Outdated accounting systems to cost you dearly

Let's be honest: In 2025, a financial or business crisis isn't caused by some massive scandal. It can be triggered by a polite email from the tax authorities.

- BY ELLEONOR APOSTOL Special to Gulf News

The UAE isn't easing into its new tax era, it's diving in head-first. Corporate tax is live, audit rules just got a serious upgrade, and global alignment isn't a distant goal anymore, it's already here.

It's a wake-up call. The companies that survive won't be the biggest, but the smartest — the ones that ditched clunky spreadsheets and levelled up their systems.

2025 is when UAE businesses file their first-ever corporate tax returns. The 9 per cent rate applies to profits over Dh375,000, and filings are due 9 months after a company's financial year ends. That means businesses with a December 2024 year-end have the September 30, 2025 deadline firmly in sight.

The FTA has waived late registration penalties — for now, given that they must submit the tax return within 7 months from the end of the first tax period.

But let's be honest: procrastinating on the part of businesses is not a strategy.