Key takeaways
- A UAE company that files its corporate tax return late is charged AED 500 for each month or part of a month in the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 for each month or part of a month from the 13th month (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended).
- A UAE corporate tax return and the tax payable are both due within nine months of the end of the Tax Period, so a company with a 31 December 2025 year end had to file and pay by 30 September 2026.
- Late payment of UAE corporate tax carries a separate penalty of 14% a year on the unsettled amount, charged for each month or part of a month, on top of the late filing charge.
- A UAE company that misses both the filing and the payment deadline is charged both penalties at the same time, and each one keeps running until that specific failure is fixed.
- A UAE company that has already missed its corporate tax deadline should file and pay now, because the monthly filing charge doubles from AED 500 to AED 1,000 after 12 months.
When is a UAE corporate tax return due?
A corporate tax return is due within nine months of the end of the company's Tax Period, and the corporate tax payable falls due in the same window (FTA, 24 September 2025). The FTA confirmed that a company whose Tax Period ended on 31 December 2025 had to file and pay by 30 September 2026 (FTA, 26 September 2026).
| Tax Period ends | Return and payment due | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | 30 September 2026 | Stated by the FTA |
| 31 March 2026 | 31 December 2026 | Calculated: nine months after period end |
| 30 June 2026 | 31 March 2027 | Calculated: nine months after period end |
| 31 December 2026 | 30 September 2027 | Calculated: nine months after period end |
Accurate as of 01 November 2026. Confirm your own date in EmaraTax. Filing and payment need not happen on the same day, but both must fall inside the nine months.
What is the penalty for filing a UAE corporate tax return late?
Filing late costs AED 500 for each month or part of a month during the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 for each month or part of a month from the 13th month (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024). The words "or part" matter: a return filed one day late is charged a full month.
| Violation | Penalty | Schedule row |
|---|---|---|
| Registrant fails to file a tax return on time | AED 500 per month or part for the first 12 months; AED 1,000 per month or part from the 13th month | 7 |
| Failure to submit, or late submission of, a Declaration (exempt persons required to register) | AED 500 per month or part for the first 12 months; AED 1,000 per month or part from the 13th month | 13 |
| Failure to settle payable tax on time | 14% per annum on the unsettled amount, charged per month or part | 8 |
| Incorrect tax return | AED 500, unless corrected before the return deadline | 9 |
| Failure to submit a tax registration application on time | AED 10,000 | 14 |
| Failure to keep required records and information | AED 10,000 per violation; AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months | 1 |
Accurate as of 01 November 2026, from the Ministry of Finance's consolidated schedule to Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023.
Say a SHAMS trading company owes AED 100,000 of corporate tax and files and pays four months late, counting any part of a month as a month. The filing penalty is 4 x AED 500 = AED 2,000. If the 14% a year is applied as a simple rate spread over the months, the late payment charge is AED 100,000 x 14% x 4/12, which is about AED 4,667. The total is roughly AED 6,667 before the tax itself. This is an illustration, not a quote.
AED 500: monthly penalty for each month or part of a month that a corporate tax return is late, rising to AED 1,000 a month from the 13th month. Source: Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended, schedule row 7, checked 01 November 2026.
How is the late payment penalty for corporate tax calculated?
Late payment is charged at 14% a year on the unsettled amount, applied for each month or part of a month, starting the day after the due date (Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended, row 8). It runs separately from the late filing charge, so a company that misses both deadlines pays both.
The schedule does not say whether the monthly charge compounds, so ask the FTA or a registered tax agent for the exact figure on your account before you budget. Work from the Cabinet Decision schedule rather than from summaries: an FTA news page of 14 September 2025 can be read as applying the AED 500 and AED 1,000 amounts to payment too, while the schedule lists 14% for late payment.
Do I have to file a corporate tax return if I owe no tax?
Yes. The FTA says Taxable Persons must file and pay within nine months of the end of each Tax Period, including those eligible for Small Business Relief (FTA, 26 September 2026).
Exempt persons that are required to register submit an annual declaration within nine months of the end of their financial year (FTA, 24 September 2025). A late or missing declaration carries the same AED 500 and AED 1,000 monthly amounts as a late return (schedule row 13).
What should I do if I've already missed the deadline?
File the return and pay the tax as soon as you can, because each monthly charge keeps running until the failure it relates to is fixed.
