UAE Corporate Tax calculator

UAE Corporate Tax calculator — 9%, SBR & free zones

Work out UAE Corporate Tax from your accounting profit: add-backs, exempt income, losses within the 75% cap, the AED 375,000 band at 0%, Small Business Relief and the free zone de-minimis test — every line with its legal reference.

Your figuresAED, for one tax period

Worked examples:

RevenueTotal income from sales and services for the period.Accounting net profitProfit before tax. Use a minus sign for a loss.Tax period endUsually your financial year end.

Add-backs — expenses the law does not allow

Entertainment spend (total)Customers, suppliers, shareholders. Half is added back.FDL 47/2022 Art. 32Fines and penaltiesFDL 47/2022 Art. 33(2)Donations to non-qualifying bodiesNot a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity.FDL 47/2022 Art. 33(1)Other add-backsPrivate or non-business spending, bribes and similar.FDL 47/2022 Arts. 28 and 33

Exempt income and losses

Exempt incomeQualifying dividends and participation gains included in profit.FDL 47/2022 Arts. 22–23Tax losses brought forwardUnused losses from earlier Corporate Tax periods.FDL 47/2022 Art. 37(2)

Reliefs and free zones

Elect Small Business ReliefRevenue of AED 3,000,000 or less; periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.Revenue was above AED 3,000,000 in an earlier tax periodOne year above the limit ends eligibility for good (Ministerial Decision 73/2023 Art. 2(3)).Qualifying Free Zone Person0% on qualifying income, 9% on the rest — if the de-minimis test is met.

Your Corporate Taxrecalculates as you type

Enter your accounting net profit to see the computation — or load one of the worked examples.

Calculated on your deviceRules as of 31 August 2026

An estimate for planning, not tax advice. Rates and thresholds follow Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and the Cabinet and Ministerial Decisions cited on each line, as read from the Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority texts on 31 August 2026; the extension of Small Business Relief to 2029 (Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026) was re-checked on 24 October 2026. Not covered: interest limitation, transfer pricing, foreign tax credits, tax groups and the multinational top-up tax. The same rules drive BRev Audit, our software for UAE audit firms.

UAE Corporate Tax is charged under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. Taxable income up to AED 375,000 is taxed at 0% and the part above it at 9% (Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022). Most calculators stop there. This one starts from your accounting profit, adds back what the law does not allow as a deduction (half of entertainment, fines, donations to bodies that are not Qualifying Public Benefit Entities), takes out exempt dividends and participation gains, applies tax losses brought forward within the 75% cap, and only then applies the 0% band and the 9% rate. It also tests Small Business Relief (revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029) and the free zone de-minimis test that decides whether a Qualifying Free Zone Person keeps its 0% rate. Every rate, threshold and date on the page is copied from BRev's audit software, where each one cites the law or decision it comes from; the 2029 Small Business Relief date is taken from the Ministry of Finance announcement, as the decision text was not yet published when the rules were checked. It is an estimate for planning, not tax advice: the Federal Tax Authority's own guidance and your tax adviser decide your actual return.

What you can do

The full walk from accounting profit to tax payable, each line with its citation (FDL 47/2022 article or Cabinet / Ministerial Decision)
Add-backs for 50% of entertainment (Art. 32), fines and penalties and donations to non-qualifying bodies (Art. 33), plus an “other add-backs” line
Exempt income: qualifying dividends and participation gains taken out of profit (Arts. 22–23)
Tax losses brought forward, capped at 75% of taxable income before relief (Art. 37(2)), with the balance carried forward shown
Small Business Relief verdict: revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less, period ending on or before 31 December 2029, not a free zone person, never above the limit in an earlier period — with the tax you would pay without it
Qualifying Free Zone Person mode: the de-minimis test (non-qualifying revenue within the lower of 5% of revenue and AED 5,000,000) and the 0% / 9% split
The filing and payment deadline: nine months after your period ends
Four worked examples you can load with one click; the figures in the answers below are the ones the calculator produces
A visible “rules as of” date, and a list of what the calculator does not cover

How to use uae corporate tax calculator

Enter revenue, profit and the period endType your revenue and your accounting net profit (or loss) for the tax period, and pick the date the period ends. Commas are fine. A loss is entered with a minus sign.
Add the adjustments that applyUnder “Add-backs”, enter your total entertainment spend on customers, suppliers and shareholders (the calculator adds back half), fines and penalties, and donations to bodies that are not Qualifying Public Benefit Entities. Enter exempt dividends or participation gains and any tax losses brought forward.
Tick Small Business Relief or free zone if they applyTick “Elect Small Business Relief” to see the result with the relief; the verdict says whether you qualify and why not if you do not. A free zone company ticks “Qualifying Free Zone Person” and enters its non-qualifying revenue and income.
Read the walk and the verdictsThe results column shows the tax payable, the effective rate and every step from profit to tax with its legal reference, plus losses used and carried forward and the date the return and payment are due.

FAQ

How is UAE Corporate Tax calculated?

