If your group is within the UAE Top-Up Tax net, the rulebook you use to calculate and report that tax has just been refreshed. Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 does not raise the tax or widen its scope. It updates the technical guidance the UAE applies when working out how much Top-Up Tax an in-scope multinational group owes and how it must report.
That distinction matters. A group that treats this as a minor housekeeping update risks filing on outdated interpretations. A group that reads it correctly re-points its compliance materials, re-checks its qualified-status map, and briefs its finance team before the next filing cycle.
Here is what this guide will help you do:
- Understand exactly what Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 changes and what it leaves untouched.
- See how it fits with Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024 and the wider UAE Corporate Tax framework.
- Know the practical steps in-scope UAE, Free Zone, and foreign-parented groups should take now.
This article separates confirmed legal facts from professional interpretation and illustrative examples, so you can see where the rules end and judgment begins.
What is Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026?
Confirmed legal fact: Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 is a UAE decision that adopts the latest OECD commentary and Agreed Administrative Guidance for the purposes of the UAE Top-Up Tax under Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024. It was issued on 22 June 2026, applies to fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2025, and repeals the earlier guidance decision, Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025.
In plain terms, the UAE runs a domestic minimum tax on large multinational groups. The charge itself sits in Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024. The interpretation of that charge, meaning how you actually compute income, taxes, effective rates, and disclosures, comes from OECD material. Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 is the instrument that formally plugs the current OECD material into UAE law.
The UAE Ministry of Finance Corporate Tax page sets out the wider Corporate Tax framework that the Top-Up Tax sits alongside, and the Federal Tax Authority Corporate Tax pages host the administrative guidance and FAQs that support day-to-day compliance.
The one-line version of the UAE Top-Up Tax
Pillar Two, often called Top-Up Tax, is a global minimum tax designed so that large multinational enterprises pay an effective tax rate of at least 15% in each jurisdiction where they operate. The OECD Global Minimum Tax page explains the design: where a group's jurisdictional effective tax rate falls below 15%, a top-up applies to bring it up to the floor.
The UAE imposes this domestically through its Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (DMTT). Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 does not change that tax or its rate. It updates the guidance used to calculate and report it.
How does it interact with Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024?
Confirmed legal fact: Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024 is the legal source of the UAE Top-Up Tax. Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 is issued for the purposes of that Cabinet Decision and provides the interpretive layer beneath it.
Think of the framework as a stack:
| Layer | Instrument | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The charge | Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024 | Imposes the UAE Top-Up Tax on in-scope groups |
| The interpretation | Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 | Adopts OECD commentary and guidance to interpret the charge |
| The wider tax base | Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 | Governs UAE Corporate Tax, into which the group's UAE profits feed |
Professional interpretation: because the guidance decision reaches back to fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2025, the first UAE-relevant period for a calendar-year group has already ended. That means the updated interpretation applies to periods you may already be modelling, not just future years.
The relationship with the UAE Corporate Tax Law matters because the starting point for any group's UAE Pillar Two position is its accounting result, adjusted through the GloBE rules. Eligible UAE Corporate Tax generally forms part of the covered taxes used in the Pillar Two effective tax rate calculation. The two regimes are separate but connected, and the guidance in Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 sits at the connection point.
What does it mean to adopt OECD commentary and administrative guidance?
Confirmed legal fact: the UAE has adopted the OECD's consolidated commentary and Agreed Administrative Guidance as the interpretive basis for its Top-Up Tax. The GloBE rules are designed to operate as a common approach, and the OECD Pillar Two GloBE Model Rules page collects the Model Rules, the commentary, and successive tranches of Administrative Guidance.
So what does adoption achieve in practice? It means a UAE in-scope group interprets terms such as GloBE income, adjusted covered taxes, deferred tax treatment, and the substance-based income exclusion using the same OECD text that other implementing jurisdictions apply. That consistency is the point of a common approach: it reduces the risk that the same profit is taxed twice or interpreted differently across borders.
Professional interpretation: adoption also means UAE positions move when the OECD text moves. The OECD updates its guidance in tranches, and the UAE has now committed to the consolidated version rather than a frozen 2025 snapshot. A group that cites superseded guidance in its working papers is, in effect, citing a rule the UAE no longer applies.
Why does replacing Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025 matter?
Confirmed legal fact: Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 repeals and fully replaces Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025, the previous guidance decision, and takes effect from its issuance date of 22 June 2026 with no transitional period.