- Confirm your Tax Period end date and your original due date in EmaraTax.
- Finalise the accounts that the return is built from.
- Submit the return through EmaraTax.
- Pay the corporate tax payable through EmaraTax, which the FTA says accepts payment at any hour.
- Keep the submission and payment confirmations with your tax records.
To avoid a repeat, the free UAE compliance calendar is a calendar of your company's UAE tax and compliance deadlines, personalised from a few questions, as a PDF and calendar file.
Can the FTA waive a late corporate tax filing penalty?
The penalty schedule lists amounts but Qawi found no waiver for late filing in it, and we found no general amnesty for late returns. On 7 May 2025 the FTA announced a conditional waiver of the late registration penalty for companies that file their first return within seven months of their first Tax Period. Check the announcement and your own facts before assuming it still applies or reaches a late return.
What most guides don't tell you
- A part-month is charged as a full month. The schedule says "per month (or part)", so a return filed on the first day after the deadline costs the same AED 500 as one filed at the end of that month. Waiting past the month end adds another AED 500.
- Filing and paying are penalised separately. Filing a return while leaving the tax unpaid stops the AED 500 charge but not the 14% a year on the unpaid amount; paying without filing does the reverse. Both failures need to be fixed.
- A legal representative can be charged personally. The schedule makes a Legal Representative who files late (row 6) pay the AED 500 and AED 1,000 amounts from their own funds.
- The schedule has changed before. Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024 added the AED 10,000 late registration row from 1 March 2024, and Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 reworked the VAT and excise penalty tables from 14 April 2026. Qawi found no change to the corporate tax rows, but check the current text on tax.gov.ae before you quote an amount.
Which deadlines apply to your company?
Your return date depends on your Tax Period, and the penalties above start the day after it passes. The free UAE compliance calendar is a calendar of your company's UAE tax and compliance deadlines, personalised from a few questions, as a PDF and calendar file: qawi.ae/calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What are the penalties for incorrect corporate tax returns?
The penalty for an incorrect corporate tax return is AED 500, and it does not apply if the company corrects the return before the filing deadline. Errors found after the deadline are corrected through a voluntary disclosure, which carries its own monthly charge.
How do I pay my corporate tax in the UAE?
You pay through the EmaraTax platform, which the FTA says accepts payment at any hour. The payment deadline is the same nine months from the end of the Tax Period as the filing deadline, but filing and payment do not have to happen on the same day.
What is the penalty for late corporate tax registration?
The penalty is AED 10,000 for failing to submit a corporate tax registration application within the FTA's timeframe (Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024, applicable from 1 March 2024). The FTA announced a conditional waiver in May 2025, so check whether your facts still qualify before assuming you will pay it.
Can I amend a corporate tax return after filing?
Errors in a filed corporate tax return are corrected by a voluntary disclosure to the FTA under Article 10 of the Tax Procedures Law. The penalty is 1% of the Tax Difference for each month or part of a month until the disclosure is submitted.
What is a voluntary disclosure for corporate tax?
A voluntary disclosure is a submission to the FTA that corrects an error in a return, assessment or refund claim. The charge is 1% of the Tax Difference per month or part of a month until it is submitted, and a company that has not disclosed before the FTA notifies a tax audit faces a fixed 15% of the Tax Difference plus the monthly 1%.
About Qawi · Qawi is a corporate services firm licensed in the Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) free zone, handling company formation, visas and PRO, bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax for UAE businesses. Guides are researched from FTA, Ministry of Finance and free zone sources. Qawi on LinkedIn
Sources
- Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments on administrative penalties for corporate tax (Ministry of Finance)
- AED 10,000 penalty for late corporate tax registration, Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024 (Ministry of Finance, 27 February 2024)
- FTA notice on corporate tax returns and payment for the year ended 31 December 2025, 26 September 2026 (tax.gov.ae)
- FTA notice on filing and paying within nine months, 24 September 2025 (tax.gov.ae)
- FTA notice on return and payment deadlines, 14 September 2025 (tax.gov.ae)
- FTA announcement on waiving the late corporate tax registration penalty, 7 May 2025 (tax.gov.ae)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses (UAE Legislation portal)
- Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, effective date of 14 April 2026 (Andersen UAE summary, secondary source used for the date only)
Last checked: 01 November 2026
This is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation.