Your corporate tax registration deadline depends on your trade licence issue month — not your incorporation date or financial year end. Under Federal Tax Authority (FTA) Decision No. 3 of 2024, every juridical person licensed in the UAE had to register by a fixed date set by the month its licence was issued. Every one of those dates has now passed (the last was 31 December 2024), so the practical position in 2026 is simple: if your company is within corporate tax scope and still unregistered, you are already late — the administrative penalty is AED 10,000, but it is waived if you register and submit your first tax return within 7 months from the end of your first tax period.
TL;DR
- FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024 set registration deadlines by licence issue month, with the last deadline falling on 31 December 2024.
- All deadlines have passed — an unregistered in-scope company in 2026 is late by default.
- The late-registration administrative penalty is AED 10,000.
- The FTA waives the penalty if the first tax return is submitted within 7 months from the end of the first tax period.
- New companies licensed on or after 1 March 2024 must register within 3 months of incorporation.
The month table from FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024
The decision applies the same table to every UAE-licensed juridical person, regardless of the year the licence was issued. The deadline depended on the month the licence was issued:
| Licence issue month | Registration deadline |
|---|---|
| January – February | 31 May 2024 |
| March – April | 30 June 2024 |
| May | 31 July 2024 |
| June | 31 August 2024 |
| July | 30 September 2024 |
| August – September | 31 October 2024 |
| October – November | 30 November 2024 |
| December | 31 December 2024 |
Source: FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024 on the timeline for registration of taxable persons for Corporate Tax (official FTA publication). Every date in this table is in the past. If your company held a licence during 2024 and never registered, the month table no longer protects you — it only tells you how late you are.
Deadlines that still matter in 2026
Two registration clocks are still live for entities formed recently:
- Companies licensed on or after 1 March 2024 must apply to register within 3 months from the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, Art. 2). A licence issued in July 2026 means a registration deadline in October 2026.
- Non-resident juridical persons effectively managed and controlled in the UAE must register within 3 months from the end of the financial year in which the effective management condition first applied, unless they have a permanent establishment in the UAE, in which case the 3-month clock runs from the first date of that permanent establishment or nexus (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, Art. 3).
- Natural persons conducting business whose combined turnover exceeds AED 1 million must register by 31 March of the following calendar year (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, Art. 4).
What happens if you register late
A company that missed its licence-month deadline or its 3-month incorporation window is in violation until it registers. The administrative penalty for late corporate tax registration is AED 10,000, under item 14 of the Table to Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 on administrative penalties for corporate tax violations. The penalty is not automatic doom. Under the FTA's Late Registration Penalty Waiver initiative, the AED 10,000 penalty is waived — automatically, without a reconsideration request — where the taxable person registers and submits its first corporate tax return within 7 months from the end of its first tax period. Exempt persons qualify by submitting their annual declaration within the same 7-month window. If the penalty was already paid in that situation, the FTA refunds it to the EmaraTax account. The waiver applies only to the first tax period, and it does not extend the 9-month return deadline itself — the 7-month condition is deliberately tighter than the standard filing deadline.
How to register now, in four steps
- Create or access the company's EmaraTax profile with the trade licence, memoranda and Emirates ID or passport details of authorised signatories ready.
- Submit the Corporate Tax registration application, selecting the correct legal entity type, tax period and primary business activity.
- Receive the Tax Registration Number (TRN) — the FTA issues the registration number after reviewing the application.
- Diary the first return for 9 months after the first tax period ends — and target 7 months to lock in the penalty waiver. Registration itself is free of charge on EmaraTax. For the wider timeline and its history, the guide to the UAE corporate tax registration timeline covers how the deadlines were introduced and enforced.
Common questions, answered with the rules
Is the licence-month deadline still relevant in 2026?
Yes, in two ways. It tells any company that existed before March 2024 exactly which deadline it missed, and it shows how the FTA phased in the regime. But it no longer provides a future deadline — the only forward-looking deadlines in force are the 3-month window for newly licensed entities and the 31 March rule for natural persons.
Can the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty be waived?
Yes. Register and submit the first corporate tax return within 7 months from the end of the first tax period, and the FTA waives the penalty automatically. Paid penalties are refunded where the conditions are met.
Do free zone companies follow the same month table?
Yes. Free Zone Persons were included in the same deadlines as mainland companies under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024. Free zone status changes the rate structure, not the registration deadline.
My licence was issued in 2020 — did I really have a 2024 deadline?
Yes. The licence-issue-month table applied irrespective of the year of issuance, which is why companies with licences issued years earlier faced 2024 deadlines.
What if my company has no taxable income?
Registration is based on being a taxable person, not on profitability. A dormant or loss-making company within corporate tax scope still had to register, and can face the AED 10,000 penalty for failing to do so.
FAQ
What was the corporate tax registration deadline by licence issue month?
Under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, deadlines ran from 31 May 2024 for January–February licences to 31 December 2024 for December licences. All of these dates have now passed.
What is the penalty for late corporate tax registration?
AED 10,000. It is waived automatically if the company registers and submits its first tax return within 7 months from the end of its first tax period.
How long does a newly licensed company have to register for corporate tax?
Within 3 months from the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition for entities licensed on or after 1 March 2024.
When must natural persons register for corporate tax?
Natural persons conducting business with combined turnover exceeding AED 1 million must register by 31 March of the following calendar year.
Does the late-registration penalty waiver apply to exempt persons?
Yes — exempt persons qualify by submitting their annual declaration within 7 months from the end of their first financial year.
One last thing
The month table is history; the waiver window is not. The single most valuable action for an unregistered company right now is to register today and file the first return inside the 7-month window — that turns a guaranteed AED 10,000 penalty into AED 0. Waiting past the waiver conditions converts a recoverable position into a permanent cost. If you are registering late and want the first return filed correctly, talk to Finanshels — Finanshels is an FTA Registered Tax Agency handling corporate tax registration and filing for UAE businesses.
