Weekends and public holidays. The calculator shows the date the rule gives, without moving it for a weekend or a public holiday.
- A change of tax period. A business can apply to the FTA to change its tax period. Enter the last day of the period that was actually approved.
- Days left are counted from today's date in the UAE to the deadline. The page needs JavaScript for the count; the deadlines show without it.
Watch out
Late filing and late payment are penalised separately. The late payment penalty calculator works out the monthly charge on unpaid tax, and the guide to corporate tax penalties covers the rest.
Penalty for a late corporate tax return
AED 500/month (months 1-12); AED 1,000/month (month 13 onwards)
Late filing of a Corporate Tax Return is penalised at AED 500 for each month or part of a month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 for each month or part of a month from the 13th month, starting the day after the filing deadline.
- Applies to
- Corporate Tax Returns; the same scale applies to late Corporate Tax declarations
- Source
- Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments on the Administrative Penalties for Violations Related to the Application of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, table item 7, Ministry of Finance
- Checked