The practical significance is threefold:
- Every internal citation that points to the 2025 decision or to superseded standalone OECD documents is now out of date.
- Compliance manuals, working papers, and tax-technology tools need to be re-pointed to the current consolidated material.
- Because there is no transitional period, the updated guidance applies immediately on publication.
Illustrative example: suppose a group's Pillar Two model contains a note that reads "deferred tax treatment per Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025." After 22 June 2026, that reference is stale. The underlying technical position may still be correct, but the citation now points to a repealed instrument. The fix is to re-map the reference to the consolidated 2026 guidance and confirm the position still holds under the current text.
The role of the 2026 consolidated commentary
Confirmed legal fact: the interpretive basis now rests on three OECD publications adopted through the Decision: the consolidated commentary, the Administrative Guidance Central Record, and the GloBE Information Return.
The shift to a single consolidated commentary is more than tidiness. Earlier tranches of Administrative Guidance and the previous Central Record have been folded into one source with an integrated annex. That reduces the cross-referencing burden, but it also means a group cannot rely on a patchwork of separate 2023 and 2024 guidance notes and assume they still stand alone.
| Publication | What it does |
|---|---|
| Consolidated Commentary | The single interpretation of the GloBE Model Rules for calculations and disclosures |
| Administrative Guidance Central Record | Records jurisdictions and their qualified status |
| GloBE Information Return | The standardised reporting form for in-scope groups |
Professional interpretation: the consolidation is helpful for accuracy but creates a version-control obligation. Data specifications, deferred-tax logic, and election registers should reference the consolidated commentary as the single source, with a dated note of the version used for each filing.
The Central Record and qualified status
Confirmed legal fact: the Central Record identifies which jurisdictions have qualified status for rules such as the Income Inclusion Rule, a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, and the associated safe harbours. The OECD Central Record page is updated on a rolling basis rather than through discrete numbered releases.
Why does this matter to a UAE group? Qualified status determines the order in which minimum-tax rules apply across jurisdictions. If a jurisdiction where your group has entities gains or loses qualified status, that can change whether a foreign parent applies its own charging rule to lightly taxed profit, or whether a domestic top-up takes primacy.
Professional interpretation: because the Central Record shifts mid-year, a group's qualified-status map is a moving target. Waiting for a single annual publication is no longer a safe rhythm. A practical control is to keep a dated snapshot of the relevant Central Record entries with each filing, so a later status change cannot be read back onto a position that was correct when taken.
Illustrative example: a UAE-parented group has a subsidiary in a jurisdiction that appears in the Central Record with a qualified domestic minimum tax from a given effective date. If that group modelled its exposure assuming the foreign jurisdiction would not collect the top-up itself, the qualified status changes the answer, because the domestic charge in that jurisdiction now takes the primary right to collect.
The GloBE Information Return reference
Confirmed legal fact: the Decision adopts the OECD GloBE Information Return as the standardised reporting form. In the UAE, the Pillar Two Information Return is the local term for this return, and it is separate from the UAE Top-Up Tax Return used to report and settle the domestic liability.
The GloBE Information Return is a structured data product, not a narrative memo. It carries group structure, entity classifications, jurisdictional calculations, elections, and safe-harbour positions in a standard format designed for exchange between tax administrations.
For the mechanics of who must file, when, and how a foreign filing can discharge the local obligation, see SBC's guide to the UAE Pillar Two Information Return. For how the various dates fit together, the UAE Pillar Two compliance calendar sets out the registration, information-return, and Top-Up Tax Return milestones.
Why this matters for UAE constituent entities
Confirmed legal fact: the UAE DMTT applies for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2025 to UAE constituent entities of multinational groups that meet the EUR 750 million consolidated revenue threshold in at least two of the four preceding fiscal years.
Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 does not change who is in scope. It changes the guidance those in-scope entities use. That means the practical impact is felt in the calculation and the compliance file rather than in the scoping decision.
DMTT calculations
Confirmed legal fact: the UAE calculation is jurisdictional. It divides adjusted covered taxes by net Pillar Two income to produce an effective tax rate, and if that rate is below 15%, a top-up applies to excess profit after the substance-based income exclusion.
Professional interpretation: because Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 refreshes the interpretation of income adjustments, covered taxes, and deferred tax, any model built on the earlier guidance should be re-validated. The numbers may not change, but the authority behind them must be the current text.
For a full walk-through of why the UAE 9% rate does not simply translate into a 6% top-up, see SBC's explainer on 9% Corporate Tax versus the 15% Pillar Two floor, and for the mechanics of the regime, the UAE Pillar Two DMTT guide.
