Corporate Tax (UAE) — Advisory & Planning
Corporate Tax compliance answers "did we file correctly" — advisory answers a different question: is the business structured in a way that doesn't create unnecessary tax exposure. Restructurings, related-party transactions, group relief elections and cross-border arrangements all carry tax consequences that a return-filing relationship alone won't catch ahead of time. FMCA provides the forward-looking advisory that sits alongside routine compliance, not instead of it.
Reviewed by FMCA's Senior Tax Advisory Team — registered FTA tax agents serving clients across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Four areas of forward-looking work, sitting alongside routine compliance rather than replacing it.
The current group and transaction structure reviewed for tax efficiency and risk, before a restructuring or new arrangement locks in a position.
Transactions between related parties planned with the tax consequences in view upfront, not discovered at return-filing time.
Group relief, restructuring relief and other available elections assessed and applied where they genuinely benefit the group.
A defensible technical position documented for judgment calls the Corporate Tax law leaves open to interpretation.
A return filed correctly can still sit on top of a structure that was never actually reviewed.
A transaction or restructuring completed without tax advice upfront can lock in a position that's expensive or impossible to unwind later.
Group relief and restructuring reliefs that are available but never claimed represent a real, avoidable tax cost.
A technical position taken without a documented rationale is harder to defend if the FTA later questions it.
Advisory positions still need reflecting in what's actually filed — see Corporate Tax Return Filing for the compliance side.
Both are essential, but they answer genuinely different questions about the same business.
Our Approach
Most tax exposure isn't created by a filing error — it's created by a transaction structured without the tax consequences considered upfront. FMCA reviews structuring and related-party arrangements before they're finalized, and documents the judgment calls the law leaves open.
How We Work
Illustrative scenarios based on the kind of work we do — not descriptions of specific named clients.
A planned corporate reorganization was reviewed for its tax consequences and restructured accordingly before it was executed, not after.
Transfer pricing and Corporate Tax implications of a new intercompany service arrangement were planned together before the arrangement was finalized.
A documented technical position was prepared to support a judgment call on a point the Corporate Tax law leaves open to interpretation.
Related Insights
FAQ
Advisory is forward-looking — structuring transactions before they happen; compliance is the recurring filing of returns based on what already happened.
Often yes, particularly around one-off transactions, restructurings or related-party arrangements a routine filing relationship doesn't typically cover.
A relief mechanism potentially available to related UAE group companies under certain conditions, allowing losses or assets to be treated favourably between them.
It can help ensure available reliefs and elections are actually claimed, and that structures don't create unnecessary exposure — not eliminate a liability that's genuinely due.
Before it's finalized — tax consequences are far easier to plan for than to unwind after the fact.
Tell us where things stand and a senior consultant will get back to you directly — not a call centre.
