VAT
Corporate Tax
Accounting & CFO
Missed the UAE corporate tax deadline? It is fixable, and the meter is running.
Corporate tax returns for a 31 December 2025 year end were due 30 September 2026. From the day after, late filing costs AED 500 a month — charged even if you owe no tax at all — and unpaid tax accrues interest at 14% a year on top. Both stop the moment the return is filed.
Chartered Accountant-led · Fixed fee quoted before we start · Reply the same working day
What a missed return costs
Part of a month counts as a full month. Filing on the 2nd costs the same as filing on the 30th.
Owing nothing does not exempt you from filing.
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in UAE corporate tax. The penalty is charged for failing to file, not for tax owed — so the businesses least likely to think they have a problem are often the ones accruing one.
Profit under AED 375,000
The 0% band is a rate applied inside a return you still have to submit. Sitting below the threshold removes the tax, not the filing obligation.
Free zone companies on 0%
Qualifying Free Zone Person status is claimed in the return. No return, no claim — and the penalty applies regardless of the rate you expected to pay.
Small Business Relief claimants
Relief has to be elected in the return for each tax period. Miss the return and you have both missed the election and triggered the penalty.
Loss-making or dormant
A loss year and a no-revenue year are both filed. Dormant companies are among the most common holders of an unnoticed penalty balance.
Never registered at all
If you have no Tax Registration Number, registration comes first — the return cannot be filed without one, and a separate AED 10,000 penalty may already apply.
Filed, but with wrong figures
A submitted return with incorrect numbers is its own exposure. It is corrected by voluntary disclosure, and the cost depends on who spots it first.
What it costs, exactly.
These are fixed, automatic and cumulative. They are not discretionary and the FTA does not grant informal extensions.
| Failure | Penalty | How it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Late filing — first 12 months | AED 500 | Per month, or part of a month, from the day after the deadline. |
| Late filing — month 13 onward | AED 1,000 | Per month, or part of a month, until the return is submitted. |
| Late payment of tax owed | 14% a year | Accrued monthly on the unpaid balance, with no cap. Runs alongside the filing penalty, not instead of it. |
| Late corporate tax registration | AED 10,000 | A one-off fixed penalty if you never registered. A waiver may still apply — see below. |
| Failure to keep proper records | AED 10,000 | Rising to AED 20,000 for a repeat. Assessed separately from anything to do with the return. |
| Error you disclose yourself | 1% a month | On the tax difference, from the original due date to the date you disclose. |
| Error the FTA finds first | +15% | A fixed 15% on the underpaid tax, on top of the 1% monthly charge. |
Late payment interest was simplified by Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, effective 14 April 2026, replacing the previous compounding structure with a flat 14% a year calculated monthly. You can size your own liability first with our UAE corporate tax calculator.
The AED 10,000 registration penalty can still be waived — for some businesses.
The FTA waives the late registration penalty where a taxable person files their first corporate tax return or annual declaration within seven months of the end of their first tax period, instead of the usual nine. The window runs from your first tax period, not the current one, so a company whose first period ended 31 December 2024 had until 31 July 2025 — while a more recently incorporated company with a later first period may still be inside it.
Two things follow from that. If you are newly incorporated and late, filing quickly may remove the penalty entirely rather than merely stopping it growing. And if you have already paid the AED 10,000, you may be eligible for a refund where the filing condition is met. Both depend on your specific dates, which is the first thing we check.
Disclosing an error yourself now costs a fraction of being found later.
Where a filed return contains incorrect figures, the correction is a voluntary disclosure. Under the regime in force since April 2026, disclosing before the FTA notifies you of an audit costs 1% per month on the tax difference, calculated from the original due date to the date of disclosure. If the FTA identifies the error first, a fixed 15% is charged on the underpaid tax on top of that monthly amount.
On an AED 100,000 understatement found six months late, that is roughly AED 6,000 if you raise it yourself against at least AED 21,000 if it surfaces in an audit. The gap is the entire argument for reviewing old returns now rather than hoping.
Four steps, starting with an honest number.
Exposure check
Send your trade licence and TRN. We confirm your tax period, how late you actually are, and what the penalty position is today — free, and usually within the hour.
Scope and fee
You get a fixed fee in writing before anything begins, separating the return itself from any bookkeeping catch-up the year needs.
Books closed
Where the year is not closed, we reconcile it properly — because a fast return built on unreconciled records just swaps one problem for a worse one.
Filed on EmaraTax
The return is prepared, reviewed with you, and submitted. The monthly penalty stops accruing the day it lands.
