UAE Corporate Tax Revenue Rises 33.9% to Dh46.52 Billion for 2025 Tax Periods

The figures are the clearest measure yet of what the federal corporate tax, introduced for financial years starting on or after June 1, 2023, is raising for public finances. Total corporate tax revenue collected for tax periods since the tax came into force and through the end of 2025 reached about Dh81.27 billion, according to the authority. That is now larger than the yearly take from value added tax distributed to the federal and emirate governments.

The authority also published figures for its two older taxes. VAT revenue distributed to the federal government and the governments of the emirates for tax periods from January to the end of August 2026 came to about Dh28.27 billion, while distributed excise tax revenue for the same period was about Dh1.4 billion.

For comparison, the authority's 2025 annual report, issued in June, put combined VAT and excise tax revenue for the whole of 2025 at about Dh46 billion, up from Dh41 billion in 2024.

The authority's figures show companies are filing more returns on time. The rate at which corporate tax returns were submitted within the legal deadlines rose to 91% in 2026 from 87% in 2025, and the rate for paying corporate tax on time stood at 97%. Taxable companies whose financial year ended on December 31, 2025 had until September 30, 2026 to file and pay.

VAT return filing compliance rose to 83% in 2026 from 81% a year earlier, and on-time VAT payment increased to 98%. For excise tax, the on-time filing rate was 92% in 2026, compared with 91% in 2025, and the payment rate was 98%.

Abdulaziz Al Mulla, director general of the Federal Tax Authority, said the growth in tax revenue, including the sharp increase in corporate tax, reflected the efficiency of the authority's systems and its continuing work to improve its procedures and services. He said the authority would keep raising tax awareness and communicating with taxpayers to help them meet their obligations within the legal timeframes, and credited higher compliance to wider understanding of the tax rules.

The authority did not give a breakdown of corporate tax receipts by sector or company size, or say how much of the increase came from more companies falling into the tax net as their first full tax periods ended, rather than from higher profits.

The UAE levies corporate tax at 9% on taxable income above Dh375,000. Large multinational groups are also subject to a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, which means the first returns under that regime are not yet reflected in the 2025 figures.