Reviewed by the editorial team of Symbol Consulting DMCC
Which applications to the Federal Tax Authority stop being possible once 2026 ends? Three FTA application deadlines fall between October and December 2026. Subsidiaries of government entities seeking corporate tax exemption for periods that ended before 2026 must apply by 31 October 2026. Two groups seeking exemption with retrospective effect must apply by 31 December 2026. The one-year window for reclaiming credit balances older than five years ends on the same day, read as a year from 1 January 2026.
What the FTA application deadlines of late 2026 cover
The FTA application deadlines between October and December 2026 come from two instruments: Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 15 of 2026 on corporate tax exemption, in force from 15 September 2026, and the transitional article of Federal Decree-Law No. 17 of 2025 on tax procedures. Both set dates for applications the Authority decides on (per FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Articles 3 and 6, as of 7 October 2026).
| Closing date | Who applies | What the application is for | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 October 2026 | Juridical person wholly owned and controlled by a Government Entity or a Government Controlled Entity | Exemption for any tax period that ended before 1 January 2026 | FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Article 3(5) |
| 31 December 2026 | Persons covered by Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2025 | Exemption with retrospective effect | FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Article 3(2)(a) |
| 31 December 2026 | Juridical person entitled to apply under Article 5 of Cabinet Decision No. 34 of 2025 | Exemption for tax periods that began in 2025 and ended by 31 August 2026 | FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Article 3(3) |
| 31 December 2026, read from “a year from” 1 January 2026 | Taxpayer holding a credit balance whose five-year period has run out | Refund, or use of the balance against tax or administrative penalties | Federal Decree-Law No. 17 of 2025, Article 3(1) |
Decision No. 15 of 2026, issued on 8 September 2026, repealed FTA Decision No. 7 of 2023 (Article 4) and applies to applications submitted from 15 September 2026 for tax periods starting on or after 1 June 2023 (Article 5). Returns and registrations run on their own calendars and sit outside this frame.
Subsidiaries of government entities: the window for periods before 2026
A juridical person wholly owned and controlled by a Government Entity or a Government Controlled Entity may apply for corporate tax exemption for any tax period that ended before 1 January 2026, no later than 31 October 2026, provided the exemption conditions were met in that period. The clause is an exception to the general count in the same decision (per FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Article 3(5), as of 7 October 2026).
The subsidiary must undertake part or all of the owner’s activity, hold assets or invest funds exclusively for the owner, or carry out only ancillary activities (per Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Article 4(1)(h), as of 7 October 2026).
The decision on each application goes to the applicant alone. The public summary, the Authority’s Exempt Person page, gives no application timeline, does not cite Decision No. 15 of 2026 and shows a last update of 6 May 2024 (per the FTA Exempt Person page, as of 7 October 2026). A revision of that page is where the October date would become publicly visible.
Retrospective exemptions and limited partnerships: applications due by 31 December
Two groups have until 31 December 2026 to apply for exemption. One is persons covered by Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2025 who are eligible for retrospective exemption. The other is a juridical person entitled to apply under Article 5 of Cabinet Decision No. 34 of 2025, for tax periods that began in 2025 and ended by 31 August 2026 (per FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Article 3, as of 7 October 2026).
Article 5 covers a Qualifying Limited Partnership whose principal business is Investment Business and which derives no income from immovable property in the State, and a juridical person wholly owned and controlled by such a partnership once exempt (per Cabinet Decision No. 34 of 2025, Article 5, as of 7 October 2026).
Order matters under the retrospective clause. A juridical person wholly owned by a fund, a pension fund or an exempt subsidiary may apply only after its owner has applied, and no decision is made on it before the owner is approved (Article 3(4) of Decision No. 15 of 2026).
The fund-side document to watch is the Authority’s Corporate Tax guide CTGIFM1 on investment funds, dated May 2024, which still cites the repealed Decision No. 7 of 2023 (per FTA guide CTGIFM1, as of 7 October 2026).
Credit balances older than five years: the refund window closes with 2026
Since 1 January 2026, a credit balance refund must be claimed within five years from the end of the relevant tax period, or the right lapses. A transitional article lets a taxpayer whose five years have already run claim the refund, or use the balance against tax or penalties, within a year from 1 January 2026 (per Federal Decree-Law No. 17 of 2025, Article 3, as of 7 October 2026).
The law gives “a year from” its effective date, not a calendar day. Read that way, the last day is 31 December 2026; KPMG Lower Gulf reads it the same way and places refund balances of tax years 2018 to 2020 inside the window (per KPMG Lower Gulf, as of 7 October 2026).
A late claim reopens the file. The Authority may audit or assess in connection with it within two years of submission. Where the applicant is under audit and has outstanding returns for any tax, the Authority may decline to refund residual amounts (per FTA Decision No. 9 of 2025, Article 1, as of 7 October 2026).
The Authority’s refund service page gives 25 business days from a complete application, or 55 working days with an audit investigation, and does not mention the transitional window (per the FTA refund service page, updated 19 August 2026, as of 7 October 2026).
After 2026: exemption applications move to a 90-business-day count
Outside the transitional clauses, a fund, a pension fund, an exempt entity’s subsidiary or a person designated by the Cabinet applies for corporate tax exemption after the tax period in which it met the conditions, and no later than 90 business days after that period ends. Business days exclude weekends and federal official holidays (per FTA Decision No. 15 of 2026, Articles 1 and 3(1), as of 7 October 2026).
For a tax period ending on 31 December 2026, the count starts on 1 January 2027 and its last day depends on the federal holiday calendar for 2027, so it cannot be stated in advance as a calendar date or as a number of months.
What the public record will not show before the windows close
The Federal Tax Authority sends decisions on exemption and refund applications to the applicant, and its pages checked on 7 October 2026 carry no count of applications received under Decision No. 15 of 2026 or the transitional refund article. Whether the retrospective exemption dates and the refund window are being used cannot be seen from outside before they close.
A revised Exempt Person page or funds guide citing Decision No. 15 of 2026, or a refund page naming the transitional window, would be the first public trace. As of 7 October 2026 none of the three has changed. Whether any of the three changes before 31 October or 31 December 2026 is the open point, and no source gives a date.
This material was reviewed by the editorial team of Symbol Consulting DMCC, an advisory firm that provides company setup and licensing, tax and regulatory compliance, and market entry consulting across multiple countries.
This material is a general analysis of published rules. It is not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice.