How to register for corporate tax in UAE - Prospr

Do you want to do corporate tax registration in the UAE?

If that’s the case, you might be wondering how to register for corporate tax in the UAE. Well, there are some steps you need to follow for CT registration in Dubai. But before Prospr explains every step,  you must know what is corporate tax and why the government charges this tax on corporate income in the UAE.

What is corporate tax?

Corporate Tax is a tax rate applicable on corporate income of a company. The UAE government has introduced this tax to strengthen the position of UAE economy and also to stimulate development of all emirates. Government has started implementing corporate tax from June 2023  to demonstrate its commitment to meet international standards for tax clarity and avoid illegal tax practices all over UAE.

 According to UAE CT tax law, corporate tax rates are as follows.

  • Corporate tax rate is 0% on the taxable income not exceeding AED 375000
  • Corporate tax rate is 0% on qualifying income of QFZP- Qualifying Free Zone Person 
  • Corporate tax rate of 9% is applicable on taxable income exceeding AED 375,000 or non-qualifying income of FZP
  • Corporate tax rates are 15 percent on multinational enterprise MNE

Where to register for UAE corporate tax?

The Federal Tax Authority FTA has set a certain criteria for corporate tax registration in UAE. The taxable person must meet this criteria to consider eligible for registration. For some taxable people, it’s mandatory to register for corporate tax in the UAE while other taxable people opt for it voluntarily. 

Now the question is where you need to register. Well, the FTA has made it easier for taxable persons to register for corporate tax in Dubai through the Emaratax platform. You can login to this platform through your FTA account details or UAE Pass.

EmaraTax platform is a user-friendly platform that allows you to handle all your tax, registration, compliant and VAT payment options from one place. You can either create a new account on the Emara Tax platform or use the credentials of an FTA account or UAE pass. 

How to register for corporate tax in UAE? 

Once you login to Emaratax, you will provide details of your business such as legal structure of your business, license details, approval, trade name, and after that you will apply for tax registration number or TRN. Once this number is issued, you need to pay your taxes applicable to your business as set by the UAE government.

Here is how you can perform Corporate tax registration in UAE

Step 1- Create user profile 

Login to your account with either UAE pass or credentials of FTA. You will be redirected to user dashboard, where you can find  a list of taxable person associated with your user profile. If there is no list, you need to click on “Create” and start adding a new taxable person in your user profile on Emara Tax

  • Click register option under the corporate tax tile to kickstart your registration application.
  • You will find detailed guidelines and instructions on the screen.
  • Read them careful and checkbox to confirm.
  • Click start to begin with the registration process.

Important note:

To make the application process simple, the portal separated the complete process into a few brief sections. You will see a progress bar that shows you how many parts you need to complete for finish the process. You can’t jump from one section to another until the current section is filled out. There are some optional field you can skip. But make sure that you submit all the required documents and cover all essential sections just to prevent application resubmission or rejection.  

How to register for corporate tax in UAE - Prospr

Also learn about if Dubai is tax free or not

Step 2- Choose business entity type

Choose your business entity type from the available list. At this moment, CT registration is available for following entity types

  • Legal Person – UAE Public Joint Stock Company
  • Legal Person – UAE Private Company (incl. an Establishment)

You will soon find a range of other options in this entity section.

Fill out all the required details and click Next step

Step 3- Provide identification details 

Now you will fill out all the essential details of the entity in “Identification details” section.  Provide the main trade license details. Click on “Add business activities” and all details of your economic activities related to the trade license. Click the add button. Once you add all the required details, an activation code will pop up on the screen.

Step 4- Add owner details 

Click the “Add owners” button. Now you will provide details of owners who have ownership of 25 percent or more in this specific entity you are going to register. Enter the relevant owner details. And click the add button to add more owners. 

Step 5- Add branch details 

When your business has more than one branch, click yes and then provide branch details, alongside trade license, owners, and business activities details. You need to keep in mind that only one registration is required for the head office, although operations are performed at the branch level. Once you fill out all branch details, click “Next step”. 

