Small business relief eligibility checker (UAE)

Article 21 of the Corporate Tax Law allows a resident taxable person to elect relief where its revenue does not exceed a threshold set by the Minister. That threshold is AED 3 million. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extended the relief to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.

Two groups are shut out regardless of revenue: qualifying free zone persons and members of large multinational groups. The checker asks about both before it looks at revenue.

• Is the business a UAE resident person for corporate tax?
• Is revenue for this tax period AED 3 million or less?
• Does the tax period end on or before 31 December 2029?
• Is the business a qualifying free zone person? If yes, relief is not available
• Is it part of a large multinational group? If yes, relief is not available

The revenue test uses revenue, not profit. A business can have tiny profits and still fail it, or large margins and pass it.

• A Ras Al Khaimah car workshop, mainland licence, revenue AED 2,450,000, profit AED 610,000: eligible to elect. Without relief, tax on AED 610,000 would be AED 21,150; with relief, nil.
• A Dubai events agency, mainland licence, revenue AED 3,180,000, profit AED 140,000: not eligible because revenue is above AED 3 million. Tax on AED 140,000 is still nil because it falls under the AED 375,000 band.

Electing switches off several parts of the law for that period, including the rules on exempt income, reliefs, deductions and loss relief. A business with a tax loss it hopes to carry forward should think twice, because a year under relief does not build up losses in the normal way. Talk to a registered tax agent if you have losses, related-party transactions or revenue close to the line.

The election is made in the corporate tax return, period by period. You still register, keep proper books and file on time. Splitting one business into several to stay under AED 3 million is the kind of arrangement the FTA can challenge.

Revenue sits in your HelloBooks ledger, so the AI agent can watch it for you. Ask "how close am I to the small business relief limit?" and it totals revenue for the tax period to date, projects the year from the trend and warns you when you are getting near AED 3 million.

Whether to elect is a decision for you and your accountant, and the election goes in the return you file on EmaraTax. HelloBooks keeps the revenue report and supporting ledger that back it up.