How to register for corporate tax in the UAE

Every UAE company subject to corporate tax, including free zone companies, must register with the Federal Tax Authority on EmaraTax, even when no tax is due. A UAE company formed on or after 1 March 2024 has three months from incorporation. Individuals register only once business turnover passes AED 1 million in a calendar year. Registration is free.

Key takeaways

• Every taxable person must register and get a corporate tax registration number, free zone companies included; a non-resident with only UAE-sourced income and no permanent establishment is excepted.
• A UAE company formed on or after 1 March 2024 must apply within three months of incorporation.
• Freelancers and other individuals register only when business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year; residents apply by 31 March of the following year.
• Registration on EmaraTax is free, and the FTA estimates 20 business days to complete an application once it has everything.
• Late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty, waived if the first return is filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period.

On this page 9 sections

Who must register

Every taxable person must register with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and obtain a corporate tax registration number, the TRN. Article 51 of the Corporate Tax Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, sets the duty, and it does not depend on whether any tax ends up being due. The same article allows exceptions prescribed by the Minister, and Ministerial Decision No. 43 of 2023 sets them out; they are covered under foreign companies and exempt persons below. Small business relief does not change this: under Article 21 it is an election made by a resident taxable person, so a business that wants it registers first.

Companies, including free zone companies

A company incorporated or established in the UAE is a resident taxable person and must register. Free zone companies are included: a qualifying free zone person pays 0% on its qualifying income, but it is still a taxable person (free zone corporate tax). A UAE branch of a UAE company is the same taxable person as its head office, so the FTA says it does not register or file separately; its licence goes into the company’s application.

Freelancers and other individuals

A freelancer or other individual registers only when turnover from business activities in the UAE exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. Below that, the business income is outside corporate tax.

Registration threshold for individuals

AED 1,000,000 turnover per calendar year

An individual carrying on a Business or Business Activity in the UAE is subject to Corporate Tax and must register only if the combined turnover of those activities exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year; salary, personal investment income and unlicensed real estate income are out of scope.

The test adds up all of the person’s business activities, so two side businesses count together. In the Ministry of Finance’s example, a resident’s online business is taxed once its turnover passes the threshold, while rent from a property and personal investments stay outside. The Ministry lists the excluded personal income as income from employment, from investments and from real estate with no licensing requirement. A registered individual pays tax on the business’s taxable income at the same rates as a company (UAE corporate tax rates).

Foreign companies

A company incorporated abroad registers in two cases. If it is effectively managed and controlled in the UAE, the law treats it as a resident. If it has a permanent establishment or a nexus in the UAE, it registers as a non-resident and is taxed only on the income linked to the UAE. A non-resident whose only UAE income is UAE-sourced income, with no permanent establishment in the UAE, does not register under Ministerial Decision No. 43 of 2023. The deadlines are in the table below.

Exempt persons

Exempt persons listed in Article 4 of the law, such as government entities, qualifying public benefit entities, qualifying investment funds and public or regulated private pension and social security funds, are outside corporate tax. Some must apply to the FTA to be exempt, and Article 51 lets the FTA require some of them to register. An exempt person registered at the FTA’s request files an annual declaration, where the FTA asks for one, instead of a tax return. Under Ministerial Decision No. 43 of 2023, government entities, government controlled entities and qualifying extractive and non-extractive natural resource businesses do not register, unless they become taxable persons.

Registration deadlines

The deadline depends on the type of person and on when it became taxable. A UAE company formed on or after 1 March 2024 has three months from incorporation; a resident individual has until 31 March after the calendar year in which business turnover exceeded AED 1 million.

Deadline for a new UAE company

3 months from incorporation

A resident juridical person incorporated, established or recognised in the UAE on or after 1 March 2024, including a Free Zone Person, must apply for Corporate Tax registration within three months of the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition.

Companies that already existed before 1 March 2024 had fixed dates in 2024, from 31 May to 31 December 2024 depending on the month their earliest licence was issued. Those dates have passed, so an older company that has not applied is late already.

Deadline for a resident individual

31 March of the following year (resident individuals)

A resident natural person whose total Turnover from a Business or Business Activity in a Gregorian calendar year (2024 or later) exceeds the threshold must apply for Corporate Tax registration by 31 March of the following year; a non-resident natural person has three months from the date the requirements to be subject to tax are met.

Worked example

A freelancer's turnover passes AED 1 million in 2026

All amounts and dates are illustrations. A resident designer has these receipts in calendar year 2026.

1. Fees from freelance design work: AED 1,040,000. This is business turnover.
2. Salary from a part-time job: AED 120,000. Not counted.
3. Rent from a flat she owns as an investment, with no licensing requirement: AED 72,000. Not counted.
4. Dividends on shares she holds personally: AED 8,000. Not counted.
5. Total receipts: 1,040,000 + 120,000 + 72,000 + 8,000 = AED 1,240,000, but only the AED 1,040,000 of business turnover is tested.
6. AED 1,040,000 is above AED 1,000,000 by AED 40,000, so she must register for 2026.
7. With design fees of AED 980,000, total receipts would be AED 1,180,000, yet no registration would be due for 2026.

Registration application due by 31 March 2027.

