# Corporate tax and Small Business Relief

Running your company · Dubai Setup Index

> Check taxable-income bands, free-zone status and the conditions for electing Small Business Relief through 2029.

- Canonical: https://dubaisetupindex.com/guides/corporate-tax-and-small-business-relief
- Updated: 2026-10-09
- Method: https://dubaisetupindex.com/methodology

## Requirements and scope

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.

## Confirm for your case

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.

## Sources

- [FTA Corporate Tax General Guide, September 2023](https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Guides/CT/CT%20General%20Guide%20-%20EN%20-%2010%2009%202023.pdf)
- [MoF explanation of Ministerial Decision 73/2023](https://mof.gov.ae/en/news/ministry-of-finance-issues-decision-on-small-business-relief-for-corporate-tax-purposes/)
- [Actual Ministerial Decision 131/2026, Article One](https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ministerial-Decision-No.-131-of-2026-Amending-Certain-Provisions-of-Ministerial-Decision-No.-73-of-2023-on-Small-Business-Relief-for-the-Purposes-of-Federal-Decree-Law-No.-47-of-2022-EN.pdf)
- [MoF announcement, 7 August 2026](https://mof.gov.ae/en/news/ministry-of-finance-announces-extension-of-small-business-relief-for-corporate-tax-purposes-until-31-december-2029/)
- [FTA registration-timeline clarification](https://tax.gov.ae/en/media.centre/news/federal.tax.authority.issues.public.clarification.on.registration.timelines.for.taxable.persons.for.corporate.tax.aspx)

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