UAE Business Setup & Strategy Spotlight: Late August 2026 Edition for Digital and Global Businesses

by Ariful | Aug 29, 2026 | UAE Updates

TITLE: Key UAE Tax and Compliance Deadlines for Digital Businesses in Late August

File your 2025 Corporate Tax return by 30 September 2026

Businesses with a 31 December 2025 financial year end must submit their Corporate Tax return and settle any tax due by 30 September 2026.

You must file through EmaraTax, even if you expect to claim Small Business Relief.

Do not assume that relief removes your compliance obligations. The FTA confirmed on 3 August 2026 that eligible businesses must still:

• Register for Corporate Tax where required.
• Submit a simplified Corporate Tax return.
• Make the Small Business Relief election inside the return.
• Maintain appropriate accounting records.
• Pay any tax due by the statutory deadline.

The general rule is that the return and payment are due within nine months after the end of the relevant tax period. If your year end is different, calculate your deadline from that year-end date.

Elect Small Business Relief correctly

Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extends Small Business Relief to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.

The AED 3 million revenue threshold remains unchanged.

Check these conditions before making the election:

• Measure the threshold against revenue, not profit.
• Check revenue for the current tax period.
• Check revenue for every previous tax period.
• Confirm that the business is an eligible UAE resident person.
• Exclude QFZPs and members of a qualifying Multinational Enterprise Group where the relevant exclusion applies.
• Make the election inside the Corporate Tax return.

Small Business Relief is not automatic. If your business is eligible but does not make the election correctly, you may not receive the intended treatment.

Keep sales reports, payment records, marketplace statements and accounting records together. This will help you prove revenue accurately and complete the return without last-minute corrections.

Prepare for mandatory supplier verification from 1 October

FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026 takes effect on 1 October 2026. It introduces mandatory supplier and supply verification requirements for input VAT recovery under Article 54 bis of the UAE VAT framework.

The FTA may deny input VAT recovery where a supply chain involves tax evasion and the required checks were not completed and documented.

This is particularly relevant to businesses with large purchasing volumes, cross-border supply chains, marketplaces and fast-growing operating models.

Verify each supplier at the right time

Complete supplier verification:

1. The first time you deal with a supplier.
2. Again when 12 months have passed since the previous verification.
3. More extensively when the relevant value thresholds apply.

Your supplier file should address:

• Identity documents and official registration details.
• The identity and authority of the supplier’s representative.
• The supplier’s real place of business.
• Changes of address.
• Changes in key personnel.
• Transactions that appear disproportionate to the supplier’s size or trading history.
• Public reviews and media information where enhanced checks are required.

If annual supplies from one supplier exceed, or are expected to exceed, AED 375,000, obtain unqualified written confirmation from a UAE bank that the supplier holds an account there.

Verify the supply, not only the supplier

Supply verification applies to the commercial transaction itself. Document that:

• There is a genuine commercial reason for the purchase.
• The price is commercially justifiable.
• The goods or services fall within the supplier’s licensed activities.
• The title and origin of goods are sound.
• Any intermediary has a clear commercial role.
• Electronic payment was used, or the reason for cash payment is recorded.

Create a written verification policy as required by Article 5. The AED 10,000 de minimis exemption may apply to supplies below AED 10,000 excluding VAT. However, the exemption is disapplied once total supplies from that supplier exceed, or are expected to exceed, AED 100,000 over the preceding or following 12 months.

Once that cumulative threshold is reached, even smaller supplies from the same supplier require verification.

Track VAT Group exits and digital currency transactions

Two further VAT directives require operational changes.

Directive on Tax Transactions No. 2 of 2026 applies from 1 August 2026. If a former VAT Tax Group member remains VAT registered, it must report post-exit adjustments in its own VAT return.

Review transactions reported while the entity was part of the group. Track future credit notes, bad debt adjustments and input or output tax corrections so they are not incorrectly reported through the former group representative.

Directive on Tax Transactions No. 3 of 2026 clarifies how to convert digital currency into UAE dirhams for VAT purposes.

If you accept cryptocurrency as payment, review your conversion methodology. Keep consistent, time-stamped records showing the exchange rate, the conversion process and the AED value reported for VAT.

Start e-invoicing implementation now

The UAE e-invoicing programme is already moving through its pilot and voluntary phase, which began on 1 July 2026.

The current implementation timetable is:

• Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more: appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026 and go live by 1 January 2027.
• Businesses below AED 50 million: appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 31 March 2027 and go live by 1 July 2027.
• Government entities: go live by 1 October 2027.

The system currently covers B2B and B2G transactions. B2C transactions are not currently included.

A PDF invoice emailed to a customer is not the same as a compliant e-invoice. You need structured electronic data that can move through the approved system.

Review your accounting platform, invoicing workflow, customer master data and supplier records now. Early preparation gives you time to appoint a provider, map mandatory fields and test data flows before the go-live date.

Read the UAE Ministry of Finance e-invoicing guidance for the latest technical and implementation information.

