Free Zone Companies formed in Dubai, UAE, are required to register for Corporate Tax before the Federal Tax Authority of the UAE within a certain deadline, otherwise a penalty will be imposed. This Corporate Tax Registration is required even if the Free Zone company is not subject to Taxes in the UAE. This Registration is a quick process that can be done online and should not take more than 30 minutes.
Deadline
The deadline to register will depend on when you opened the Free Zone company in Dubai, but companies formed on or after 1 March 2024 are required to submit their Corporate Tax Registration within (or before) three months from the date the company was incorporated or the license was issued.
Corporate Tax Registration does not mean you will be subject to taxes.
The UAE has implemented Corporate Tax, but Free Zone Companies are not subject to tax in the UAE on income earned from outside of the UAE or income earned from within their Free Zone or other Free Zones in the UAE.
Free Zone companies will only be subject to corporate tax on income from mainland sources.
To learn more about taxation of Free Zone Companies in Dubai, check the following article:
https://www.offshoreaffairs.com/dubai-home/dubai-taxation
Penalty
If you not register for Corporate Tax within the deadline, you will be subject to a AED10,000 penalty (more or less US$2,722 or €2,600)
Legal Basis of Corporate Tax Registration Requirement for Dubai and UAE Offshore Companies.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses
Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 3 of 2024 – Issued 22 February 2024 (Effective 1 March 2024)
How to register for Corporate Tax in Dubai, UAE
You can register online using the following link https://eservices.tax.gov.ae/#/Logon
After you sign up, you have to click on register for corporate tax, and fill out the Corporate Tax registration form.
To register it shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes if you have all the information at hand, and you can save your session and retake it where you left it.
What document do you need to register for Corporate Tax in Dubai, UAE?
To register for corporate tax in the UAE you will need mainly the following documents:
Documents needed
1- Company Trade License
2- Each Shareholder’s Passport.
3- Emirates ID of the Shareholders, only in case they have that.
4- A document showing that the submitter has the authority to register for Corporate Tax. If the person doing the registry is the General Manager, attaching the Company License where it says who is the General Manager will suffice.
The form will prompt you to add information contained in those documents, like license number, licensing authority, incorporation date, etc.
The form will also prompt you to upload those documents.
You would also need the following information
1- Company address in Dubai
2- Shareholders’ Address
3- Email Address to sign up and create the account.
Dubai Corporate Tax Registration Service
You can register your company for Corporate Tax yourself, or you could hire our services to take care of this process. Contact us to learn more.
Jean Franco Fernandez Clark
Founder & CEO
Disclaimer
The content of this article, and website in general, is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial, or tax advice. It is not intended to create, and its receipt or viewing does not establish, an attorney-client or any other professional relationship. For personalized advice specific to your circumstances, please consult a licensed attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional in your jurisdiction.