What it costs, what it requires, and which sector you are actually in. Written for the founder who has not registered anything yet.
Most guides to setting up here are written by the people who sell the setup, which is why they all end at the licence. The licence is the easy part. What decides whether the company works is the year after it: the tax you register for whether or not you owe it, the deadlines that arrive on a date somebody else chose, and whether the sector you picked rewards a small team or grinds one down.
This page is the short version of all of it, with every rule linked to the authority that publishes it. Nothing here is sold to you, and we do not register companies or file returns for anybody.
Taken out of order, each one makes the next more expensive. This is the sequence that costs least.
Decide what you are actually selling
The licence follows the activity, not the ambition. A company that sells software, a company that sells goods and a company that holds client money are three different registrations with three different costs. Founders who register first and decide later pay for an amendment.
Choose free zone or mainland on how you operate
Free zone suits software, services and export. Mainland suits selling physical goods to customers here and contracting with government. Choose on where your customers are and how you deliver to them, not on a tax claim someone made on a forum.
Budget the year, not the licence
The licence fee is the smallest number. Visas, an office or flexi-desk, medical and Emirates ID, accounting, and a bank account that takes weeks to open are the real first-year cost. Price all of it before you commit to a zone.
Register for tax even when you owe nothing
Corporate tax registration is not optional at 0%. A company under the profit band still registers and still files. The penalty for a late registration is not proportional to the tax you did not owe.
Free zone
Best for
Software, services, and export.
How tax works
0% on qualifying income, but only while the conditions are met, including real substance in the zone. Income that does not qualify is taxed at the standard 9%.
Mainland
Best for
Selling physical goods to customers here, and contracting with government.
How tax works
The standard band applies directly: 9% above AED 375,000 of profit, 0% up to it. There is no separate qualifying-income regime to maintain.
E-invoicing arrives in two phases
The large-business phase starts first and is closer than it looks in a list of dates. Both rows read left to right: appoint a provider, then go live.
AED 50,000,000 and above
30 October 2026
Appoint a service provider
1 January 2027
Live
Under AED 50,000,000
31 March 2027
Appoint a service provider
1 July 2027
Issue electronically
Corporate tax is 9% on taxable profit above AED 375,000, and 0% up to it.
A company earning under AED 375,000 of profit pays no corporate tax, but still has to register and file.
Read it on Federal Tax AuthoritySmall Business Relief treats a business with revenue up to AED 3,000,000 as having no taxable income, by election.
It is an election you make per tax period, not something applied for you, and it is revenue not profit that is tested.
Available only for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026.
Read it on Federal Tax AuthorityVAT registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 in a rolling 12 months.
The same number as the corporate tax band, measured on revenue rather than profit. Watch it monthly, not annually.
Read it on Federal Tax AuthorityE-invoicing becomes mandatory in phases. A business under AED 50,000,000 of revenue appoints an accredited service provider by 31 March 2027 and issues electronic invoices from 1 July 2027.
It changes how you issue every invoice, so the decision belongs in the accounting stack you pick now rather than a migration later.
Appoint a provider by 31 March 2027; issue electronically from 1 July 2027.
Read it on Ministry of FinanceBusinesses at or above AED 50,000,000 of revenue appoint a provider by 30 October 2026 and start on 1 January 2027.
Worth knowing even when you are small: your larger customers hit this first, and they will ask you to invoice their way.
Provider appointed by 30 October 2026; live 1 January 2027.
Read it on Ministry of FinanceA free zone company can keep a 0% rate on qualifying income, but only while it meets the qualifying conditions, including real substance in the zone.
Free zone is not automatically tax free. Income that is not qualifying is taxed at 9%, and the conditions are ongoing, not a one-off check at setup.
Read it on Federal Tax AuthorityChecked against the official sources on 26 September 2026. Rules change and this is general information, not tax or legal advice. We do not file anything for anybody. Every claim above links to the authority that publishes it, so you can read the rule yourself before acting on it.
Six sectors, each with the regulator that matters, what it costs to start, and the part that defeats most people.
Fintech and payments
The licence decides your product. Pick it before you build anything.
Read the sector guideE-commerce and D2C
Getting the licence is easy here. Making the unit economics work is not.
Read the sector guideSaaS and developer tools
The lightest sector to set up here, and the one with the fewest local ceilings.
Read the sector guideLogistics and trade
The sector where the country itself is the product advantage.
Read the sector guideProperty and construction
A large, digitising market with buyers who move slowly and pay properly.
Read the sector guideFood, health and consumer
Approvals are the slow part. Distribution is the part that decides it.
Read the sector guide“Free zone means no tax”
A free zone company keeps 0% on qualifying income while it meets the conditions, including real substance. Income that is not qualifying is taxed at the standard rate, and the conditions are ongoing.
“Under the threshold means nothing to do”
Registration and filing are required whether or not you owe anything. Relief is an election you make, not a status you are given.
“I can set up remotely and never visit”
Some zones allow a lot remotely, but residency, the Emirates ID and in practice the bank account expect you in the country. Plan at least one trip.
“The cheapest package is the cheapest option”
Packages are priced on visa count and space. The cheap one that gives you one visa becomes expensive the moment you hire a second person.
Tell me what you are deciding. I will come back with which licence applies to you, what it actually costs in the first year, and the thing founders in your position most often get wrong. Thirty minutes, free, and no pitch.
If the licence is done and growth is the problem, the membership reads your numbers each month, gives you three Sprints a week and the courses to act on them, one step at a time.
See the membershipUpgradIQ, Inc. operates in the UAE as UpgradIQ FZC LLC. Or run the site audit
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