Check QFZP reporting requirements

Qualifying Free Zone Persons distributing goods in or from a Designated Zone should review

Daily Australia Tax Update: 29 August 2026 : CGT Inflation Flaw Exposed, TPAR Pre-Fill Goes Live & Super Becomes More Tax-Effective

by Ariful | Aug 29, 2026 | Canada Updates

TITLE: Australia Tax Update: 29 August 2026 – CGT, TPAR, Super, and More

Australia’s tax landscape is moving quickly. Today’s main developments affect capital gains tax, contractor reporting, superannuation, discretionary trusts, alcohol manufacturers and crypto holders.

If you operate an Australian business in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Canberra, use this update to identify the records and deadlines that need attention.

Important: Some measures discussed below are proposed reforms or draft guidance. Check the latest legislation and ATO material before taking action.

Key Australia tax updates for 29 August 2026

• Economists have identified a potential inflation problem in the proposed CGT regime beginning 1 July 2027.
• The 28 August TPAR deadline has passed, and new pre-fill data is now becoming available for eligible individual contractors.
• Superannuation is relatively more tax-effective because the proposed CGT changes outside super do not remove the existing super fund CGT discount.
• Treasury has released draft legislation on CGT and negative gearing and consulted on a proposed 30% minimum tax for discretionary trusts.
• The ATO will begin targeted alcohol excise pre-licensing reviews from September.
• ATO draft ruling TR 2026/D1 on crypto airdrops remains open for comments until 2 October 2026.

Review the CGT inflation flaw before 1 July 2027

The proposed CGT reforms are designed to replace the current 50% CGT discount with cost-base indexation. Broadly, the new system would adjust an asset’s cost base for inflation so that tax applies to the real gain rather than the purely inflationary increase.

The government’s policy objective is to tax real capital gains. However, research presented by Professor James Giesecke of Victoria University at the Melbourne Economic Forum has raised concerns about the treatment of losses.

The research argues that the proposed regime may index gains for inflation without providing equivalent recognition for real losses. In practical terms, an investor may have a real loss on one asset but only a nominal loss may be recognised for tax purposes. That loss may not fully offset a real gain elsewhere in a diversified portfolio.

The concern is particularly relevant to Australian investors holding shares, property and other long-term assets. The Australian Financial Review reported on 28 August 2026 that effective tax rates on diversified portfolios could reach approximately 55% to 80% in some modelled situations.

These figures are not a standard tax rate for every Australian taxpayer. They reflect modelling of the interaction between inflation, gains, losses and the proposed rules. Your result will depend on the asset, holding period, income level and timing of disposal.

What should you do now?

1. Separate nominal and real investment performance.
   This will help you understand whether a reported gain reflects genuine growth or inflation.

2. Maintain asset-level records.
   Keep purchase documents, improvement costs, transaction fees, ownership dates and valuation evidence. Complete records will make future CGT calculations more reliable.

3. Track unrealised gains and losses.
   A portfolio report that shows only total performance may not reveal how the proposed loss rules could affect you.

4. Monitor the legislation.
   The Treasury CGT and negative gearing consultation material and the ATO’s tax reform guidance explain the proposed framework.

Do not assume that selling before 1 July 2027 will automatically produce a better result. The reforms include transitional rules, and the correct approach depends on your facts and the final law.

Use the new TPAR pre-fill data after 28 August

The TPAR deadline for the 2025–26 financial year passed on 28 August 2026. From now, the ATO expects most TPAR information to flow into the tax returns of eligible individual contractors and sole traders.

This is a significant change for tax time 2026. TPAR data will be pre-filled for individuals who provide services in covered industries, including:

• Building and construction.
• Cleaning.
• Courier and road freight.
• Security, investigation and surveillance.
• Information technology services.
• Certain services provided to government entities.

The ATO estimates that approximately $21 billion in contractor payments will be included in the new pre-fill system for around 700,000 sole traders and individuals in business.

The pre-fill may show the payer’s name and ABN, gross payments, GST amounts and tax withheld. However, it does not remove your responsibility to check the information.

Complete this contractor tax checklist

• Wait until the data is available before lodging, where practical. This reduces the risk of missing payments and later amendments.
• Compare the pre-fill with your bookkeeping system. Pre-filled amounts may not align with your accounting basis or invoicing records.
• Check GST treatment. Gross TPAR amounts include GST where GST was charged.
• Review payment timing. TPAR information generally reflects amounts actually paid during the year.
• Include other income. Pre-fill does not capture every payment or every type of assessable income.
• Keep supporting records. This protects you if the ATO queries a discrepancy.

The pre-fill applies to eligible individuals. It does not replace the reporting and record-keeping obligations of companies, trusts or partnerships.

Read the ATO’s 2026 TPAR pre-fill guidance before lodging.

Understand why superannuation is relatively more tax-effective

Superannuation has become relatively more attractive for long-term investing following the May 2026 Budget proposals.

The proposed CGT reforms outside super would remove the general 50% CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships and replace it with inflation-based cost indexation. Superannuation funds are not expected to move into this new regime.

Under the existing rules:

• Accumulation-phase earnings in a complying super fund are generally taxed at 15%.
• Long-term capital gains generally receive a one-third CGT discount, producing an effective tax rate of approximately 10% inside the fund.
• Investment earnings in the pension phase may be tax-free, subject to the applicable rules and limits.

This means super has become more tax-effective relative to investing in your own name, rather than receiving a new tax concession.

You should still consider contribution limits, access restrictions, cash-flow needs and the proposed Division 296 tax for very large super balances. The