What is the revenue limit for UAE Small Business Relief?

AED 3,000,000 for the relevant tax period and for every previous tax period. Revenue means turnover, not profit, so a business can have modest profits and still be outside the relief.

Do I still need to file if I claim Small Business Relief?

Yes. The Federal Tax Authority confirms that eligible persons must register, submit a simplified corporate tax return and maintain records supporting the revenue figure. The return is due within nine months of the end of the tax period.

Guide

UAE Small Business Relief: the AED 3 million revenue test

Updated 2026-08-15

The relief is generous and easy to lose. It turns on revenue rather than profit, it must be elected, and it is switched off permanently once the threshold is breached in any period.

What the relief does

The Federal Tax Authority describes it plainly: an eligible person is treated as not having derived any taxable income in the tax period. It is not a lower rate, it is a deemed nil. The Authority confirmed in August 2026 that the relief applies where revenue does not exceed AED 3 million for the relevant tax period and all previous tax periods (Federal Tax Authority).

The conditions

Resident person: Natural persons and juridical persons alike, provided they are resident for corporate tax purposes.
Revenue at or under AED 3,000,000: In the current tax period and in every previous tax period. Exceed it once and the relief is gone for good.
Elected each tax period: The election is made in the corporate tax return. The relief does not apply automatically.

Who cannot elect it

A Qualifying Free Zone Person.
A member of a multinational group with consolidated group revenue of more than AED 3.15 billion.
Anyone whose revenue exceeded AED 3 million in any earlier tax period, even if current revenue is well below it.

You still have to register and file

The Authority has been explicit that electing the relief does not remove the obligation to register for corporate tax, submit a return and keep records. Businesses electing it file a simplified return, which reduces the information required rather than removing the filing. Returns and payment are due within nine months of the end of the tax period.

The end date

The Ministry of Finance stated when the decision was issued that the AED 3 million revenue threshold applies to tax periods starting on or after 1 June 2023 and will only continue to apply to subsequent tax periods that end before or on 31 December 2026. Nothing on the Authority's Small Business Relief page as at our updated date announces an extension, so treat any tax period ending after that date as outside the relief until an official source says otherwise.

Artificially separating a business to keep each part under AED 3 million is treated as an arrangement to obtain a corporate tax advantage under the general anti-abuse rule.