UAE businesses with revenue under AED 3 million can elect for Small Business Relief (SBR) under UAE Corporate Tax, effectively paying 0% CT. Use this guide to check your eligibility.
UAE Small Business Relief: Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for UAE Corporate Tax Small Business Relief for a given tax period: Revenue test: your total revenue for the tax period must be below AED 3,000,000. Not part of a large group: SBR is not available if you are a member of a multinational group (a group with UAE members and foreign members) where the group’s consolidated revenue exceeds AED 3,000,000. Not a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP): if you are already a QFZP paying 0% CT on qualifying income, you do not need SBR (you are already at 0%). Not a UAE branch of a foreign company: branches of foreign companies are generally not eligible for SBR. Must elect: SBR is not automatic. You must actively elect for it in your CT return for each qualifying year.
SBR Eligibility Decision Tree
Step 1: Is your annual revenue below AED 3,000,000? If YES: proceed to step 2. If NO: SBR not available. Step 2: Are you a member of a multinational group (any foreign entity in the group)? If YES and group revenue exceeds AED 3M: SBR not available. If NO: proceed to step 3. Step 3: Are you a QFZP? If YES: SBR not needed (already 0% CT on qualifying income). If NO: you can elect SBR. Step 4: Elect SBR in your CT return. Result: 0% effective corporate tax rate for the qualifying period.
SBR Practical Examples
Example 1: UAE mainland company, revenue AED 1,500,000, no foreign related parties. SBR eligibility: YES. Elect SBR, pay 0% CT. Example 2: UAE free zone company (IFZA), revenue AED 2,000,000, parent company in UK. SBR eligibility: check group revenue. If UK parent plus UAE subsidiary combined revenue is below AED 3M: may be eligible. If combined exceeds AED 3M: SBR not available. Example 3: UAE mainland company, revenue AED 4,000,000. SBR not available (above AED 3M). Standard 9% CT on income above AED 375,000.