Rules and dates on this page were checked against Ministry of Finance publications on 16 October 2026. Confirm them with your registered tax agent before acting.
The short answer
UAE companies need clean master data, a reliable close, documented related-party pricing and an ERP that can issue structured e-invoices through an Accredited Service Provider. Companies with revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint that provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027; others follow in 2027.
Key facts
- Corporate Tax: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it.
- The Corporate Tax return and payment are due within nine months of the end of the tax period.
- Small Business Relief (revenue up to AED 3 million) now applies to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, under Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026.
- E-invoicing, revenue of AED 50 million or more: appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026 and implement by 1 January 2027.
- E-invoicing, revenue below AED 50 million: appoint a provider by 31 March 2027 and implement by 1 July 2027.
Corporate Tax: what finance must own
Registration and the tax period
Every in-scope company must register, even when it expects to pay no tax. Know your tax period and the nine-month filing and payment deadline that follows it.
Small Business Relief
Resident companies with revenue up to AED 3 million can elect the relief for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. It must be elected, the revenue test applies to the current and earlier periods, and qualifying free zone persons cannot use it. Plan the tax cost for the year you expect to cross the threshold.
Related parties
Transactions with owners, directors and group companies must be at arm’s length and documented. Build the file during the year, not at filing time.
Records
Keep accounting and tax records for at least seven years, in a form you can produce quickly if the Federal Tax Authority asks.
E-invoicing: the timeline
| Who | Appoint an Accredited Service Provider by | Go live by |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more | 30 October 2026 | 1 January 2027 |
| Businesses with revenue below AED 50 million | 31 March 2027 | 1 July 2027 |
The schedule comes from Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, as amended by Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026, which moved the first appointment deadline from 31 July to 30 October 2026. Invoices are exchanged as structured data through accredited providers on a Peppol-based network, not as PDFs.
The finance readiness checklist
- Customer and supplier master data is complete, including Tax Registration Numbers, legal names and addresses.
- Invoice numbering, credit notes and self-billing follow one documented process.
- Your ERP or accounting system can produce every field the e-invoice format needs, or you know what has to change.
- An Accredited Service Provider is selected, with integration and testing time planned before your deadline.
- The month-end close is reliable enough that tax data matches the accounts.
- Related-party transactions are listed, priced at arm’s length and documented.
- A tax calendar shows every VAT and Corporate Tax filing and payment date, and the cash forecast includes them.
- Roles are clear: your registered tax agent files; finance owns data quality, process and the cash timing of tax payments.
Common mistakes
- Treating e-invoicing as an IT project only. Most of the work is data and process.
- Choosing a service provider too late to integrate and test.
- Relying on Small Business Relief without checking the revenue test every period.
- Leaving related-party documentation until the return is due.
How AIONSE helps
AIONSE’s fractional CFO team prepares finance functions for Corporate Tax and e-invoicing: master data clean-up, process design, ERP readiness and the cash planning for tax payments, working with your registered tax agent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UAE Corporate Tax rate?
0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on taxable income above that amount, with different rules for qualifying free zone persons and large multinational groups.
Has UAE Small Business Relief been extended?
Yes. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extends Small Business Relief to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 for resident persons with revenue up to AED 3 million who elect it.
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in the UAE?
Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026 and implement by 1 January 2027. Businesses below AED 50 million must appoint a provider by 31 March 2027 and implement by 1 July 2027.
Who files Corporate Tax returns, the CFO or the tax agent?
Many companies use a registered tax agent to file. The CFO or finance lead owns the quality of the data, the processes behind it and the cash planning for the payment.
Templates from the AIONSE Toolkit
- Project Progress Tracker (free): a free Excel tracker with stage checkboxes, a Gantt timeline and a dashboard to run the project.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance: Small Business Relief extended to 31 December 2029
- Ministry of Finance: amendments to the eInvoicing decisions
- Ministry of Finance: UAE eInvoicing
- Federal Tax Authority