Step 6- Add address/contact details 

You will be directed toward the “Contact details” section. Here you will add registered business address details. Please don’t have any other address details. It should be your business address. In case you are going to register for a foreign business, you need to appoint a tax agent in the UAE. This agent will provide the necessary details on your behalf. Once all the details are provided. Click on “Next step” so that all the changes made in the section will be saved.

Step 7- Add authorized signature 

You will be directed toward the “Authorized signatory section”. Click on the “Add authorized signatory” button and add relevant details. Once you provide the authorized signature, click “Add. You can add one or more authorized signatories. Once done, click “Next step”.

Step 8- Review and declaration 

You will be directed toward “Review and Declaration” in this section, you will find the relevant details that you mention in your complete section. It allows you to review every section’s detail carefully. Once review is done, you can mark the check box, which declares that you have reviewed your application and declare that all the information provided in the application are accurate. Click on the “Submit” button.

Now your application is submitted for corporate tax registration. You will be allotted a reference number once your application is successfully submitted. Keep this reference number safe as you are going to use it for future correspondence with FTA.

What to do after submitting an application for UAE corporate tax registration?

  • You need to wait until the FTA reviews your application. 
  • If FTA needs more information to verify your application, they will request details through email and ask you to add more information on your user profile. 
  • Whether your application needs to be submitted, rejected, or approved- whatever the decision is made, you will get the notification in your email. 
  • You can always check the status of your application from the EmaraTax portal.

Who is exempt from UAE corporate tax?

According to the Federal UAE Corporate Tax Law, following persons are exempts from corporate tax in UAE:

  • UAE government entity and any entity controlled by UAE government 
  • Person engaged in an extractive or non-extractive natural resource business in UAE
  • Qualifying public benefit entity or investment fund 
  • Public pension or social security fund, or a private pension or social security fund with the regulatory oversight from state’s competent authority or meet specific conduction mentioned by the Minister 
  • Juridical person established in a state, wholly owned and controlled by certain exempt persons
  • Any other person can be exempt from the corporate tax when decision is issued by the cabinet at the suggestion of the Minister 

What is the deadline for CT registration in the UAE?

According to FTA released timelines, corporate tax registration deadline depends on the date of incorporation or trade license issuance irrespective of year. You are advised to register for corporate tax in a timely manner. Failure to register your company for corporate tax in the UAE on time will lead to penalties.

  Table: Corporate tax registration deadline 2024

Date of license issuance irrespective of year of issuance 
Corporate tax registration deadline 2024
1 January -31 January  31 May 2024
1 february- 28/29 february  31 May 2024
1 March -31st March 30 June 2024
1 April – 30 April 30 June 2024
1 May -31What is the deadline for CT registration in the UAE?

 May

31st July 2024
1 June -30 June 31st August 2024
1 July- 31st July 30 September 2024
1 August- 31st August 31st October 2024
1 September-30 September  31st October 2024
1 October – 31st October 30 November 2024
1 November – 30 November 30 November 2024
1 December – 31st December  31st December 2024
Entities incorporate on and after 1st March 2024 3 Months from the date of incorporation or from the end of the financial year if the entity is incorporated in a foreign jurisdiction but controlled in the UAE

Let Prospr handle corporate tax registration process for you

We have explained every step of corporate tax registration in UAE for you. Since many different steps are involved making the process a bit complex, we are here to streamline the whole regeneration process. Our tax professionals are ready to answer all your queries and provide you help for furnishing all the required documents for corporate tax in Dubai. Call now

Picture of Samad Ahmed

Samad Ahmed

Samad is a tech enthusiast dedicated to delivering socially responsible, ethical, and transparent products in the MENA region. With over a decade of business experience, he continues to support the entrepreneurial community as the owner of Prospr, a company specializing in business setup services across the UAE, particularly in Dubai.

More From Author
Search
Get In Touch
*All fields are mandatory unless specified otherwise
Cost calculator
×