Abu Dhabi businesses — including those in ADGM and KEZAD — face the same UAE Corporate Tax and VAT regime as the rest of the Emirates, with their own free-zone substance and qualifying-income considerations. Next Tax Source keeps your books current, your VAT filed and your Corporate Tax return prepared with full workpapers, all reviewed and signed by an FTA-registered tax agent.
What We Handle
- UAE Corporate Tax registration and annual return
- ADGM and KEZAD free-zone qualifying-income and substance analysis
- VAT registration and quarterly returns via EmaraTax
- IFRS financial statements, audit-ready
- WPS payroll and gratuity tracking
Who This Is For
Abu Dhabi is the capital and the seat of much of the UAE's institutional, energy and government-linked economy — and its business community runs from family conglomerates and ADGM-based financial firms to the fast-growing SMEs around KEZAD and the wider emirate. All of them now sit inside the same federal Corporate Tax and VAT regime as the rest of the country, with the same registration, record-keeping and filing duties. What varies is the free-zone overlay and the qualifying-income analysis, and that is where careful work pays off.
We work with businesses across the emirate:
- ADGM-based companies — financial firms, holding structures, family offices and SPVs — needing books and returns that meet both ADGM and federal expectations.
- KEZAD and other free-zone entities in trading, logistics and manufacturing, where the qualifying-income and substance tests are decisive.
- Mainland LLCs with an Abu Dhabi DED licence, generally within the 9% Corporate Tax net.
- Professional-services firms — consultancies, agencies, advisory practices — where the qualifying-versus-excluded line is genuinely subtle.
- Founders and family offices relocating to Abu Dhabi who want their corporate and personal affairs structured cleanly from the outset.
- Multi-entity groups with companies spread across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other Emirates that need one coherent compliance picture.
What Corporate Tax And VAT Actually Involve
UAE Corporate Tax is a federal regime introduced under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, applying a 9% rate to taxable profit above AED 375,000 with a 0% band below it — the same in Abu Dhabi as in every other emirate. VAT, in force since 2018 at the standard 5% rate, is a separate obligation with its own thresholds and quarterly cycle. We run them as one joined-up compliance function:
- Corporate Tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority is mandatory regardless of the rate you ultimately pay, and late registration carries an administrative penalty.
- The annual Corporate Tax return, due after your financial year-end, prepared with workpapers that trace every figure back to source.
- Qualifying Free Zone Person analysis for ADGM, KEZAD and other free-zone entities — substance, qualifying activities and de-minimis limits decide whether the 0% rate holds.
- VAT registration and quarterly returns via the FTA's EmaraTax portal, reconciled so input and output VAT actually tie out.
- IFRS-aligned accounting records and audit-ready statements, now a legal requirement rather than a nicety.
- Transfer pricing documentation and disclosure where you transact with related parties and meet the thresholds — common in group and family-office structures.
Rates, thresholds and reliefs in the UAE are still settling — small-business relief, the domestic minimum top-up tax for large multinational groups, and e-invoicing among them. We confirm the current figures against official FTA and Ministry of Finance guidance before anything is filed, and we tell you plainly when a rule is in transition.
ADGM, KEZAD And The Free-Zone Question
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) are among the emirate's most prominent free zones, and entities there must register for Corporate Tax like everyone else. The decisive question is not the licence but the income: whether a company qualifies as a Qualifying Free Zone Person, with the substance to back it up and income that falls within the qualifying activities. A single disqualifying transaction or a failure of the substance test can push an entire year's profit to 9%.
We assess this honestly against the FTA's qualifying-activity framework, structure qualifying income to protect the 0% where it genuinely applies, and prepare the transfer-pricing documentation the authority expects — rather than assuming the free-zone address alone secures the rate.
Common Mistakes We Are Asked To Fix
- Assuming the free-zone 0% is automatic. It is not — a disqualifying transaction or weak substance can forfeit it for the whole year.
- Missing Corporate Tax registration because profit was below the taxable threshold; registration is still mandatory and late registration is penalised.
