What is small business relief UAE? The AED 3 million corporate tax election

Article 21 of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 lets a Resident Person elect to be treated as having no Taxable Income for a Tax Period where its revenue is below a threshold set by the Minister and it meets the other conditions. The threshold is AED 3 million. The relief was due to lapse earlier; Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 now keeps it open for any tax period that ends by 31 December 2029.

Qualifying free zone persons and members of large multinational groups cannot elect it.

For a consultancy in Abu Dhabi with AED 1.8 million of revenue and AED 600,000 of profit, the standard calculation would give 0% on the first AED 375,000 and 9% on the remaining AED 225,000, about AED 20,250. Electing small business relief treats taxable income as nil for the period, so no corporate tax is due.

The test is revenue, not profit. A Dubai trading company with AED 3.4 million of sales and thin margins cannot elect it, even if its profit is small. Tracking revenue accurately through the year tells you early whether the election is available.

HelloBooks shows revenue for the tax period on the dashboard and the AI agent answers 'are we still under 3 million this year?' from the posted invoices. Because the ledger records revenue in AED with foreign currency sales converted, the figure is ready for your accountant. Whether you elect the relief, and the filing itself, remain decisions for you and your tax agent on EmaraTax.

Accounting firms with many small clients can ask for a portfolio report showing each client's revenue against the AED 3 million threshold by emailing hello@hellobooks.ai.

Concepts linked to small business relief.

• Taxable person
• Qualifying free zone person
• Corporate tax return
• Revenue