Missed Your UAE Corporate Tax Deadline? What to Do Now (2026)

Financial year ended 31 December 2024 → the return was due 30 September 2025. If it is unfiled today, it is roughly ten months late and has accrued around AED 5,000 in late filing penalties, before any late payment interest.

Financial year ended 31 December 2025 → the return is due 30 September 2026. You are not late yet — but read the next section immediately, because a different and much sooner date may apply to you.

Other year ends → the rule is 9 months after your financial year end /tax/tools/deadline-checker →.

Businesses that registered for corporate tax after the FTA's deadline face the AED 10,000 late registration penalty — and the FTA cancels it automatically if the first corporate tax return is filed within 7 months of the first tax period's end, rather than the usual nine.

For a first tax period that ended 31 December 2025, that means 31 July 2026.

Filing in August or September is still on time for the return itself, but forfeits the waiver. The difference between filing this month and filing next month is AED 10,000. If the penalty has already been paid, meeting the deadline results in the amount being credited back to your tax account /tax/guides/corporate-tax-late-registration-penalty-waiver →.

Late filing, months 1–12 → AED 500 per month → grows monthly.

Late filing, month 13 onward → AED 1,000 per month → grows faster.

Unpaid corporate tax → 14% per annum, applied monthly → grows with the balance.

Never registered → AED 10,000 fixed → may be waivable (see above).

Records not kept → AED 10,000, doubling to AED 20,000 on repeat, on assessment.

A company that missed the September 2025 deadline and files in October 2026 will have crossed the 12-month line and moved onto the AED 1,000 monthly rate. Calculate your exposure /tax/tools/penalty-calculator →.

1. Registered, but the return is late. File as soon as the accounts allow. Every month of delay is another AED 500 or AED 1,000. Do not wait for perfect accounts if that means missing another month — file accurately from the records you can reconcile, and correct later through a voluntary disclosure if needed voluntary disclosure →.

2. Never registered at all. Register on EmaraTax now /tax/guides/registration-guide →, then file the first return within 7 months of your first tax period's end to have the AED 10,000 cancelled. If that window has closed, register and file anyway — the alternative is the penalty plus a growing late filing charge on top.

3. Filed, but the tax is unpaid. Late payment accrues at 14% per annum applied monthly. If the amount is substantial, an installment application may be available for unsettled penalties of at least AED 50,000 where the tax itself is paid.

4. You believe the penalty is wrong. A reconsideration request must be submitted within 40 business days of being notified of the decision, in Arabic. This is a separate route from filing — and the deadline runs independently, so do not let it lapse while you sort out the accounts /tax/tax-fines-advisory →.

Not filing because you cannot pay. These are two different obligations with two different penalties. Filing without paying stops the AED 500 monthly filing penalty from growing; it leaves only the late payment interest. Not filing leaves both running. If cash is the problem, file first, then deal with payment.

The second mistake is assuming a dormant or loss-making business is exempt. Filing is mandatory regardless of profit, and nil returns attract the same late filing penalties.

Reconstruct the accounts for the period (bank statements are usually the spine), prepare the return with the correct adjustments and any reliefs you were entitled to at the time, file, and pay. Small Business Relief, if you qualified for that period, still applies — being late does not forfeit reliefs you were eligible for /tax/guides/small-business-relief-uae-explained →.

If several periods are outstanding, file them in order. Each period is a separate return with its own penalty clock.