How to Register for UAE Corporate Tax: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

All juridical persons — mainland LLCs, free zone companies (even those expecting the 0% rate), branches of foreign companies managed in the UAE — and natural persons whose business turnover exceeded AED 1 million in a calendar year /tax/guides/corporate-tax-registration-natural-persons →. Registration is mandatory regardless of profit: a loss-making company and a Qualifying Free Zone Person at 0% both need a TRN.

New companies must submit a registration application within 3 months of incorporation. Natural persons who cross the AED 1 million turnover threshold must register by 31 March of the following year.

Existing companies were subject to the FTA's staggered 2024 deadlines (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, by license issuance month) — if your business exists and has no corporate tax TRN today, you are already late, and the priority is registering now and securing the penalty waiver /tax/guides/corporate-tax-late-registration-penalty-waiver →.

Trade license (all licenses, if the entity holds more than one).

Emirates ID and passport of the authorized signatory.

Memorandum of association or equivalent, and ownership details.

Contact details and registered address.

For natural persons: proof of business activity and turnover.

Step 1 — Create or log in to your EmaraTax account. At eservices.tax.gov.ae, using UAE PASS or email. If the business is already registered for VAT, use the same account — the corporate tax registration is added to the existing taxable person profile.

Step 2 — Create the taxable person profile. From the dashboard, add a taxable person and select Corporate Tax → Register.

Step 3 — Entity details. Legal name (English and Arabic exactly as licensed), legal form, incorporation date, and whether the entity is a free zone person.

Step 4 — License and activity details. License number, issuing authority, business activities, and all branches under the entity.

Step 5 — Owners and authorized signatory. Details of owners holding 25% or more, and the authorized signatory with Emirates ID — the signatory should match your license records to avoid rejection.

Step 6 — Review and submit. Errors in legal name or license data are the most common rejection reason; check against the license character by character.

Step 7 — Receive your TRN. The FTA reviews and issues the corporate tax TRN, typically within about 20 business days. It appears in your EmaraTax dashboard; the certificate is downloadable.

Late registration triggers a fixed AED 10,000 penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023. The FTA waives it automatically if your first corporate tax return is filed within 7 months of your first tax period's end — for most businesses with a December year-end whose first period ended 31 December 2025, that window closed 31 July 2026; later first periods still have live windows.

Registering does not by itself trigger the penalty payment demand in every case — but the clock on fixing it cheaply runs on the filing, not the registration.

A TRN alone doesn't make you compliant. The return is due within 9 months of each financial year end /tax/guides/corporate-tax-filing-deadline-2026-uae →, records must be kept for 7 years, and Small Business Relief must be actively elected in the return if you want it /tax/guides/small-business-relief-uae-explained →.