Who must register for corporate tax in the UAE, and by when?

Every Taxable Person must register for UAE Corporate Tax, including free zone persons, and natural persons whose business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. A resident company formed on or after 1 March 2024 must apply within three months of incorporation. A resident natural person must apply by 31 March of the following year. [1][2][3]

By GCC Filings Bookkeeping LLC - Published and last updated 20 October 2026

Key takeaways

• The law requires any Taxable Person to register with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and obtain a Tax Registration Number. [3]
• Free Zone Persons are Resident Persons and must register within the same three-month window as other new UAE entities. [2][3]
• A natural person registers only if business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. [1]
• Late registration carries an AED 10,000 administrative penalty, which a Cabinet decision initiative can waive automatically in defined cases. [1][4]
• Registration is free and done on EmaraTax in about 25 minutes. [1]

Who must register for corporate tax in the UAE?

Any Taxable Person must register for Corporate Tax in the form, manner and timeline the FTA prescribes, and obtain a Tax Registration Number. [3] A Taxable Person is either a Resident Person or a Non-Resident Person. [3]

The Resident Persons named in the law include a juridical person incorporated or otherwise established or recognised under UAE legislation, which expressly includes a Free Zone Person. [3] They also include a foreign-incorporated juridical person that is effectively managed and controlled in the UAE, and a natural person who conducts a Business or Business Activity in the UAE. [3]

The FTA service page adds that a UAE branch of a domestic company is an extension of its parent and is not required to register separately. [1] The Law likewise treats a branch of a Resident Person as one and the same Taxable Person. [3]

Do free zone companies and individuals have to register?

Yes for free zone companies: a Free Zone Person is a juridical person and a Resident Person, so the registration duty applies. [3] Individuals are different: a natural person must register only if the total revenue from conducting business or business activities exceeds AED 1 million within a calendar year. [1]

The FTA excludes three income sources from that revenue calculation: salary, private investment income and real estate investment income. [1] The FTA's March 2025 release confirms the 31 March deadline and the AED 10,000 penalty for missing it. [5]

If you are weighing the free zone regime or a relief, see our guides on the Qualifying Free Zone Person regime and Small Business Relief. This article covers only the registration step. For the VAT side of free zone companies, read do free zone companies need VAT registration.

What are the registration deadlines?

The deadline depends on the type of person and when it was formed. FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, effective 1 March 2024, gives a three-month window for resident juridical persons formed on or after that date, and a licence-month table for those that already existed. [2]

For resident juridical persons that existed before 1 March 2024, the deadline followed the month the licence was issued, regardless of the year. [2] Where a person held more than one licence, the earliest issued licence is used. [2]

Those dates have all passed. If your business is still unregistered, it is already late, and the next two sections matter.

How do you register on EmaraTax?

You register through the FTA's EmaraTax platform, which is available 24 hours a day, and the FTA estimates 25 minutes to submit the application. [1] The listed steps are:

1. Register and activate an account in EmaraTax. [1]
2. Access the EmaraTax account dashboard. [1]
3. Create a New Taxable Person Profile. [1]
4. Click "View" to access the Taxable Person Account. [1]
5. From the right-hand side, click the three-dot "Action" menu under Corporate Tax. [1]
6. Click "Register". [1]
7. Complete the application and submit it for review. [1]

The service is free of charge, and the FTA estimates 20 business days from receipt of a completed application. [1] Documents listed include the certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association or partnership agreement (if available), the commercial registration certificate or licensing authority document, a valid trade licence including branch licences, the Emirates ID and passport of any owner holding more than 25% and of authorised signatories, and proof of authorisation for the signatory. [1] Applications can also be submitted at government service centres (Tas'heel Centres). [5]

What is the penalty for registering late, and can it be waived?

The FTA states an administrative penalty of AED 10,000 for late Corporate Tax registration. [1] A Cabinet decision initiative can remove it: the FTA said on 14 May 2026 that the penalty is waived automatically, without a reconsideration or waiver request, where the first Tax Return or annual declaration is filed within seven months of the end of the first Tax Period. [4]

Key conditions from the FTA announcement: the initiative applies to late registration penalties from 1 June 2023, and only to the first Tax Period. [4] If the penalty was already paid, the FTA says a credit equal to the amount is added to the EmaraTax account. [4]

If your facts fall outside the initiative, other routes exist. Our guide on how to reduce or waive FTA penalties in the UAE sets out what we have verified about them.

When does a business need a corporate tax consultant?

