Tax · Corporate Tax
Corporate Tax Registration in Dubai & the UAE
We register your company for UAE corporate tax on EmaraTax — mainland, free zone or offshore — check the deadline the FTA sets for your incorporation date, and see the application through until your Tax Registration Number is issued.
- Free Zone & Offshore Too
- TRN Issued by the FTA
- First-Year Plan Included
Licensed by Dubai DET · Licence 1394564
At a glance
- Sets your deadline by incorporation or licence date
- FTA
- The FTA portal where you apply
- EmaraTax
- Up to AED 375,000 of taxable income — still register
- 0%
- Calendar-year business turnover above which individuals are taxable
- AED 1 million
Registration comes first — even when no tax is due
Companies incorporated in the UAE — mainland, free zone and offshore — are taxable persons for corporate tax and must register with the Federal Tax Authority whether or not they make a profit. Individuals running a business must register too once their business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. The FTA sets a registration deadline based on your incorporation or licence date, and registering late attracts a penalty even when no tax would have been payable.
Smartgic handles the registration end to end. We confirm which company — or which individual — needs to register and check the deadline that applies to you. We then prepare your documents, set up or use your EmaraTax account, submit the application and answer any FTA follow-up questions until your Tax Registration Number is issued. Before we close the file, we flag the decisions that come next: Small Business Relief, your bookkeeping set-up and the date your first return falls due.
Key facts
- Sets your deadline by incorporation or licence date
- FTA
- The FTA portal where you apply
- EmaraTax
- Up to AED 375,000 of taxable income — still register
- 0%
- Calendar-year business turnover above which individuals are taxable
- AED 1 million
Everything covered in Corporate Tax Registration
The concrete scope our team delivers, grouped the way we actually run your file.
Eligibility & Deadline
Who registers, and by when.
- Taxable person assessment — company or individual
- Registration deadline check for your licence date
- Free zone and offshore entity review
- Turnover test for sole traders and freelancers
- Late-registration exposure review
EmaraTax Application
A complete, consistent application with nothing missing.
- EmaraTax account and taxable person profile
- Document check and preparation
- Ownership and authorised signatory details
- Business activity and licence mapping
- Application submission and tracking
- Responses to FTA information requests
After Your TRN
The first-year decisions registration sets in motion.
- Registration certificate and TRN on file
- Small Business Relief eligibility check
- First tax period and return deadline
- Bookkeeping and record-keeping set-up
- VAT registration review, if relevant
What you gain with Corporate Tax Registration
The practical difference when the work is planned and filed properly the first time.
Right Taxable Person
We confirm who the taxable person is — the company itself, or you personally as a sole trader — so the registration sits in the right name.
Deadline Worked Out
We work out the deadline the FTA has set for your incorporation or licence date, and tell you plainly if it has already passed.
Clean Application Data
Licence, ownership, manager and contact details are checked against your documents, so the FTA has fewer reasons to send the application back.
EmaraTax Account in Order
We create or tidy your EmaraTax account and taxable person profile, with the right authorised signatory and contact details for future FTA notices.
FTA Queries Answered
If the FTA asks for more information or clearer documents, we prepare the response and resubmit, keeping you informed at each step.
A Plan for Year One
With your TRN comes a short note on Small Business Relief, the records to keep and when your first return is due.
A clear process, step by step
One adviser owns your file from first call to completion, and you always know which step you are on.
- 01
Scope & Deadline Check
We confirm who must register — the company, or you personally if you trade as an individual — and check the deadline the FTA has set for your incorporation or licence date.
- 02
Documents & EmaraTax Profile
You send the licence, MOA and owner and manager IDs. We check them for consistency and create or update your EmaraTax account and taxable person profile.
- 03
Application Submitted
We complete the corporate tax registration form — entity details, licences, owners, business activities and authorised signatory — and submit it through your EmaraTax account for FTA review.
- 04
FTA Review & TRN
We track the application and answer any request for further information. Once the FTA approves it, we send you the registration certificate showing your Tax Registration Number.
- 05
First-Year Set-Up
We map out your first tax period and its return deadline, check whether Small Business Relief could apply, and agree how your books will be kept from here.
Who it’s for and what you’ll need
Have these ready and we can move quickly. If something is missing, we will tell you what the authority accepts instead.
Who must register
- Mainland companies in every emirate, whatever their size
- Free zone companies — including those planning to claim QFZP status
- UAE offshore companies, such as those registered with RAK ICC, JAFZA Offshore or Ajman Offshore
- Companies that are loss-making, dormant or yet to earn revenue
- Individuals whose business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year
Documents we’ll need
- Trade licence, plus any branch licences
- MOA or articles of association (or certificate of incorporation)
- Passports and Emirates IDs of owners and managers
- Authorised signatory’s ID and proof of authority
- Financial year end and first tax period dates
- Registered address, email and mobile number for FTA notices
- For individuals: Emirates ID, passport and business turnover figures
Need documents attested or translated? Our document clearing team can help.
Corporate Tax Registration questions
Straight answers to what clients ask us most. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Yes. Registration depends on being a taxable person, not on making a profit, so loss-making, dormant and newly formed companies register too. The 0% rate on taxable income up to AED 375,000 is applied when you file — it doesn’t remove the duty to register. Missing the deadline attracts a penalty even if no tax would have been due.
Yes. Free zone companies register and file like any other company, even if they expect to pay 0% as a Qualifying Free Zone Person — that status is applied through the return each tax period, not in place of registering. UAE offshore companies, such as those set up with RAK ICC or JAFZA Offshore, are UAE-incorporated and fall within corporate tax too.
The FTA sets registration deadlines according to when a company was incorporated or its licence was issued, with separate rules for individuals. Because the deadline depends on your own dates, we check it against the FTA’s current rules at the start of every engagement. If it has already passed, register promptly: the late-registration penalty is set by the FTA, and every later filing depends on having a TRN.
You register as an individual once your business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year. The registration is in your own name, because a sole establishment isn’t a separate legal person. Salary and personal investment income don’t count towards that figure. If you run more than one business, the turnover is added together, so we review all your licences before deciding.
The FTA issues your Tax Registration Number, and the registration certificate can be downloaded from your EmaraTax account. Your TRN goes on your corporate tax returns and FTA correspondence. Your tax period — normally your financial year — then sets when your first return is due: within 9 months of the end of that period.
Processing times are set by the FTA and vary, particularly when it needs more information from you. Delays usually come from incomplete or inconsistent applications — a licence that doesn’t match the MOA, or an authorised signatory without proof of authority — so we check those points before submitting and respond quickly to any FTA request.
Related services
Most clients combine these. We run them as one engagement with a single point of contact.
Guides on Corporate Tax Registration
In-depth articles from our team on the questions clients most often ask about this service.
Let’s plan your next move
Tell us what you are planning. An adviser will come back with the route, the documents and an itemised quote — no obligation, no pressure to commit.
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Office 44, Floor M2, BN Complex, Deira Al Muteena, Dubai, UAE
Mon – Sat, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (GST)
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