What We Handle
The UAE Position, in Short
Corporate tax on taxable income above AED 375,000; the first AED 375,000 at 0%. Registration is required regardless of whether tax is payable.
Qualifying Free Zone Persons may achieve 0% on qualifying income. Conditions apply throughout the tax period; non-qualifying income is charged at 9% without the AED 375,000 band. The status is maintained, not granted.
Small Business Relief — an election to zero corporate tax for entities with revenue up to AED 3 million — is extended to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 by Ministerial Decision No. 131. Businesses relying on it should be planning for the position that follows.
Multinational groups with consolidated revenue of EUR 750 million or more are separately subject to a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax.
Where It Goes Wrong
It means conditionally 0% on qualifying income. Entities discover the difference when non-qualifying revenue is identified during a filing — and the treatment applies to the whole period, not the offending transaction alone.
Registration falls due on its own timetable, independent of whether the company has traded or owes anything.
A residence visa and Emirates ID do not by themselves end tax residency elsewhere. Most countries apply their own tests — days, ties, centre of interests, permanent home — and some apply an exit process that must be completed rather than simply stopped.
A tax residency certificate is a document; the substance behind it is a fact pattern. Where a foreign authority examines the arrangement, what it examines is the fact pattern.
Departing without closing registrations, filing final returns or meeting notification obligations leaves a liability that grows quietly and surfaces years later.
Restructuring after a disposal is materially harder than structuring before one.
Questions
Do I have to register for corporate tax if my company earns nothing?
Registration is required of taxable persons irrespective of profitability. Filing obligations follow registration.
Is my free zone company exempt?
Only to the extent it is a Qualifying Free Zone Person earning qualifying income, and only while every condition is met. It should be assessed against actual revenue rather than assumed from the jurisdiction.
What happens when Small Business Relief ends?
Entities that relied on it fall into the standard regime — 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above it — with the corresponding filing obligations. The change is now legislated for 31 December 2029 (Ministerial Decision No. 131), so the practical time to plan is now.
Will a UAE tax residency certificate satisfy my home country?
Sometimes. It is evidence, not a conclusion. Whether it is accepted depends on the other country's rules, any treaty between them, and whether your actual circumstances support the claim.
I still own companies abroad. Does that matter?
Frequently yes. Many countries impose reporting on residents who control foreign companies, and some continue to impose obligations for a period after departure. This should be established before the structure is built.
Can you deal with my accountant at home?
Yes, and it is usually the right approach. The UAE side and the departing side have to agree, and coordinating them is generally cheaper than reconciling them afterwards.