Compliance & tax
Accounting, corporate tax and VAT for UAE companies
The UAE now has real tax deadlines. We register you correctly, keep the books clean and file on time, so the 0% and 9% rates you planned for are the rates you actually pay.
The UAE tax picture in one minute
Corporate tax arrived in June 2023: 9% on taxable profits above AED 375,000, 0% below, and 0% on qualifying income for free zone companies that meet substance and reporting conditions. Every company must register, even those expecting to pay nothing; late registration carries a AED 10,000 penalty.
VAT at 5% applies once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 a year, with voluntary registration from AED 187,500. Returns file quarterly for most businesses. None of this is burdensome with clean books; all of it is expensive to ignore.
What we run for clients
- Corporate tax registration and annual filing
- Qualifying free zone person assessment, the difference between 0% and 9%
- VAT registration, quarterly returns and input recovery
- Monthly bookkeeping from AED 300 for small companies
- Payroll and WPS compliance
- Audit coordination where your zone or bank requires one
Free zone 0%: real, but conditional
The 0% rate on qualifying income is not automatic. It depends on adequate substance in the zone, audited accounts, and income falling within qualifying categories, broadly business with other free zone persons and foreign markets. Non-qualifying revenue above a small threshold can pull your whole profit into 9%. We assess this before year end, when there is still time to structure, not after.
Questions
Accounting & Tax, asked and answered
Does my company need to register for corporate tax even with zero profit?
Yes. Registration is mandatory for every UAE company regardless of profit, and the penalty for missing it is AED 10,000. Filing follows nine months after your financial year ends.
Do free zone companies really pay 0%?
On qualifying income, yes, provided substance, audit and reporting conditions are met. Revenue from mainland UAE customers generally does not qualify. We model your revenue mix and tell you your realistic effective rate before you build a plan around zero.
When do I need to register for VAT?
Registration becomes mandatory once taxable turnover in the previous 12 months passes AED 375,000, or is expected to in the next 30 days. E-commerce and service exports have wrinkles worth checking early, since export income is often zero-rated rather than exempt.
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