UAE Corporate Tax Course - 2026

The lecture clarifies who is exempt under UAE corporate tax: default exemptions for government entities and certain resource businesses, and apply-for-exemption rules under articles 42 and 43.

government entity is exempt from corporate tax under the decree law, except for licensed business activities, which are taxed and may be treated as a single taxable person.

Understand that government controlled entities are tax-exempt, except when engaging in non mandated activities, which become independent businesses with separate financial statements, taxable income calculations, and related party transaction considerations.

Explore how extractive business is taxed under UAE corporate tax law, article 71 of decree 47/2022, with exemption conditions, licenses, and three situations: extractive-only, other taxable, and ancillary.

Evaluate the UAE corporate tax treatment of non-extractive natural resource business under Article 81. Learn exemption conditions, local emirate government interactions, and handling of ancillary and other taxable income.

Learn how qualifying public benefit entities gain UAE corporate tax exemption by meeting criteria, avoiding activities not directly related to their purpose, and using income and assets for public benefit.

Explain how a qualifying investment fund may gain UAE corporate tax exemption by meeting regulatory oversight, broad investor access or exchange listing, and a non-tax avoidance motive.

Identify a juridical person defined by the decree law as a state-incorporated entity wholly owned by exempt entities, exempt from corporate tax when it holds assets for the exempt person.

Define the taxable person and corporate tax base under UAE law, distinguish resident and non-resident taxpayers, and explain branch consolidation and cabinet-defined taxable activities.

Explain resident and non-resident status under UAE corporate tax law, detailing who qualifies as a resident person under article 11 and how effectively managed and controlled or nexus determine residency.

Explain how resident and non-resident persons incur taxable income under UAE corporate tax law, covering permanent establishment, UAE source income, and nexus in UAE.

Understand UAE sourced income under UAE corporate tax law by examining how contracts, services, assets, intellectual property, shares, and interest create state source income for residents and non-residents.

Explore permanent establishment under UAE corporate tax law, including when non-residents trigger tax via offices, sites, or dependent agents, and how tax treaties override domestic rules per OECD article five.

Examine how UAE corporate tax law defines permanent establishment and how treaties override it, covering fixed place of business, exclusions, independent agent, and natural person concepts.

Permanent establishment is a fixed place of business through which a non-resident's UAE activities are carried on, as shown by UAE facilities or agents creating nexus.

Identify fixed or permanent place of business under UAE corporate tax law, including management base, factory, branch, office, real estate, and projects over six months, with annual permanent establishment assessment.

Identify activities exempt from constituting a permanent establishment under UAE corporate tax, including storing or delivering goods, stock for processing, purchasing or collecting information, and preparatory or auxiliary activities.

Explain how exemptions from permanent establishment require conditions, including a UAE office forming a permanent establishment with its related party, and that combined activities are not preparatory or auxiliary.

Identify when a UAE agent habitually exercises authority to conduct business in the state on behalf of a non-resident person by concluding or negotiating contracts, creating a permanent establishment.

Learn to distinguish independent agents from dependent agents under UAE corporate tax law, noting independence criteria, ordinary course of business, and sales contract execution for the non-resident.

Explains when the minister of finance may impose conditions under UAE corporate tax law, including temporary and exceptional situations and non-residents employed in the UAE with non-core activities.

The UAE corporate tax law offers article 15 investment manager exemption, providing tax relief to licensed managers and firms managing client investments in or outside the UAE.

Explore how UAE corporate tax law treats unincorporated partnerships, including general and limited partnerships, with two options: tax as a taxable person or tax at the partners' level.

Explore how a family foundation may be treated as an unincorporated partnership under UAE corporate tax law, meeting conditions on beneficiaries, asset management, and compliance.

Explore how UAE corporate tax law treats free zone entities, distinguishing qualifying from non-qualifying free zone persons, with emphasis on substance, income qualification, and transfer pricing.

Determine how a UAE free zone person is taxed under the corporate tax law, applying 0% to qualifying income and 9% to non qualifying income, with rules for status changes.

Understand how a qualifying free zone person may elect UAE corporate tax to secure treaty relief, paying 9% instead of 15% abroad, with election effective from the tax period start.

Determine taxable income as taxable revenue minus allowable expenses under UAE corporate tax law, apply tax rates to compute tax liability and account for withholding tax and foreign tax credits.

Determine taxable income under UAE corporate tax law per article 20, clause 1, using standalone financial statements, with a tax group option using consolidated statements or separate taxation.

Apply adjustments to accounting income to determine UAE corporate tax taxable income, removing unrealized gains and unrealized losses, and exempt income, while incorporating reliefs, losses, and related party considerations.

Learn how UAE corporate tax law permits realization basis accounting for gains and losses on assets subject to fair value or impairment accounting, influencing taxable income.

Define article 24 in corporate tax law, including assets held on capital account, liabilities held on capital account, assets and liabilities held on revenue account, and unrealized gain or loss.

The minister of finance may prescribe cash-basis accounting rules, adjustments to accounting standards for taxable income, and bases for determining a qualifying business's tax income under UAE corporate tax law.

Learn how to apply to the authority for a change in accounting basis from cash to accrual, with effective dates and precedence of decree law over accounting standards.

Learn to calculate corporate tax payable for a taxable person, apply currency rules, settle withholding tax credits, and handle foreign tax credits, shortfalls, and refunds under UAE corporate tax law.

explain how to calculate UAE corporate tax by using AED as the payment currency, converting financial statements from other currencies to AED at the central bank rate under prescribed conditions.

Learn how to calculate and settle UAE corporate tax, applying withholding tax credits, foreign tax credits, and other relief, with payments due within nine months of the tax period end.

Explore the UAE corporate tax withholding provisions of the decree law: a 0% rate now, with possible future rates for non-resident state source income not attributable to a permanent establishment.

The lecture explains withholding tax on non-permanent establishment income of a foreign company and how the credit equals the lower of tax deducted or corporate tax due under UAE law.

Apply foreign tax credit under UAE corporate tax law to reduce tax payable; excess credits cannot be carried forward or back, and taxpayers must maintain records of overseas tax payments.

Pay corporate tax due under the decree law and Article 48 within nine months after the tax period ends, and learn how refunds are claimed for excess withheld at source.

Learn how tax refunds arise when withholding tax credits exceed payable or authorities confirm excess payment, and how to apply under the decree law.