Corporate Tax Timeline in UAE: All You Need to Know

According to the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on taxation of corporations and businesses (the “Corporate Tax Law”), businesses are subject to UAE Corporate Tax from the beginning of their first financial year that starts on or after 1 June 2023. This tax is a form of direct tax levied on the net income or profit of corporations and other entities from their business. Top Tax Consultants in UAE assists Taxable Persons to effectively determine their tax period and ensure compliance with the Corporate Tax Law.

The Standing Rule: What Applies to Every Tax Period

Whether this is your first tax period or your third, the core filing rule doesn’t change: you must file your corporate tax return and pay any tax due within 9 months of the end of your financial year. Registration itself is due within 3 months of the event that creates the obligation, such as incorporation for a new company.

The worked examples below cover how the transitional first tax periods played out for businesses that started under the law’s original 2023 rollout. If your business is already past its first period, the same 9-month filing rule applies to you every year going forward, the specific dates below are for reference on how that first cycle worked, not a schedule you still need to track.

For the current state of registration deadlines, penalties, and what’s changed most recently, see our guide to corporate tax penalties in the UAE and our guide to UAE tax rule changes in 2026.

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How the First Tax Period Worked: Three Examples

Financial Year 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024

For businesses whose financial year ran from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024, this was the timeline for their first tax period:

• 1 January 2023 to 28 February 2025: Period of Registration (26 Months)
• 1 June 2023: Application of Corporate Tax Law
• 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024: First Tax Period
• 1 June 2024 to 28 February 2025: Return Filing Period
• 28 February 2025: Return Filing Due Date for First Tax Period
• 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025: Second Tax Period

Businesses in this position benefited from working with experienced tax consultants in the UAE well ahead of their filing deadline, ensuring documentation was in order and reducing the risk of a missed deadline and the penalties that come with it.

Corporate Tax Registration Deadlines for 2024, Based on License Issuance Date

Financial Year 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

For businesses on a calendar-year financial year, this was their first tax period timeline:

• 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2025: Period of Registration (33 Months)
• 1 June 2023: Application of Corporate Tax Law
• 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024: First Tax Period
• 1 January 2025 to 30 September 2025: Return Filing Period
• 30 September 2025: Return Filing Due Date for First Tax Period
• 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025: Second Tax Period

Businesses on this cycle had the benefit of learning from other companies’ first filing experiences. Establishing solid accounting practices and accurate record-keeping from the start of the year made the actual filing process considerably smoother.

Financial Year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

For businesses on this financial year, the first tax period ran as follows:

• 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025: Period of Registration (24 Months)
• 1 June 2023: Application of Corporate Tax Law
• 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025: First Tax Period
• 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025: Return Filing Period
• 31 December 2025: Return Filing Due Date for First Tax Period
• 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026: Second Tax Period

By this point in the rollout, most businesses had a solid grasp of the filing process. The same principle still applies now: staying alert to regulatory updates matters more than memorizing a single year’s dates, since the underlying 9-month rule is what carries forward indefinitely.

Penalties for Missing a Deadline

Missing the registration deadline carries a fixed penalty of AED 10,000. Late filing and late payment carry their own separate penalties, and the full current breakdown, including record-keeping, disclosure, and payment penalties, is covered in our complete guide to corporate tax penalties in the UAE.

Beyond the direct fine, missing a deadline can also mean:

• Loss of good standing with the tax authorities, affecting your ability to do business smoothly.
• Increased audit scrutiny, since late or inconsistent filing tends to draw closer review.
• Cash flow pressure, since penalties and accruing interest add an unplanned cost on top of the tax itself.

To effectively determine your tax period and stay compliant with the Corporate Tax Law, it’s worth working with experienced tax consultants in the UAE. Contact us today and we’ll be glad to help.