Corporate tax and Small Business Relief

For ordinary taxable persons, UAE corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that amount. These are taxable-income bands, not turnover bands. A Qualifying Free Zone Person instead has 0% on qualifying income and 9% on non-qualifying taxable income; the ordinary AED 375,000 band does not apply to that non-qualifying income. A free-zone licence alone does not establish qualifying status.

Small Business Relief is an election available to eligible resident persons whose revenue does not exceed AED 3 million in the relevant and previous tax periods. Qualifying Free Zone Persons and members of multinational groups within the specified AED 3.15 billion consolidated-revenue category cannot elect it. It is not an automatic exemption from registration or filing.

The relief now covers qualifying tax periods beginning on or after 1 June 2023 and ending on or before 31 December 2029. Ministerial Decision 131/2026 replaces the previous 2026 end date. The decision was issued on 29 July 2026; its commencement clause refers to the day after Official Gazette publication, so its issue date should not be labelled its effective date.

A UAE-resident juridical person incorporated, established or recognised on or after 1 March 2024 generally has three months from that event to apply for corporate-tax registration. Other categories have different clocks.

Match these requirements to your entity, activity and authority. This guide does not establish an applicant-specific approval, complete cost or end-to-end timeline.