What we need to give you a number
- Trade licence and Tax Registration Number, if you have one
- Your financial year end date
- Which periods are outstanding
- Trial balance or management accounts, if they exist
- Any FTA correspondence or penalty notices received
- Whether you have registered for corporate tax at all
Quoted before we start, never after.
The return and the bookkeeping behind it are priced separately, because they are genuinely different jobs and you should be able to see which one is costing you what.
What you actually owe, how late you are, and whether a waiver still applies to you.
- ✓ Your real filing deadline confirmed
- ✓ Penalties accrued to date, quantified
- ✓ Waiver and refund eligibility checked
- ✓ An honest view on how long the fix takes
The overdue return prepared, reviewed and submitted on EmaraTax.
- ✓ Accounting profit adjusted to taxable income
- ✓ Reliefs and exemptions claimed and evidenced
- ✓ Return filed and payment coordinated
- ✓ Voluntary disclosures raised where needed
- ✓ Backlog bookkeeping quoted separately
Several years outstanding? Say how many when you message. Backlog work is quoted on scope and is almost always cheaper than letting the monthly penalty keep running.
What usually comes with it.
Corporate Tax Registration
No TRN yet? Registration has to happen before the return can be filed at all.
Learn more →Corporate Tax Filing
Once you are current, the return is due nine months after each financial year end.
Learn more →Bookkeeping & Cash Flow
Most late returns are really late bookkeeping. This is how it stops happening.
Learn more →Straight answers.
How much does it cost me per month to leave it unfiled?
AED 500 for each month or part-month for the first twelve months, then AED 1,000 a month after that. Part of a month counts as a whole one, so filing on 2 October costs the same as filing on 30 October. If you also owe tax, interest runs separately at 14% a year on the unpaid balance, calculated monthly. The two are cumulative.
I owe no tax, or I'm on 0%. Do I still get penalised?
Yes. The late filing penalty is charged for not filing, not for tax owed. Companies under the AED 375,000 threshold, free zone companies taxed at 0% as a Qualifying Free Zone Person, businesses electing Small Business Relief and companies that made a loss all still have to submit a return. Zero liability and a penalty bill at the same time is the most common situation we see.
Can the AED 10,000 late registration penalty still be waived?
Possibly, and it is worth checking your own dates before assuming otherwise. The FTA waives that penalty where a taxable person submits their first corporate tax return or annual declaration within seven months of the end of their first tax period, rather than the usual nine. The window is measured from your first tax period, so for a company whose first period ended 31 December 2024 it closed on 31 July 2025. Newer companies with a later first period may still be inside it. Businesses that have already paid the penalty may be eligible for a refund if they meet the filing condition.
What if the figures on a return I already filed were wrong?
That is corrected through a voluntary disclosure. Since April 2026 the cost is 1% per month on the tax difference, running from the original due date to the date you disclose. If the Federal Tax Authority identifies the error first, a fixed 15% is added on top. Disclosing before an audit notice is therefore materially cheaper than waiting to be asked.
How quickly can you file it?
If your books are closed and reconciled, the return itself is usually a matter of days. If the year is not closed, the bookkeeping is the real job and the timeline depends on how many months are outstanding and what condition they are in. Either way the first step is the same: we tell you what your exposure is and how long it will take before you commit to anything.
Will filing late trigger an audit?
Filing late is not by itself an audit trigger, but it does put your file in front of a reviewer under less favourable circumstances, and it tends to draw attention to whatever else is inconsistent. A return that is late but accurate and well evidenced is a far better position than one that is late, wrong, and unsupported.
I'm several years behind. Is it too late?
No. Penalties are fixed per return and interest accrues on unpaid tax, so the arithmetic always favours acting now over acting later — but nothing becomes unfixable. We work through outstanding periods in order, bring the records current, and file in sequence with voluntary disclosures where earlier figures need correcting.
Deadlines, penalties and waiver conditions described on this page reflect UAE corporate tax legislation as at September 2026 and may change. Your own deadline depends on your financial year end and your first tax period. This page is general information, not advice on your specific circumstances. OwnYourCFO is an independent firm of accountants and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Federal Tax Authority.
Every month you wait has a price on it.
Send your trade licence on WhatsApp. A Chartered Accountant will tell you how late you are, what it has cost so far, and what it takes to stop it — before you commit to anything.
Check my exposure on WhatsApp
OwnYourCFO gives growing UAE businesses clear numbers, smarter reporting, and reliable finance support without the overhead of a full in-house team.
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OwnYourCFO is an independent firm of accountants licensed in Ajman Free Zone, United Arab Emirates, serving clients in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and across the UAE. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Federal Tax Authority or any government body. Businesses are free to deal with the Federal Tax Authority directly themselves. Our fees are for professional services only and are separate from any government charge.