UAE Small Business Relief: 0% corporate tax up to AED 3 million — but it expires end of 2026

Small Business Relief is the most useful corporate tax provision most small UAE companies have never properly read. It can take your corporate tax bill to zero — but it has an election, a set of exclusions, and an expiry date that is now close.

What the relief does

If you elect for Small Business Relief, you are treated as having no taxable income for the period — so you pay 0% corporate tax and file a simplified return. It's aimed squarely at start-ups and small businesses, reducing both the tax and the compliance burden.

The conditions and the exclusions

• Your revenue must be AED 3 million or less in the current tax period and in every previous one. Exceed it once and the relief is gone for good — you can't drop back under and reclaim it.
• You must elect — it is not applied automatically.
• It is not available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person (they already have 0% on qualifying income) or to a member of a large multinational group.

The date that matters: 31 December 2026

Here is the part that changes your planning. The AED 3 million threshold applies only to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. As of this review, the Ministry of Finance has not announced an extension.

So a calendar-year business gets the relief for FY2026, but should assume standard corporate tax rules (9% above AED 375,000) apply from FY2027 — and budget for the return, the record-keeping, and the tax accordingly. If an extension is announced, that's upside; planning around it existing would be a mistake.

General information about UAE Small Business Relief, current as of the review date above, and not tax advice. Confirm eligibility and current thresholds with the Federal Tax Authority or a licensed tax agent.