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The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) said it has recorded a surge in corporate tax returns and payments for the first filing season, citing strong compliance and the effectiveness of its digital systems and awareness campaigns.
FTA director general Khalid Ali Al Bustani said more than 640,000 companies have registered for corporate tax, with “hundreds of thousands” of returns and annual declarations processed for entities whose financial year ended on December 31, 2024.
The filing and payment deadline for those entities was the end of September.
FTA credits digital systems that supports easy corporate tax filing
Al Bustani said the high level of voluntary compliance reflected “growing tax awareness among business sectors” and the efficiency of the authority’s EmaraTax digital platform, which allows taxpayers to file and pay taxes in minutes.
The authority said the strong response from businesses demonstrates confidence in the country’s tax framework and the success of its “Zero Bureaucracy” initiative, which has simplified processes and reduced administrative burdens.
FTA data shows that daily support requests during peak periods were handled through the authority’s call centre and digital channels.
To encourage compliance, the UAE cabinet earlier approved an initiative exempting companies from administrative penalties for late registration, provided they file their returns within seven months of the end of their first tax period.
The FTA has also extended filing deadlines for certain companies and introduced a grace period until March 31, 2025 for updating tax records without penalties.
Al Bustani said the authority’s outreach included 154 awareness sessions attended by about 48,000 participants, supported by guides, videos, and infographics published on the FTA’s website.
Established in 2016, the FTA manages the UAE’s tax collection and compliance framework, part of efforts to diversify the economy and align with international standards.
