Dubai, 27 April 2026 — The compliance calendar is quickly evolving in Q2 2026 for all business owners in the UAE. The new Federal Tax Penalty regime became effective on 14 April 2026, and the Q2 VAT return filing deadline is coming up on 28 July.
Every company (whether in a free zone or on the mainland) operating in Dubai will need to be aware of what will become due in the following 90 days. Our accounting and tax teams at DXB -VIP have developed a listing of the essentials.
What Has Changed: The New 14% Penalty Regime
On April 14, 2023, the Cabinet made a decision that changes the manner in which late penalties for non-payment of taxes will be enforced in the United Arab Emirates. The previous system of applying daily accumulating penalties will no longer be used; rather, a fixed annual interest rate of 14% will be applied to the outstanding tax amount due once that payment is due until paid in full.
In addition, there will not be any limit on the amount of interest that accumulates for any tax liability.
The Q2 2026 Deadline Calendar
The Q2 2026 Deadline Calendar is designed to help you identify key dates that every UAE business needs to know about between April and June 2026. Businesses should be up to date on all of their obligations regarding value-added tax (VAT), corporate taxes and record keeping. If you do not file your taxes promptly, you may run into issues with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA).
Here are key deadlines to consider:
- 28th April 2026 – Deadline for filing quarterly VAT returns (January-March 2026). Most businesses will be filing for the first quarter of the 2026 financial year on this date.
- 28th July 2026 – Deadline for filing quarterly VAT for the second quarter (April – June 2026). All taxpayers need to have filed out and submitted their VAT returns.
- Ongoing – Natural person registration for corporation tax. Those who have reached at least AED 1 million (or USD 272,000) in revenue in 2025 will need to register their corporation tax by 31 March 2026. If you missed the registration deadline, you will need to contact a registered tax advisor for assistance. The fine for late registration is AED 10,000.
- Rolling – 20 business days to notify FTA of changes to trade licenses, ownership of your business and legal form. This is considered one of the biggest compliance violations and is extremely common.
What’s Still Coming in 2026?
The most significant annual event is still the deadline for corporate tax filings due on September 30, 2026, for companies that have their financial year ending on December 31, 2025. The effective due date for both the return and any tax owed to the FTA will be September 30, 2026, as the FTA considers filing and payment as a single obligation.
Do not assume that free zone companies are exempt. All persons qualifying in the free zone and subject to a 0% tax rate must file before the deadline to maintain their preferential status.
For businesses in the UAE that have a financial year that is not on January 1 to December 31, the deadline is the last day of the month that falls 9 months after the end of your financial year.
So make sure you note the date for your company now!
Three Things to Do This Week
- Please make sure to obtain your Q1 VAT working papers if you haven’t done so already. Even if you do not file your VAT before April 28, the new 14% penalty for late payments will be severe.
- Check whether your Corporation Tax is active with the EmaraTax registration portal. A late registration will incur an automatic fixed penalty of AED 10,000.
- Please ensure your compliance calendar reflects all 2026 deadlines related to your fiscal year. In addition to all of the 2026 Corporation Tax deadlines for a calendar year end, September 30th should be the main date of focus for the majority of calendar-year companies.
What Will Be New Next Year?
The largest event is still the corporate tax return deadlines of September 30, 2026 for companies with a calendar year ending December 31, 2025. The FTA expects both the tax return and tax payable to be submitted by this date and will not view tax return submission as separate from tax payment obligations.
Even companies that operate in Free Zones should not automatically assume that they are exempt from filing an annual tax return. Any company that is a Qualifying Free Zone Person and taxed at 0%, must file an annual tax return on time (within the applicable due date), or run the risk of losing its 0% rate status completely.
The rule remains unchanged for businesses whose financial reporting year does not match the calendar year: 9 months from year-end. Ensure you note your specific due date.
Three Items to Complete This Week
If you have not already pulled together your working papers for VAT in Q1, now is the time as the new penalty regime of 14% for late payments will be very harsh on anyone who does not file by 28 April.
Check your corporate tax registration on the EmaraTax portal. There is a fixed penalty of AED 10,000 for late registration.
Make sure to add all compliance dates of your financial year for 2026 on your compliance calendar. The date that will be of the most importance to you if your business follows a calendar year will likely be 30 September 2026.
Why Choose DXB-VIP?
Our team handles end-to-end UAE tax compliance for mainland and UAE free zone companies. DXB-VIP is the best choice for handling UAE tax compliance in large and small businesses. With this service, we will help you file corporate taxes, prepare quarterly VAT returns, submit annual reports, and obtain correspondence with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA).
We will manage the EmaraTax portal so that you can concentrate on expanding your business while we prepare for the filing of your first weekend tax return or recover from missing a submission deadline.