CIT Filing Deadline 30.09.2026: What UAE Businesses Need to Do Now
- 05.09.2026
- Posted by: Uwe Hohmann
- Categories: Tax, Dubai
For every company in the UAE with a financial year that closed on 31.12.2025, 30.09.2026 is the date by which the CIT (Corporate Income Tax) filing must reach the FTA (Federal Tax Authority) and any tax due must be paid.
Who the 30.09.2026 deadline applies to
Under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, a taxable person must submit its CIT filing and settle the tax payable within nine months of the end of the relevant tax period. Most companies doing business in the UAE follow a calendar financial year, so a tax period that ended on 31.12.2025 reaches the end of that nine-month window on 30.09.2026.
The date is tied to your entity, not to a national fixed date. A financial year ending 31.03.2026 carries a deadline of 31.12.2026, and one ending 30.06.2026 carries a deadline of 31.03.2027. The first step, therefore, is to confirm your own year-end and count nine months forward. Groups with entities on different financial years will have more than one date to manage.
Filing and payment fall on the same day
There are no provisional or advance instalments in the UAE CIT system. The full liability is settled at the same moment the filing is submitted, which means 30.09.2026 is a payment deadline as much as a compliance one. Submitting on time but paying late still exposes the business to a penalty.
Both steps run through EmaraTax. Payment is made by bank transfer to the GIBAN issued to the entity, or by card. For businesses with a material liability, this is a cash flow question as well as a filing question, and it is worth modelling the payment several weeks in advance.
Free zone companies and small businesses still have to file
A QFZP (Qualifying Free Zone Person) can access a 0% rate on qualifying income, but the obligation to file is unchanged. The 0% outcome has to be demonstrated through the filing itself, supported by records that show the qualifying and non-qualifying income streams and the de minimis position. A free zone licence is not an exemption from the process.
The same applies to smaller entities. Small Business Relief is available where revenue does not exceed AED 3 million, and it removes a significant amount of computational work, but it is an election rather than an automatic status. It has to be claimed, and eligibility has to be confirmed before the deadline rather than assumed.
What it costs to miss the date
Late filing triggers a penalty of AED 500 for each month or part of a month during the first twelve months, rising to AED 1,000 per month from the thirteenth month onwards. This applies even where the tax payable is zero, so a dormant or loss-making entity is not protected.
Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 took effect on 14.04.2026 and replaced the old compounding structure with a flat rate of 14% per annum, calculated monthly on the outstanding tax. The change is more proportionate than the regime it replaced, but there is no ceiling, and it starts the day after the due date.
On an unpaid liability of AED 500,000, a three-month delay costs roughly AED 17,500 before the underlying tax is even settled.
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