How to use the checker
- Answer the three questions about the business: is it a resident person, a qualifying free zone person, or part of a large multinational group.
- Enter its revenue for the tax period, and say whether revenue was above AED 3,000,000 in any earlier tax period.
- Enter the last day of the tax period. The answer and the reason for it update as you go.
How the checker decides
The relief is open only when every one of these conditions holds. The checker tests each one and lists every condition that fails.
The business is a resident person
and it is not a qualifying free zone person
and it is not a member of a multinational group with revenue over AED 3.15 billion
and revenue in the tax period ≤ AED 3,000,000
and revenue in every earlier tax period ≤ AED 3,000,000
and the tax period ends on or before 31 December 2029
Revenue is compared to the fils, so revenue of exactly AED 3,000,000 passes the test. The relief covers tax periods starting on or after the date corporate tax began, 1 June 2023, so the checker accepts tax periods ending on or after that date.
The limits and who is excluded
| Condition | Rule |
|---|---|
| Revenue limit, this and every earlier tax period | AED 3,000,000 revenue |
| Last tax periods covered | Tax Periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 |
| Who cannot elect it | QFZPs and MNE Group members (group revenue AED 3.15 billion or more) excluded |
Sources: Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 on Small Business Relief for the Purposes of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses, Article 3, Ministry of Finance; Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 Amending Certain Provisions of Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 on Small Business Relief, Ministry of Finance. Checked .
Revenue is the gross income of the period, measured under the accounting standards accepted in the UAE: all sales and other gross income, before costs. Profit plays no part in the test.
Extended end date
Tax Periods ending on or before 31 December 2029
Small Business Relief applies to Tax Periods starting on or after 1 June 2023 and to later Tax Periods that end on or before 31 December 2029, extended from the original end date of 31 December 2026.
- Applies to
- Persons eligible for Small Business Relief
- Source
- Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 Amending Certain Provisions of Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 on Small Business Relief, Ministry of Finance
- Checked
Worked examples
Worked example
Revenue of AED 2,950,000 in a calendar year 2027
The business, its revenue and its history are illustrations: a mainland company, never above the limit before.
- Resident person, not a qualifying free zone person, not in a large multinational group: the first three conditions hold.
- Revenue of AED 2,950,000 is not above AED 3,000,000: room left AED 50,000.
- The period ends on 31 December 2027, on or before 31 December 2029. Under the original end date of 31 December 2026 it would not have qualified.
The business can elect the relief for this period.
Worked example
Revenue of AED 2,000,000 after an earlier year of AED 3,400,000
The figures are illustrations: the same kind of company had revenue of AED 3,400,000 in its previous tax period.
- Revenue of AED 2,000,000 in this period is below AED 3,000,000.
- An earlier tax period was above AED 3,000,000, so the condition on every earlier period fails.
The business cannot elect the relief, now or in any later period.
What the checker assumes and leaves out
- Your answers are taken as given. Whether a business is a resident person or a qualifying free zone person depends on the Corporate Tax Law and the free zone rules; the guides on free zone corporate tax and registration explain them.
- Splitting a business. If the FTA finds that a business was split artificially to keep each part under the limit, it can treat the election as a tax avoidance arrangement. The checker cannot see that.
- The relief is a choice. An eligible business can still choose to be taxed in the normal way, for example to use a tax loss. The checker shows only whether the choice is open.
- No tax figure. Without the relief, tax is worked out on taxable income at the normal rates: the corporate tax calculator shows it.
Note
A business that elects the relief still files its corporate tax return on time. The return due date calculator gives the deadline for any tax period.