UAE corporate tax applies at 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000 — but your actual liability depends heavily on how your financial statements are adjusted, which reliefs apply, and whether your business qualifies for QFZP, Small Business Relief, or loss offsets. Essence Accounting produces a precise corporate tax computation that maximises your reliefs and ensures you neither overpay nor underpay — before you file your EmaraTax return.
UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 introduced corporate tax for most UAE businesses from financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. The tax rate is 9% on taxable income exceeding AED 375,000. However, your corporate tax liability is not simply 9% of your accounting profit — it requires a detailed tax computation that starts with your accounting net profit and makes a series of adjustments required by the CT law.
These adjustments include: adding back non-deductible expenses (entertainment over the 50% cap, personal expenses, fines), removing exempt income (qualifying dividends, capital gains from qualifying shareholdings), applying Small Business Relief if eligible, applying Qualifying Free Zone Person rates where applicable, and offsetting prior-year tax losses (up to 75% of current-year taxable income). Each adjustment can significantly change the final tax figure.
A corporate tax assessment by Essence Accounting gives you certainty before filing: you know your exact tax position, all available reliefs have been applied, and your computation is defensible in an FTA audit. For businesses that have never been through a CT assessment before, this is often an eye-opening exercise that identifies both unexpected liabilities and overlooked reliefs.
All UAE mainland LLCs, sole establishments, civil companies, and branches of foreign companies are subject to UAE corporate tax on their taxable income. A proper assessment ensures your financial statements are correctly adjusted, all allowable deductions are claimed, and the return accurately reflects your CT liability.
Free zone entities must determine whether they qualify as a Qualifying Free Zone Person (0% on qualifying income) or are taxed at 9% on all taxable income. This determination requires careful analysis of qualifying activities, substance requirements, and income categorisation. Getting it wrong — in either direction — creates significant financial and compliance risk.
Individual business owners earning over AED 1 million annually from UAE business activities are subject to corporate tax on those earnings. Freelancers, sole traders, and investors with UAE-sourced business income exceeding the threshold need a careful assessment to determine their tax position and eligible deductions.
Companies in UAE groups — with intercompany loans, management fees, shared services, or related-party trading — need transfer pricing analysis as part of their corporate tax assessment. Non-arm's length pricing between related parties can trigger FTA adjustments that increase taxable income significantly.
Businesses that made losses in their first corporate tax years need a careful assessment to confirm losses are correctly calculated, recorded, and carried forward. The 75% utilisation cap and the interaction with other reliefs (QFZP, SBR) need expert management to optimise the benefit of loss carry-forwards.
Businesses with revenue near the AED 3 million Small Business Relief threshold need careful assessment to confirm eligibility and the financial benefit of making the SBR election versus filing a standard CT return. We analyse both options and advise on the optimal approach.
Our structured assessment process ensures every relief is captured, every adjustment is correct, and the final computation is audit-ready before it is filed with the FTA.
Start TodayWe review your audited or management financial statements — trial balance, P&L, balance sheet — and identify all items requiring adjustment under UAE CT law.
We systematically identify: non-deductible expenses to add back (entertainment above 50%, fines, personal expenses), exempt income to remove (qualifying dividends, capital gains), and additional deductions available under CT law.
We determine eligibility for all available reliefs: Small Business Relief (revenue test), Qualifying Free Zone Person status (activities, substance, audit tests), and prior-year tax loss carry-forward (75% cap application).
We produce the adjusted taxable income figure — accounting profit after all add-backs, deductions, exemptions, and reliefs — and calculate the 9% (or 0%) tax liability.
We deliver a formal tax computation document showing every line of the CT calculation from accounting profit to final tax liability — with notes explaining each adjustment. This document supports the EmaraTax return and provides your audit trail.
We translate the tax computation into the EmaraTax corporate tax return, file it before the deadline, and retain all supporting documentation required for a potential FTA audit.
Our team has been involved in UAE corporate tax since the legislation was enacted. We have assessed CT positions across hundreds of UAE businesses — from sole traders to complex free zone groups — and know every nuance of the computation.
We do not just compute the obvious liability — we actively hunt for every relief your business is entitled to. Many businesses file CT returns without claiming all available deductions or reliefs, overpaying unnecessarily. We find them all.
Every CT computation we produce is documented to FTA audit standards — with every adjustment referenced to the relevant CT law article or ministerial decision. If the FTA asks why, we have the answer ready.
Our CT assessments seamlessly integrate transfer pricing analysis for businesses with related-party transactions. We identify pricing issues before they become audit findings and recommend corrections.
For UAE groups with multiple entities, we assess each entity's CT position in the context of the group — optimising loss utilisation, transfer pricing, and entity-level relief elections across the group structure.
Our track record speaks for itself. 127 Google reviews from UAE business owners who trust us for their most important financial obligations — including their corporate tax compliance.
Don't guess at your UAE corporate tax position. Essence Accounting produces a precise, relief-maximised assessment so you know exactly what you owe — and exactly why. Free consultation, no obligation.
Essence Accounting and Bookkeeping Co. L.L.C — FTA Approved Tax Agency, TAN 30006266 — Business Bay, Dubai
