How to file a UAE Corporate Tax return on EmaraTax
A practical, step-by-step walkthrough for UAE businesses — from logging in to EmaraTax and computing taxable income, through applying the 0% and 9% rates and any relief, to submitting within the 9-month deadline.
Before you start
Filing a Corporate Tax return is straightforward once your accounts are ready. There is one return per tax period, filed through the FTA's EmaraTax portal, and both the return and any payment are due within 9 months of the end of the tax period.
Make sure you are already registered and have a Corporate Tax registration number, and that your IFRS-based financial statements for the period are finalised. With those in place, the five steps below take you from login to a submitted return.
For the wider context on rates and scope, keep the UAE Corporate Tax guide to hand.
Filing in five steps
A clear path from EmaraTax login to a submitted, paid return.
Log in to EmaraTax
Sign in to the FTA EmaraTax portal with your registered account. Open your Corporate Tax profile and start the return for the relevant tax period.
Confirm your period and details
Check that the tax period, financial year, and entity details on file are correct before you enter any figures. Errors here flow through the whole return.
Compute taxable income
Start from accounting profit in your IFRS financial statements, then adjust for exempt income and disallowed expenses to reach taxable income.
Apply reliefs and elections
Apply the 0% band up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it, and make any election such as Small Business Relief if you qualify and choose to.
Review, submit and pay
Review the full return, submit it on EmaraTax, and pay any Corporate Tax due. Filing and payment share the same 9-month deadline.
Computing taxable income
The heart of the return is the computation. Taxable income is built up from your books through a defined set of adjustments:
- Start from accounting profit — the net profit shown in your IFRS financial statements.
- Remove exempt income, such as qualifying dividends and certain other exempt amounts.
- Add back disallowed expenses — fines and penalties, a portion of entertainment, and certain non-business costs.
- Apply any available relief or adjustment for which you qualify.
- The result is taxable income, to which the 0% and 9% rates are applied.
The 0% rate applies to the first AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% to the rest. Because the whole computation flows from your accounting profit, clean IFRS-based books make it faster and more defensible.
The 9-month deadline
The return and any payment are both due within 9 months of the end of the tax period. A financial year ending 31 December means a deadline of the following 30 September; a year ending 31 May means the following 28 February.
Filing late attracts a monthly penalty, and paying late accrues a separate 14% per-annum charge — so treat the 9-month mark as a hard date. The detail is in our Corporate Tax penalties guide. Prefer it handled for you? See our Corporate Tax filing services.
Electing Small Business Relief when you file
If your revenue is AED 3,000,000 or less in a period, you can elect Small Business Relief and be treated as having no taxable income for that period. The election is made when you file the return.
This is a transitional relief available only for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, and it is not open to Qualifying Free Zone Persons or large multinational groups. Read the full picture in our Small Business Relief guide before you elect.
A return that flows from your books
AIMuhaseb keeps IFRS-based double-entry accounts and computes your Corporate Tax straight from them — applying the AED 375,000 threshold and 9% rate, tracking disallowed expenses, and producing a computation you can review before it is filed on EmaraTax.
Corporate Tax filing questions, answered
How do I file a Corporate Tax return in the UAE?
You file the Corporate Tax return through the FTA EmaraTax portal. Log in, open your Corporate Tax profile, confirm the tax period and entity details, compute taxable income from your IFRS accounts, apply the 0% and 9% rates and any elections, then review, submit, and pay. There is one return per tax period.
When is the Corporate Tax return and payment due?
Both the return and any payment are due within 9 months of the end of the tax period. For a financial year ending 31 December, the return and payment are due by the following 30 September. Missing this deadline exposes you to late-filing and late-payment penalties.
How is taxable income calculated?
Taxable income starts from accounting profit in your IFRS financial statements. You then remove exempt income, add back disallowed expenses such as fines and a portion of entertainment costs, and apply any reliefs. The 0% rate applies to taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% applies above that.
What is Small Business Relief and can I elect for it when filing?
Small Business Relief lets a business with revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less in a period elect to be treated as having no taxable income for that period. It is a transitional relief available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, and the election is made when you file. It is not available to Qualifying Free Zone Persons or large multinational groups.
Do I still file if my income is within the 0% band?
Yes. Registration and, in most cases, filing are required for all taxable persons, including those whose taxable income is entirely within the 0% band and those electing Small Business Relief. Filing on time keeps you clear of late-filing penalties even when no tax is payable.
Can AIMuhaseb prepare and file the return for me?
Yes. We compute your taxable income directly from your IFRS-based books, apply the correct rates and any elections, review the return with you, and file it on EmaraTax ahead of the 9-month deadline. Keeping the books current throughout the year makes the year-end filing far quicker.
File your Corporate Tax return with confidence
Tell us your financial year end and where your accounts stand, and a UAE specialist will help you compute and file on EmaraTax.