UAE Corporate Tax: Deadline to register for individuals generating Dh1m plus via business activity

Dubai: Individuals running a one-person business operation should register for corporate tax by or before March 31, 2025, according to a reminder issued by Federal Tax Authority.

The rule also applies to those individuals who are partners in ‘unincorporated partnerships’.

The first potential tax period for such persons conducting a business or business activity is the calendar year.

If these persons have exceeded Dh1 million in 2024, they are eligible to be a ‘taxable person’.

If the Dh1 million limit is breached in subsequent years, then these individuals must comply with all their corporate tax obligations.

The FTA defines a ‘natural person’ as being resident in the UAE or elsewhere, but engaged in a business or business activity.

For instance, if the person generated revenue exceeding by Dh1 million by 31 July 2024, they are required to submit an application to register for corporate tax not later than March 31, 2025. And submit the corporate tax Return no later than September 30, 2025.

If individuals who fail to register by the deadline, they are subject to an administrative penalty of Dh10,000.

“All relevant persons are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Corporate Tax legislation, implementing decisions, guides, public clarifications and relevant awareness publications available on the FTA website,” the statement said.

Registration is available through the EmaraTax platform. The FTA has also published the ‘Corporate Tax Registration - Taxpayer User Manual’, which includes details on how to register through EmaraTax.

New users can access the EmaraTax platform at eservices.tax.gov.ae and create an account by registering with an email ID and phone number. Once the user profile is created, the individual can select the corporate tax registration option and complete the application.

Or they could submit the applications through the Tas’heel centres.

With the latest update, the FTA closes the loop on which entities and individuals conducting business in the UAE are up for compulsory corporate tax registration. Those individuals who have so far not been prepared to go through the process will need to pick up speed. Tax registration might seem a fairly straight forward set of steps that need to be taken, but there is still a lot of preparatory work.

Once they get to the point of actually registering, then the more difficult part of the process gets done. Even if the FTA were to ask for more details in the submissions, the individuals will still have time on their hands to get it done.

That’s also enough for them to avoid the administrative penalty of Dh10,000, at the very least.