Dubai’s 9 % Corporate Tax: What It Means for Marketers

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Jun 8, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Jun 17, 2025

A marketer-first breakdown of the UAE’s new profit tax and how to stay ROI-positive.

1. Quick Facts

	Detail
Rate	9 % on net profit above AED 375 k (≈ USD 102 k)
Start date	Fiscal years beginning on or after 1 June 2023
Free-zone status	“Qualifying income” may still be taxed at 0 % if economic-substance rules are met
Objective	Align with OECD standards while sheltering start-ups & SMEs

2. How budgets may shift

Slight squeeze on EBITDA → CFOs want harder proof of marketing pay-off.
OPEX vs CAPEX: agencies remain deductible expenses, so outsourced media ops can be more cash-efficient than hiring FTEs.
Free-zone clients could keep larger budgets—know their status before forecasting spend.

3. Four moves to protect (and grow) ROAS

Move	Why	Tool stack
Re-benchmark CAC/LTV post-tax	New profit margin = new “break-even CAC”	GA4 + BigQuery
Double-down on attribution	Prove which 60 % of spend drives 90 % of profit	GA4 funnels, Ads Data Hub
Automate low-value tasks	Free hours → strategy, not spreadsheet wrangling	Zapier, HubSpot Workflows
Pitch performance deals	Align your fee with incremental revenue; easy CFO buy-in	% of incremental sales

4. Checklist for agency / in-house marketers

❏ Add tax scenario line in your 2025 media plan.
❏ Map each channel’s LTV:CAC ratio vs new profit margins.
❏ Update contracts to state services are fully deductible OPEX.
❏ For free-zone clients, confirm “qualifying income” classification.
❏ Present an efficiency roadmap (automation, CRO, creative testing) at next QBR.

5. Bottom line

The 9 % corporate tax won’t kill ad budgets—but it will raise the bar on measurable impact. Marketers who can prove incremental profit, not just clicks, will win the CFO’s green light.