Keep your 0%. Know it holds, all year.

Keep the 0% corporate tax rate in check all year: qualifying vs non-qualifying income at 0% and 9%, the de minimis test, audit-ready books. For UAE free zones.

0% is a status you keep earning

You only find out whether the 0% held when the year is over, and by then it’s too late to change anything. With Rami: Record non-qualifying income as you go. Layla recomputes the 0% / 9% split, checks the de minimis test (5% of revenue or AED 5m, whichever is lower) and flags it plainly if you fail.

QFZPs need audited financial statements, and your auditor wants evidence behind every number. With Rami: Every entry links to its source document and reasoning. Faris reviews postings continuously, so audit prep starts from clean books.

“We’re in a free zone” gets mistaken for “no VAT, no e-invoicing”. It usually isn’t. With Rami: Layla prepares your VAT returns, Sami validates e-invoices against PINT-AE and Dana runs payroll, all in the same ledger as your corporate tax.

A month with Rami

Small habits every month, so the year-end test holds no surprises.

Day 1, Amal: Free zone profile set. Amal records that you’re a free zone person and sets your corporate tax options, ready for the QFZP election.

Day 3, Noor: Bank and cards reconciled. Every receipt is matched to a customer invoice, so revenue by customer is reliable from day one.

Day 10, Zayd: Revenue, separated. Sales post to accounts that keep free zone, mainland and foreign customers apart, so the split is visible.

Day 20, Faris: Evidence on every entry. Faris checks postings against their documents and flags anything your auditor would question.

Day 28, Layla: QFZP test, refreshed. Layla recomputes corporate tax at 0% and 9% and the de minimis test with this month’s numbers.

Day 30, Rami: Closed and audit-ready. Rami closes the month, and the trail from invoice to tax computation is ready for your auditor and adviser.

What QFZP status asks of you

The conditions and rules that matter for UAE free zone companies, as of October 2026.

Corporate tax: Two rates, no AED 375,000 band. A QFZP pays 0% on qualifying income and 9% on non-qualifying income, with no AED 375,000 band. Small Business Relief is not available to QFZPs.

De minimis: Stay under the lower limit. Non-qualifying revenue must stay at or below 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower. Breach it and QFZP status is lost for that period and the next four.

Audit & substance: Audited accounts, real presence. QFZPs must prepare audited financial statements and keep adequate substance in the free zone: core activities carried out there with enough staff, assets and spending.

VAT: Most free zones are not special for VAT. For VAT, most free zones are inside the UAE. Only Cabinet-listed Designated Zones get special treatment, and only for goods; services there are taxed as normal.

General information, not tax or legal advice.

The stack free zone companies run on

Statements from any bank; Open-banking bank feed; Card and subscription revenue; Contracts and evidence; Approval requests and alerts; Bring your history; PINT-AE to your provider; CT and VAT filing packs.

Keep the 0%, with evidence to show for it.

Start free for 15 days and run this year’s QFZP numbers on your own books.