A year earlier the on-time filing rate was 87 in 100. No rule has changed, but the bedding-in phase of UAE corporate tax is over: entities that have not filed, including dormant or low-revenue companies, now stand out.
What happened
On 11 November 2026 the Federal Tax Authority (FTA, the UAE federal tax authority) released compliance statistics, reported by Gulf News and The National. There are four headline figures. First, corporate tax collected for tax periods ending in 2025 reached AED 46.52 billion (about USD 12.7 billion), 33.9% more than the AED 34.75 billion (about USD 9.5 billion) of the first cycle. Second, 91 in 100 businesses filed their return by the deadline, up from 87 in 100 a year earlier. Third, 97 in 100 paid on time. Fourth, for value added tax (VAT), on-time returns stood at 83 in 100 (previously 81) and on-time payments at 98 in 100. The figures come from the FTA release as reported in the press; the original text on tax.gov.ae should be checked, not least because The National attributes the 91% rate to 2025 in one passage and to 2026 in another.
What changes in practice
In terms of rules, nothing: there are no new obligations and no new penalties. What changes is the context. In its second cycle, corporate tax has reached steady state and the FTA is working from a complete dataset of who has filed and who has not. Previously a late filer was one of many still finding their way; today late filers are a minority of roughly 9 in 100 for corporate tax and 17 in 100 for VAT, and they are easy to identify.
Who it applies to
All entities registered for corporate tax, whether in a free zone or on the mainland (the part of the UAE outside the free zones). It is particularly relevant to two groups that often assume they are out of scope: dormant companies, meaning those with an active licence but no trading activity, and companies with low revenue. Both remain required to register and to file. On the VAT side, it applies to VAT-registered businesses.
The exposure
Failing to register or to file within the deadline triggers administrative penalties, under a regime updated by the 2026 amendments to the Tax Procedures Law, together with interest that accrues over time. The consequences do not stay with the FTA: an irregular tax position weighs on banking relationships and on licence renewal. The most common error is assuming that an inactive or small company has nothing to file.
What to do now
Check three things in EmaraTax (the FTA's online portal): that the entity is registered for corporate tax, that the return for the tax period ending in 2025 shows as filed and on what date, and that VAT returns are up to date. If anything is missing, regularise it now rather than waiting for the FTA to make contact. Diarise the next deadline: monthly VAT filers must submit the October return by 30 November 2026.
Sources
- https://gulfnews.com/business/corporate-tax/uae-corporate-tax-collections-jump-34-to-dh465-billion-as-more-businesses-file-on-time-1.500743596
- https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2026/11/11/uae-corporate-tax-revenue-jumps-by-a-third-to-dh465bn-in-2025/
- https://tax.gov.ae/en/media.centre/news.aspx
Published 12 November 2026 on the basis of public sources and official United Arab Emirates instruments. This is not legal or tax advice. Verify your position with a qualified professional before acting.