Registration itself is a form-filling task that the FTA says takes about 25 minutes. [1] Advice becomes more useful when your facts touch the technical rules in the Law. Nothing in the Law requires you to use a consultant. Four areas where the text is detailed:

• Connected persons. A payment or benefit to a Connected Person is deductible only to the extent it matches the Market Value of the service and is incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. A Connected Person is an owner, a director or officer, or a Related Party of either. [3]
• Related parties. Transactions between Related Parties must meet the arm's length standard. Related Parties include juridical persons where one owns 50% or more of the other, or Controls it. [3]
• Transfer pricing disclosure. The FTA may require a disclosure of transactions with Related Parties and Connected Persons with the Tax Return, and may require a master file and local file where conditions prescribed by the Minister are met. [3]
• Tax groups. A Resident Parent Company can apply to form a Tax Group with Resident Subsidiaries when it owns at least 95% of the share capital, holds 95% of the voting rights and is entitled to 95% of profits and net assets. Neither side may be an Exempt Person or a Qualifying Free Zone Person. [3]

How GCC Filings can help

GCC Filings Bookkeeping LLC is a Dubai firm. Its UAE Corporate Tax Registration & Advisory Services page lists Corporate Tax registration with the FTA, impact assessments and tax group structuring, evaluation of Qualifying Free Zone Person eligibility, and annual Corporate Tax computation and return submission. We can talk through your facts to see which of the points above apply to you.

You can also browse our corporate tax services or all services, and read more on the GCC Filings blog. To get in touch, call +971 4 557 4802, email [email protected], or visit Office 2403, East Wing, Latifa Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

Limits of this guide

Tax rules, thresholds and deadlines change, and your facts may differ. The English texts of the legislation cited are unofficial translations. Always confirm the current position on the Federal Tax Authority website at tax.gov.ae. This article is general information and not tax or legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Do free zone companies have to register for corporate tax?

Yes. The Corporate Tax Law lists a Free Zone Person among the Resident Persons, and the FTA timeline decision names Free Zone Persons in the three-month deadline for entities formed on or after 1 March 2024. Register within three months of the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition. [3][2]

Do sole proprietors and freelancers need to register?

A natural person must register if turnover from business or business activity in the UAE exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. Salary, private investment income and real estate investment income are excluded from that calculation. A resident natural person registers by 31 March of the following year. [1][2]

What is the penalty for late corporate tax registration?

The FTA service page states an administrative penalty of AED 10,000 for late registration. A Cabinet decision waiver initiative can remove it if the first Tax Return is filed within seven months of the end of the first Tax Period, as the FTA explained on 14 May 2026. [1][4]

How long does EmaraTax registration take?

The FTA estimates 25 minutes to submit the application and 20 business days from receipt of a completed application for the FTA to complete it. The service is free of charge. Required documents include a valid trade licence and the Emirates ID and passport of owners holding more than 25%. [1]

Does a branch need its own registration?

The FTA says UAE branches of domestic companies are an extension of the parent or head office and are not considered separate legal entities, so they do not register or file separately. The Law also treats a branch of a Resident Person as the same Taxable Person. [1][3]

When should I speak to a corporate tax consultant?

The law sets technical rules for payments to connected persons, related party transactions at arm's length, and tax groups, which need ownership of at least 95%. If your business has owners, directors or affiliates dealing with it, or you are considering a group, get advice before filing. [3]

Sources

1. Federal Tax Authority (UAE). Corporate Tax Registration (service page), 2026. https://tax.gov.ae/en/services/corporate.tax.registration.aspx
2. Federal Tax Authority (UAE). Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 3 of 2024 on the Timeline specified for Registration of Taxable Persons for Corporate Tax (unofficial translation), 2024. https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Legislation/FTA%20Decision%20No.%203%20of%202024%20on%20Registration%20Timeline%20for%20Corporate%20Tax%20-%20For%20publishing.pdf
3. Ministry of Finance (UAE). Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments (unofficial translation), 2026. https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Federal-Decree-Law-No.-47-of-2022-and-its-amendments-en-v13.1.26.pdf
4. Federal Tax Authority (UAE). FTA expects number of beneficiaries from Corporate Tax late registration penalty waiver initiative to rise to 91,000 (press release), 14 May 2026. https://tax.gov.ae/en/media.centre/news/fta.expects.number.of.beneficiaries.from.corporate.tax.late.registration.penalty.waiver.initiative.to.rise.to.91000.aspx
5. Federal Tax Authority (UAE). FTA urges Natural Persons to promptly register for Corporate Tax before the end of March 2025 (press release), 9 March 2025. https://tax.gov.ae/en/media.centre/news/fta.urges.natural.persons.to.promptly.register.for.corporate.tax.before.the.end.of.march.2025.aspx

Accessed 20 October 2026. General information only; confirm current rules with the FTA.