- Keeping books in a spreadsheet that cannot support an audit or a transfer-pricing position.
- Overlooking transfer pricing in group and family-office structures with related-party transactions.
- Running payroll outside WPS or miscalculating end-of-service gratuity.
- Treating Abu Dhabi as a different tax regime from Dubai, when the federal rules are identical and only the free-zone overlay differs.
How Next Tax Source Handles It
Our model pairs an always-on team of specialist AI agents with licensed human review. The agents keep your books reconciled continuously, watch your numbers against current FTA rules, assess your qualifying-income position long before the return is due, and assemble every filing to a ready-to-sign standard with complete workpapers. An FTA-registered tax agent then reviews and signs before anything reaches the authority. We prepare everything; the filing is made by a licensed professional, never on AI output alone. For multi-emirate or international groups, our cross-border specialists coordinate the whole picture. You can book a private consultation, or see our pricing first.
What To Prepare
- Your trade licence and ADGM, KEZAD or mainland registration details, and your financial year-end
- Any Corporate Tax and VAT registration numbers already issued
- A description of your revenue streams and who your customers are (free-zone, mainland, overseas)
- Access to your accounting software, or whatever records you currently keep
- Details of any related-party transactions and your group structure
- Payroll details if you have employees, including any gratuity accruals
You can also model your position first with our calculators, and read more UAE guidance in our journal.
Questions People Ask
Is Corporate Tax different in Abu Dhabi?
No — Corporate Tax is a federal UAE regime, applying a 9% rate above AED 375,000, identical across all Emirates including Abu Dhabi. What can differ is your free zone's specific rules and your qualifying-income position, which turn on substance and the nature of your activities. We assess that directly rather than assuming your emirate changes the headline treatment.
Do ADGM companies pay UAE Corporate Tax?
ADGM entities must register for Corporate Tax like any other UAE business. Whether income is taxed at 0% or 9% depends on whether the company is a Qualifying Free Zone Person and the nature of its income — a test we map against the FTA's qualifying-activity framework, supported by the substance and transfer-pricing documentation the authority expects.
Can you support businesses across both Abu Dhabi and Dubai?
Yes. We work across all Emirates and routinely handle multi-entity groups with companies in more than one free zone or on the mainland. We give you one coherent compliance picture rather than a fragmented view, and our cross-border specialists coordinate where international obligations are also involved.
What is the difference between KEZAD and a mainland company for tax?
A mainland Abu Dhabi company's profit is generally within the 9% Corporate Tax net. A KEZAD free-zone entity may access a 0% rate on qualifying income if it meets the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions — substance, qualifying activities and the de-minimis limits — while non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%. We assess which applies to your actual revenue rather than assuming the zone settles it.
When is my Corporate Tax return due?
The return is generally due nine months after the end of your financial year, and registration with the FTA is required regardless of the rate you expect to pay. Because deadlines and reliefs can change, we confirm your specific dates against current FTA guidance and build them into your compliance calendar.
Do I need to register for VAT as well?
VAT and Corporate Tax are separate regimes with separate thresholds. VAT is charged at the standard 5% rate, with mandatory and voluntary registration thresholds based on your taxable supplies. We assess both obligations and confirm the current thresholds with you before registering for either.
Can you take over from my current accountant mid-year?
Yes. We routinely take over partway through a year, reconcile the books to date, identify anything that has been missed, and bring you back to a clean, audit-ready position before the next filing falls due — without disrupting your operations.
Who signs my filings?
An FTA-registered tax agent reviews and signs every return before it is submitted. Our specialist AI agents prepare the work to a ready-to-sign standard with full workpapers; a licensed human signs and the filing is made. Nothing is filed on AI output alone.
Every Filing, Signed By A Professional
We prepare it all to a ready-to-sign standard; an FTA-registered tax agent reviews and signs before anything is filed. Tell us your situation and we'll return a scoped proposal within one business day.
Book A Consultation
See Pricing