Start from the accounting net profit in your financial statements. Add back expenses the law does not allow (half of entertainment under Article 32, fines, penalties and donations to non-qualifying bodies under Article 33, and private or non-business spending under Article 28). Take out exempt income such as qualifying dividends and participation gains (Articles 22–23). Subtract tax losses brought forward, but never more than 75% of the taxable income before relief (Article 37(2)). On what remains, the first AED 375,000 is taxed at 0% and the rest at 9% (Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Article 3; Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022). The 0% band is per taxable person per tax period, not per business or branch.

Worked example 1: a mainland trading company

Revenue AED 4,800,000, accounting profit AED 1,000,000, entertainment spend AED 40,000 and fines AED 5,000, for the year ending 31 December 2025. Half the entertainment, AED 20,000, is added back, and the fines in full, giving taxable income of AED 1,025,000. The first AED 375,000 is at 0% and the remaining AED 650,000 at 9%, so Corporate Tax is AED 58,500 — an effective rate of 5.85% of accounting profit. Revenue is above AED 3,000,000, so Small Business Relief is not available. The return and the payment are due by 30 September 2026.

Worked example 2: a profitable year after loss years

Accounting profit AED 2,000,000 with AED 2,000,000 of tax losses brought forward. Losses can reduce taxable income by at most 75% of it, so only AED 1,500,000 is used. Taxable income is AED 500,000; the first AED 375,000 is at 0%, so tax is AED 11,250, and the unused AED 500,000 of losses carries forward to the next period.

Worked example 3: a small business electing Small Business Relief

Revenue AED 2,400,000 and accounting profit AED 450,000 for the year ending 31 December 2025. Revenue is within AED 3,000,000 and the period ends before 31 December 2029, so the business can elect Small Business Relief and is treated as having no taxable income: the tax is nil. Without the election the tax would be AED 6,750. The return must still be filed to make the election.

Worked example 4: a Qualifying Free Zone Person

Total revenue AED 20,000,000, of which AED 600,000 is non-qualifying, and accounting profit AED 3,000,000, of which AED 200,000 is taxable income from non-qualifying activity. The de-minimis limit is the lower of 5% of revenue and AED 5,000,000, here AED 1,000,000, so the test is passed. Qualifying income is taxed at 0% and the AED 200,000 at 9%, from the first dirham, so tax is AED 18,000. Had the non-qualifying revenue been AED 1,200,000, the test would fail: the company would stop being a Qualifying Free Zone Person from the start of the period and for the next four tax periods, and the standard computation would give AED 236,250.

Who can use Small Business Relief, and until when?

A UAE resident person whose revenue is AED 3,000,000 or less in the tax period and in every previous tax period can elect to be treated as having no taxable income (Article 21; Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, Article 2). One year above the limit ends eligibility permanently. Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 originally limited the relief to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026; the Ministry of Finance announced on 7 August 2026 that Ministerial Decision No. (131) of 2026 extends it to periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, with the AED 3,000,000 limit unchanged. A Qualifying Free Zone Person and a member of a large multinational group cannot elect (Article 3). The election is made in each tax return, and a tax loss made in a year the relief is elected cannot be carried forward (Article 4). Check the current position with the Federal Tax Authority before relying on the 2029 date.

How are free zone companies taxed?

A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income and 9% on taxable income that is not qualifying income (Articles 3(2) and 18), with no AED 375,000 band on that 9% part. To keep the status it must meet several conditions, one of which is the de-minimis test: non-qualifying revenue must not exceed the lower of 5% of total revenue and AED 5,000,000 (Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, Article 4; Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, Article 3). Failing any condition removes the status from the beginning of that tax period and for the following four tax periods (Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, Article 5(2)). Whether an activity is qualifying, and how revenue splits, is a judgment the calculator takes from you rather than makes: it only tests the figures you enter. Being licensed in a free zone does not by itself make a company a Qualifying Free Zone Person.

When is the Corporate Tax return due?

The return must be filed and the tax paid within nine months of the end of the tax period (Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Articles 48 and 53(1)). For a year ending 31 December 2025 that is 30 September 2026. Under Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 (as amended), a late return costs AED 500 a month for the first twelve months and AED 1,000 a month after that, and late payment is charged at 14% a year, monthly, on the unpaid amount.

Do I need to register for Corporate Tax even if I owe nothing?

Yes. Registration with the Federal Tax Authority, through EmaraTax, is required whether or not tax is payable — including for a business that will elect Small Business Relief or is a Qualifying Free Zone Person, since both are claimed in a filed return. The registration deadline depends on the type of entity and when its licence was issued (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024), and missing it carries an administrative penalty.

What does this calculator not cover?

It does not apply the general interest limitation (which only bites where net interest expenditure exceeds AED 12,000,000 — Article 30; Ministerial Decision No. 126 of 2023), transfer pricing adjustments with related parties, foreign tax credits, tax groups and transfers of losses between group companies, the conditions under which pre-Corporate-Tax losses or losses after a change of ownership are not available, or the top-up tax for large multinational groups. It does not check whether you qualify for the participation exemption or as a Qualifying Free Zone Person — it takes your answer. Amounts must be in UAE dirhams.

Is my data uploaded, and is this tax advice?

Nothing is uploaded: the calculation runs in your browser, and your last inputs are kept only in this browser so they are there when you come back. It is an estimate for planning, not tax advice. The rules are as of 31 August 2026, the last date they were read against the Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority texts; laws and decisions change, so confirm with the Federal Tax Authority or a registered tax agent before filing.