EmaraTax Explained: How UAE Businesses Register, File and Pay Tax on the FTA Portal

EmaraTax is the Federal Tax Authority’s online platform for VAT, Excise Tax and Corporate Tax. You log in with UAE Pass, create a Taxable Person profile, and use it to register, file returns, pay through GIBAN bank transfer or card (MagnatiPay), claim refunds, submit voluntary disclosures and deregister. VAT returns are due by the 28th day after each tax period ends. Corporate Tax returns and payment are due within nine months of the financial year end.

Every tax obligation a UAE business has with the FTA now runs through one portal. That is convenient, but a wrong click, an outdated trade licence or a missed payment reference can turn into a penalty quickly.

Here is what you actually do on EmaraTax, step by step, with the deadline and penalty attached to each.

Step 1: Get Access with UAE Pass

To access the portal, the authorized signatory or person managing tax affairs can log in using a verified UAE Pass account. Alternatively, registration and access can be completed using a valid email ID and password.

Once you are in, you create a Taxable Person profile for the business. Every tax type (VAT, Excise, Corporate Tax) then appears as its own tile on that profile, with registration, returns and payments managed from each tile.

Keep the basics ready

Have your trade licence, Memorandum or Articles of Association, owner and manager IDs, and a full shareholder list ready. Shareholdings on the application must add up to 100%.

Step 2: Register for the Right Taxes

VAT registration

Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days. You can register voluntarily from AED 187,500. Under Article 7 of the VAT Executive Regulation, you must apply within 30 days of becoming liable.

Corporate Tax registration

Every juridical person subject to Corporate Tax must register, including Free Zone companies, even if they expect to pay nothing. Under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, a company incorporated in the UAE on or after 1 March 2024 has three months from incorporation to register. A resident individual whose business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year must register by 31 March of the following year.

Missing either deadline costs a fixed AED 10,000 penalty.

Step 3: Keep Your Profile Up to Date

This is the step businesses forget. Under Article 6(4) of the Tax Procedures Executive Regulation, you must notify the FTA within 20 business days of changes to your name, address, email, trade licence activities, legal form, ownership or business address. The FTA’s FAQs also say that a trade licence renewal or amendment needs a registration amendment on EmaraTax.

The penalty is AED 1,000 per violation, rising to AED 5,000 for a repeat within 24 months.

Step 4: File Your Returns

For a calendar-year company, the Corporate Tax return and payment for the year ended 31 December 2025 were due by 30 September 2026. Late payment of either tax attracts 14% per annum, charged monthly on the unpaid amount.

EmaraTax does not check your accounting. Errors start in your books, so reconcile the general ledger before you open the return. Our VAT return filing team does this reconciliation every period.

Step 5: Pay Correctly

EmaraTax gives you two ways to pay:

• GIBAN bank transfer: each Taxable Person gets a unique GIBAN. Always quote the payment reference number EmaraTax generates, because UAE banks validate the GIBAN, reference and amount, and wrong details can get the payment rejected.
• Card through MagnatiPay: Visa and Mastercard credit, debit and prepaid cards are accepted, with a service charge of 0.68% of the transaction value plus VAT.

eDirham is no longer accepted. Advance payments are allowed and are held on your account until your next return is filed.

Paid is not the same as received

Penalties apply if payment has not reached the FTA by the due date. Initiate bank transfers a few business days early and keep the confirmation on file.

Step 6: Fix Mistakes Through Voluntary Disclosure

Found an error in a filed return? Under Article 10 of the Executive Regulation:

• If the error understated tax by more than AED 10,000, submit a voluntary disclosure within 20 business days of finding it.
• If it is AED 10,000 or less, correct it in your next return where one is available.

Timing matters. Under the penalty schedule revised by Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025, a disclosure made before an audit notice attracts 1% per month on the tax difference. If the FTA notifies an audit first, a fixed 15% penalty is added on top of the monthly charge.

Step 7: Claim Refunds Before the Clock Runs Out

If your VAT return shows a net refund, you apply through the VAT refund form (VAT311) on your dashboard. Under the Executive Regulation, the FTA decides within 20 business days of the application, or within any longer period it notifies, and starts repayment within 5 business days of approval.

Since 1 January 2026, Federal Decree-Law No. 17 of 2025 sets a five-year limit for claiming refunds of credit balances. Balances whose five-year window has expired, or expires during 2026, can still be claimed or offset if you apply by 31 December 2026. Check your EmaraTax credit balances now.

Step 8: Deregister When the Business Changes

VAT deregistration must be requested within 20 business days of the triggering event, such as ceasing taxable supplies. For Corporate Tax, FTA Decision No. 6 of 2023 gives three months from cessation, dissolution or liquidation. A late application costs AED 1,000, then AED 1,000 a month, capped at AED 10,000. All returns and dues must be cleared before the FTA completes deregistration.