Documents you need

A company needs its incorporation and licensing documents and the identity documents of its main owners and its signatories. The FTA’s service card lists:

• the certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association or partnership agreement, where available;
• the commercial registration certificate, or another official document from the licensing authority;
• the valid trade licence, including branch licences where the company has branches;
• the Emirates ID and passport of every owner holding more than 25%, and of each authorised signatory;
• proof of the signatory’s authorisation.

A federal or emirate government entity that registers adds its decree law, and a qualifying public benefit entity adds the relevant Cabinet Decision. Each file must be a PDF of no more than 15 MB.

How to register on EmaraTax, step by step

Registration is made online on EmaraTax, the FTA’s portal, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The FTA’s service card lists seven steps:

1. Register and activate an EmaraTax account.
2. Open the account dashboard.
3. Create a new taxable person profile.
4. Select “View” to open the taxable person’s account.
5. Open the three-dot “Action” menu under Corporate Tax.
6. Select “Register”.
7. Complete the application and submit it for review.

FTA's estimated processing time

20 business days

The FTA's estimated time to complete a Corporate Tax registration application is 20 business days from the date it receives the completed application; applicants upload the incorporation documents or partnership agreement, the commercial registration or licensing document, the valid trade licence including branch licences, the Emirates ID and passport of owners holding more than 25% and of authorised signatories, and proof of the signatory's authorisation.

The FTA’s registration user guide (May 2026) splits the form into five parts: entity details, including the tax period based on the financial year; licence details, with business activities, owners and UAE branches; contact details; the authorised signatory; and a review and declaration. A part-finished application can be saved as a draft.

After submission, EmaraTax issues a reference number. The FTA then approves the application, rejects it or asks by email for specific extra information. An approved application gives the TRN.

Your EmaraTax account

According to the FTA’s user guide, a new account is opened with the sign-up button on the EmaraTax login page. Users log in with the registered email address and password or with UAE Pass, and accounts with two-factor authentication also ask for a one-time password. A forgotten password is reset with the “forgot password” option. A new account must add the “Taxable Person” user type before a taxable person profile can be created.

What registration costs

Nothing is payable to the FTA.

FTA registration fee

Free of charge

Corporate Tax registration through the FTA's EmaraTax platform is free of charge.

The FTA estimates 25 minutes to submit the application. Any cost comes from outside help: a tax agent, accountant or consultant who prepares the application charges a private fee set by that provider, so there is no official price to quote. The fees that do apply when a company is set up are covered in trade licence costs.

Late registration: the penalty and the waiver

An application made after the deadline triggers a fixed administrative penalty, but a waiver initiative cancels it when the first tax return is filed early enough.

Late registration penalty

AED 10,000

A Taxable Person that does not submit its Corporate Tax registration application within the timeframe set by the Federal Tax Authority is liable to an administrative penalty of AED 10,000.

The waiver rests on a Cabinet approval in force from 14 April 2025, which the FTA explains in its public clarification CTP006. The FTA’s service card says it covers people who registered late, people who have not applied yet and anyone already charged the penalty, paid or not. The condition is to file the first tax return within seven months of the end of the first tax period or, for an exempt person, the annual declaration within seven months of the end of its first financial year. An unpaid penalty is cancelled; a paid one is credited to the person’s EmaraTax corporate tax account, where it can go towards tax due or be refunded on request. The initiative applies only to the first tax period, whether in the past or in the future, and it does not move the nine-month deadline for paying the tax. Separately, Article 51 lets the FTA register a person itself, from the date the person became taxable.

Worked example

The waiver window for a first tax period ending 31 December 2026

The dates are an illustration.

1. A UAE company misses its three-month registration deadline and is charged AED 10,000.
2. Its first tax period ends on 31 December 2026.
3. Waiver window: 31 December 2026 plus 7 months = 31 July 2027.
4. Return deadline: 31 December 2026 plus 9 months = 30 September 2027.
5. First return filed by 31 July 2027: the AED 10,000 is waived, or credited back if paid. Filed from 1 August to 30 September 2027: the return is on time, but the AED 10,000 remains due.

Last day to qualify for the waiver: 31 July 2027.

The other corporate tax penalties, for late returns, late payment and record keeping, are set out in corporate tax penalties.

After you register

Registration starts a set of ongoing duties. The main ones:

• Keep the record up to date. A change to the information registered with the FTA is reported through the Tax Records Amendment service on EmaraTax, and the FTA’s service card says the application is due within 20 business days of the change. Not telling the FTA about a change costs AED 1,000, or AED 5,000 for a repeat within 24 months.
• Know the tax period. It is the financial year: the calendar year or the 12-month period for which the business prepares financial statements. The return must be filed, and the tax paid, within nine months after the end of each tax period (filing the corporate tax return).
• Small business relief is elected period by period. It is open to resident businesses that meet its revenue limit and other conditions; the small business relief guide sets them out.
• Deregister when the business stops. The application is due within three months of the business ceasing, or of the company’s dissolution or liquidation. The FTA deregisters only once all tax and penalties are paid and every return is filed, including the one up to the date of cessation.

The corporate tax guides cover the rates, the return, the reliefs and the penalties in more detail.