Safe harbours
Confirmed legal fact: the UAE framework incorporates OECD-aligned safe harbours, including the Transitional CbCR Safe Harbour and the QDMTT Safe Harbour. These can deem a jurisdiction's top-up tax to be zero for a year, or allow a foreign parent to rely on the UAE domestic computation.
Professional interpretation: the consolidated 2026 commentary is the reference a group should now use when documenting a safe-harbour election. A study prepared against superseded guidance should be checked for continuity to the equivalent updated text. Safe-harbour eligibility does not remove registration or reporting obligations. SBC's UAE Pillar Two safe harbours guide sets out the three Transitional CbCR tests and the evidence needed.
Data readiness
Professional interpretation: because the consolidated commentary can change required treatments for deferred tax, covered-tax allocation, and the substance-based income exclusion, data specifications should be version-controlled against the current text. A group that treated its data model as final under the 2025 guidance should re-check the fields it collects. SBC's UAE Pillar Two data readiness checklist maps the entity, accounting, tax, and substance data the calculation needs.
Practical implications for different group types
The impact of Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 varies by how a group is structured. The scope test is unchanged, but the compliance and modelling response differs.
UAE-headed groups
A UAE-parented in-scope group carries the primary responsibility for its own Pillar Two calculations and, where required, the Pillar Two Information Return. Professional interpretation: these groups should treat the consolidated commentary as their single interpretive reference and re-screen their global entity map against the updated Central Record, because a foreign subsidiary's qualified-status change can shift where top-up tax is collected.
Free Zone entities
Confirmed legal fact: Qualifying Free Zone Person status remains relevant for ordinary UAE Corporate Tax, but it does not switch off Pillar Two. A 0% Corporate Tax outcome on qualifying income can lower the UAE jurisdictional effective tax rate, and jurisdictional blending may combine that result with other UAE entities.
Professional interpretation: a Free Zone entity in an in-scope group should not assume the 0% rate removes it from the DMTT analysis. The substance-based income exclusion may protect a return on real people and tangible assets, but the guidance in Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 governs how that exclusion is computed. Free Zone groups should keep their qualifying-income analysis aligned with the Pillar Two entity and jurisdiction data.
Foreign-parented groups with UAE operations
Confirmed legal fact: where the UAE DMTT has qualified status and the QDMTT Safe Harbour conditions are met, a foreign parent applying an Income Inclusion Rule can generally rely on the UAE domestic computation instead of recalculating the same UAE profits.
Professional interpretation: this concentrates the UAE work in one domestic calculation but raises the importance of consistency. The UAE result must reconcile with figures sent to the ultimate parent and with the group's global GloBE Information Return. A parent team cannot treat the UAE as fully handled and stop collecting the data needed to validate the local charge. For registration mechanics, SBC's UAE Pillar Two registration guide explains the EmaraTax pathways and the designated filing entity approach.
Transfer pricing alignment
Confirmed legal fact: cross-border transactions between constituent entities must be recorded consistently and at arm's length under both the UAE Corporate Tax Law and the GloBE rules. The arm's length principle is set out in the OECD transfer pricing framework and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines 2022.
Why does this connect to Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026? Because transfer pricing determines where group profit is recorded, and Pillar Two tests the tax on that profit in each jurisdiction. A transfer pricing policy or year-end true-up can move GloBE income between jurisdictions, change effective tax rates, and create or reduce top-up tax.
Professional interpretation: the updated commentary is the interpretive basis for how a transfer pricing adjustment feeds the GloBE calculation. Groups should keep the local file, the transfer pricing disclosure, and the Pillar Two model telling one consistent story. SBC's analysis of transfer pricing and the UAE Pillar Two result works through how a true-up can change a DMTT outcome. The wider UAE arm's length framework is confirmed in the FTA Corporate Tax FAQs, which state that transfer pricing applies to both domestic and cross-border related-party dealings.
Filing governance and internal controls
Because Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 changes the interpretive baseline rather than the tax, the response is largely a governance exercise. The following steps translate the change into action.
- Update internal reference materials, replacing citations to superseded documents with the consolidated 2026 commentary, the Central Record, and the GloBE Information Return.
- Re-screen the entity map against the updated Central Record, running a fresh qualified-status check across all jurisdictions where the group has constituent entities.
