Small Business Relief Eligibility Checker
Answer four questions to see whether your UAE business can elect Small Business Relief for the current tax period, under Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023.
Based on your answers, you can elect Small Business Relief for this tax period. Corporate tax due would be AED 0.
Who Qualifies for UAE Small Business Relief
Small Business Relief (SBR) is the single most valuable UAE corporate tax simplification for SMEs. Established by Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, it lets a resident taxable person elect to be treated as having no taxable income in a tax period, provided its revenue is at or below AED 3 million in the current period and in every prior tax period. Corporate tax due for the electing period is zero, and the return is prepared on a simplified cash basis with reduced record-keeping expectations. The relief is currently available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026.
The eligibility test is stricter than it first appears. Revenue is the gross amount before any deductions — not profit. It looks back over every prior tax period since corporate tax came into force, not just the immediately preceding one. A single tax period in which revenue exceeded AED 3 million permanently disqualifies the entity from SBR in future periods, even if revenue subsequently falls. Two categories of taxable person are excluded outright: Qualifying Free Zone Persons (SBR and the QFZP 0% regime are mutually exclusive) and members of multinational groups with consolidated revenue of at least EUR 750 million.
SBR is never automatic. It is an election made inside the corporate tax return each year, and it must be made affirmatively — the FTA does not apply it by default. Registering for corporate tax and filing the annual return remain mandatory for every SBR-eligible business, and the return must still be filed within 9 months of the financial year end. The trade-off to weigh: electing SBR forfeits the ability to carry forward tax losses or excess interest from the electing period. A loss-making business investing in growth is often better off filing a normal loss return and preserving the loss for future offset against up to 75% of taxable income.
The checker on this page gives you an instant eligibility read, but the election itself requires a properly prepared return. asly tax prepares and files SBR returns from AED 499, including the election, and reviews every case where preserving losses may be more valuable than the immediate simplification.