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UAE Corporate Tax Filing Deadline: FTA's 30 September 2026 Notice
The short answer
On 2 September 2026 the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) called on every Taxable Person to file its corporate tax return and pay the tax due within nine months of the end of its Tax Period. For companies whose financial year ended on 31 December 2025, that meant no later than 30 September 2026, and the FTA said the date applied to businesses eligible for Small Business Relief as well.
The rules come from the Corporate Tax Law and the Tax Procedures Law, and the FTA enforces them. The fact that decides the route for most owners is simple: the end date of your Tax Period sets your deadline, and Small Business Relief does not remove the duty to register and file.
A company that has missed the September date should check its status in EmaraTax now and, if needed, speak to an approved Tax Agent. In its 14 September 2025 release the FTA put the penalty for late filing or late payment at AED 500 for each month or part of a month in the first twelve months, rising to AED 1,000 for each month from the thirteenth. Velarozone is not a tax adviser or a registered Tax Agent, so the points below describe what the FTA published and where a founder's own choices come in.
What the FTA said and who it was talking to
The announcement was issued from Abu Dhabi. It named two groups. Taxable Persons must file their returns and pay the corporate tax due within nine months of the end of each Tax Period. Exempt Persons who are required to register must file an annual declaration within nine months of the end of their financial year.
The FTA framed early preparation as a legal duty, not a courtesy. It asked Taxable Persons to assemble the documents for the return and the payment before the deadline arrived, and it asked Exempt Persons to do the same for their declarations.
For a founder, the useful reading is that the nine months run per entity and per period. Two companies in one group with different year ends have two different dates. A single reminder in the finance calendar will not cover both.
Small Business Relief changes the return, not the duty
The FTA was direct about relief. Companies eligible for Small Business Relief, whose year ended on 31 December 2025, had the same 30 September 2026 date as everyone else. What changes is the form: they file simplified returns inside the statutory timeframe.
Relief also comes with obligations in each Tax Period. The FTA listed them: register for corporate tax, file the simplified return, and keep the documents that support what the return says. Those records let the FTA check three things, namely revenue, taxable income and whether the company really is eligible for the relief.
A small company cannot wait until it crosses a line before it registers. Relief is elected for each Tax Period and needs Revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less in the current and every previous Tax Period, so one year above that figure rules the relief out for later periods. A Qualifying Free Zone Person cannot elect it. The records exist so that the FTA can check all of this.
The four records the FTA named
The FTA said the documents a company must keep and submit with a return depend on the nature of its business. It then named essentials that apply broadly:
- a record of the company's transactions during the Tax Period;
- an asset register, with details of purchases and disposals;
- a record of the company's liabilities;
- a record of shares or ownership interests held at the end of the Tax Period.
The asset register and the ownership record are the two that new companies tend to build last. A trading company that buys equipment through the year needs the purchase details when the return is prepared, not when the bookkeeper is asked about them nine months later. The ownership record matters most where shares have moved between holding entities during the period.
Failure to keep the records required under the Tax Procedures Law and the Corporate Tax Law brings administrative penalties. The September 2026 release gives no amounts for record-keeping failures, so none are quoted for them. Persons exempt from corporate tax must also keep records that let the FTA verify their exemption.
Filing through EmaraTax or through an approved Tax Agent
The FTA said registration, return filing and payment are available around the clock on the EmaraTax digital tax services platform. A Taxable Person can file directly, or it can use an approved Tax Agent from the list on the FTA's website.
The FTA refers to approved Tax Agents listed on its website. Practising as a Tax Agent without FTA registration and accreditation is a legal offence, so check an adviser against that list before handing over any filing work. The FTA's 2025 release adds that a return may also be filed by an authorised individual or legal representative acting for the company.
If the company belongs to a group, the filing picture changes again. Whether to form a tax group is a structuring decision with its own conditions, covered in the guide on corporate tax groups.
What a company being set up now should plan for
The 30 September 2026 date applied to one cohort. The rule behind it applies to every company: nine months from the end of the Tax Period. A business incorporated this year will have a first Tax Period, a first year end and a first deadline.
Three practical points follow from the FTA's statement:
Choose the financial year end with the filing date in mind, because the deadline is counted from it. Keep the asset register and ownership record from the first month. Decide at the outset who files, the company through EmaraTax or an approved Tax Agent, and who holds the login.
The wider question of how corporate tax applies to a newly formed UAE company is covered in the guide on corporate tax for new businesses. A resident company incorporated on or after 1 March 2024 must apply to register for corporate tax within three months of incorporation, which falls before its first return. How Velarozone compares structures is set out under how Velarozone works.
In short
What to take from this
- The FTA's call was dated 2 September 2026 and addressed Taxable Persons and Exempt Persons required to register.
- The filing and payment window is up to nine months after the end of the Tax Period.
- A 31 December 2025 year end produced a 30 September 2026 deadline, including for Small Business Relief claimants.
- Small Business Relief companies file simplified returns, and they still register and keep records.
- Registration, filing and payment run through the EmaraTax platform, directly or through an approved Tax Agent.
- Missing records can bring administrative penalties under the Tax Procedures Law and the Corporate Tax Law.
- What was the deadline for a company with a 31 December 2025 year end?
- The FTA said such companies must file their returns and pay the corporate tax due no later than 30 September 2026. That is nine months after the year end.
- Does Small Business Relief remove the need to file?
- No. The FTA said companies eligible for the relief must register, file simplified returns and keep the supporting documents in each Tax Period. The records let the FTA verify revenue, taxable income and eligibility.
- Can a company use an adviser instead of filing itself?
- It can use an approved Tax Agent from the list on the FTA's website, or file directly on EmaraTax. The FTA named both routes in its statement.
- What does the FTA expect a company to keep?
- The FTA said it varies by business, and named transaction records, an asset register with purchases and disposals, a record of liabilities, and a record of shares or ownership interests held at the end of the Tax Period.
Sources
Where this comes from
General information drawn from the CBUAE Rulebook, including the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (C 15/2021), and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 as published, not legal or tax advice. Rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text and each institution's own requirements before you submit.