Fees and steps checked on
Corporate tax registration costs nothing if you do it yourself. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) service on EmaraTax is free. Agencies that prepare the application for you publish prices from AED 299 to AED 1,500, and RAKEZ lists a AED 1,249 service for its licensees. Prices checked .
Source: Federal Tax Authority, corporate tax registration service, checked .
Who charges what
| Who | Price they show | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Tax Authority, on EmaraTax | Nothing | You prepare and submit it yourself |
| 3 setup agencies | AED 299 to AED 1,500 | The AED 299 figure is a launch offer |
| RAKEZ | AED 1,249 | Sold to RAKEZ licensees only |
| One corporate services provider | No separate price | Bundled into its monthly packages |
These are the prices firms show on their own sites, not what every company pays. A group of entities, or a company with missing documents, can cost more.
What you get for an agency fee
Registration on EmaraTax takes about 25 minutes to submit when you have the documents ready. The FTA then takes 20 business days to process a completed application. An agency saves you the time of preparing it and often handles any follow-up questions. It does not make the FTA faster.
Documents the FTA asks for include the certificate of incorporation, the trade licence, Emirates ID and passport for owners with 25% or more and for authorised signatories, and proof of signatory authority. Each file must be a PDF, and the size limit is 15 MB.
Source: Federal Tax Authority, corporate tax registration service, checked .
Reading a quote
A low figure often covers the submission and nothing else. Ask whether the price is a promotion and when it ends. Registration also starts a clock for your first return, so check whether a reminder is part of the job (see corporate tax deadlines). Keep the EmaraTax login in your own hands, not only the agency's.
The cost of getting it late
A late registration is fined AED 10,000, as set out in the corporate tax penalty table. The FTA announced a waiver for the first tax period: the penalty is waived if the taxable person files its first return within 7 months of the end of the first tax period instead of 9 months. It covers penalties from the first date the law applied and applies only to the first tax period. The waiver has no known end date in our sources, so check the current rule on the FTA site.
Source: Federal Tax Authority, penalty waiver announcement, checked .
Compared with the fees above, a late penalty is many times larger than any agency fee. If you are unsure whether you are late, ask a firm to check your position before you pay or file. The full penalty list is on the corporate tax penalties page.
Next steps
For who must register and by when, read corporate tax registration in the UAE. For VAT, see VAT registration cost. To compare other service prices, go to the accounting cost hub.
After registration
A registered company gets a Tax Registration Number and then has to file on time. The deadline depends on your tax period, and the first return is due 9 months after the end of the first tax period. Plan for that when you decide how much support to buy. A firm that handles both the registration and the first return may quote a package, which can cost less than two separate jobs. Ask for the two prices side by side.
Source: Federal Tax Authority, corporate tax return deadlines, checked .
