Corporate tax return due date UAE: working out your nine months

Article 53 of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 requires the return no later than nine months from the end of the relevant tax period, unless the FTA directs otherwise. Article 48 sets the same nine-month window for settling the tax. The tax period is normally the financial year, which Article 57 links to the Gregorian calendar year or the twelve-month period for which financial statements are prepared.

Exempt persons that are required to register file an annual declaration on the same nine-month timeline, according to the FTA announcement.

Count nine months forward from the last day of the tax period:

• Year ended 31 December 2025: due by 30 September 2026, as the FTA confirmed.
• Year ended 31 March 2026: due by 31 December 2026.
• Year ended 30 June 2026: due by 31 March 2027.
• Year ended 30 September 2026: due by 30 June 2027.

Nine months sounds generous until the audit, the transfer pricing disclosure and the elections all land on the same team. A practical sequence for a Dubai company with a December year end: close the books in January, finish the audit by May where one is required, prepare the computation in June, review elections such as small business relief in July, and file with a few weeks spare. Payment goes through EmaraTax using a GIBAN reference or a card.

HelloBooks helps with the first half of that plan. The AI agent keeps reconciliations current through the year, so the year-end close is a review of exceptions rather than a reconstruction. It drafts the trial balance, lists unusual entries for the accountant, and estimates the tax from the ledger. The accountant or tax agent prepares and submits the final return.

Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, as amended, charges AED 500 for each month or part of a month for the first twelve months a return is late, rising to AED 1,000 for each month from the thirteenth month onwards. Unpaid tax attracts a separate monthly penalty calculated at 14% per year on the amount outstanding. Filing on time but paying late still triggers the payment penalty.