- Validate existing filing positions and safe-harbour claims taken in prior periods against the consolidated guidance, documenting continuity to the equivalent updated text.
- Brief finance and tax-reporting teams, especially those handling deferred tax, effective-tax-rate calculations, and the GloBE Information Return, so they work from the 2026 commentary as the single reference.
- Set a monitoring protocol for future Central Record updates, assigning responsibility and a review cadence so newly qualifying jurisdictions feed into modelling before they take effect.
Professional interpretation: the strongest control is a single, version-controlled reference source. Where multiple teams maintain their own working papers, a Central Record change or a commentary update can be reflected inconsistently. One approved reference, one owner, and a dated snapshot per filing is more reliable than scattered notes.
Mini-summary: the tax has not changed, but the evidence trail behind every filing position now needs to point to the current guidance. That is a documentation and governance task, and it is time-sensitive because there is no transitional period.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating the Decision as a rate change. It updates guidance, not the tax or its scope.
- Leaving superseded citations in compliance manuals and tax-technology tools after 22 June 2026.
- Assuming a safe-harbour or nil top-up result removes registration and reporting obligations.
- Reading the Central Record once and never re-checking it, when it updates on a rolling basis.
- Assuming Free Zone 0% income sits outside the DMTT analysis.
- Letting the UAE Pillar Two position and the transfer pricing documentation describe the same transaction differently.
- Waiting for a single annual OECD release instead of tracking the consolidated commentary and Central Record as they update.
Practical recommendations for UAE decision-makers
- Confirm whether the group meets the EUR 750 million threshold and document the tested fiscal year.
- Adopt the consolidated 2026 commentary as the single interpretive reference across all Pillar Two working papers.
- Re-screen every jurisdiction in the entity map against the current Central Record and keep a dated snapshot per filing.
- Re-validate the DMTT model, safe-harbour elections, and deferred-tax logic against the updated guidance.
- Reconcile the Pillar Two Information Return, the UAE Top-Up Tax Return, the transfer pricing file, and the consolidated accounts so they tell one story.
- Assign clear ownership of Central Record monitoring and set a review cadence.
- Brief finance, tax, and reporting teams so filings rest on the current text rather than a repealed decision.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026?
It is a UAE decision that adopts the latest OECD commentary and Agreed Administrative Guidance for the UAE Top-Up Tax under Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024, and repeals the earlier guidance decision, Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025.
Does it change the UAE Top-Up Tax rate?
No. It updates the interpretive guidance used to calculate and report the Top-Up Tax. The tax itself and its scope remain governed by Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024.
When does it apply from?
It applies to fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2025 and takes effect from its issuance date of 22 June 2026, with no transitional period, so the updated guidance applies immediately on publication.
What replaced Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025?
Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 repeals and fully replaces it, consolidating the interpretive framework into the OECD consolidated commentary, the Administrative Guidance Central Record, and the GloBE Information Return.
Does a safe harbour or nil top-up remove the need to comply?
No. Even where a safe harbour deems top-up tax to be zero, an in-scope entity can still have registration, information-return, and recordkeeping obligations. Eligibility must also be documented against the current guidance.
How does this affect Free Zone entities?
Qualifying Free Zone Person status remains relevant for ordinary Corporate Tax but does not remove an in-scope entity from Pillar Two. A 0% rate on qualifying income can lower the UAE jurisdictional effective tax rate, and the updated guidance governs how the substance-based income exclusion is computed.
What should a foreign-parented group with UAE operations do?
Confirm whether the UAE DMTT and the QDMTT Safe Harbour let the parent rely on the UAE domestic computation, then keep the UAE result reconciled with the figures sent to the ultimate parent and the group's GloBE Information Return.
What is the single most important action now?
Re-point every Pillar Two working paper, model, and citation to the consolidated 2026 commentary and re-screen the entity map against the current Central Record, then keep a dated snapshot with each filing.
Conclusion
Ministerial Decision No. 96 of 2026 refreshes the technical rulebook for the UAE Top-Up Tax without changing the tax, its rate, or its scope. It adopts the OECD's consolidated commentary, the Central Record, and the GloBE Information Return as the interpretive basis under Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024, and it replaces Ministerial Decision No. 88 of 2025 with immediate effect and no transitional period.
For UAE-headed groups, Free Zone entities, and foreign-parented groups with UAE operations, the practical work is governance: adopt the consolidated commentary as your single reference, re-screen qualified status against the Central Record, re-validate the DMTT model and safe-harbour claims, and keep the Pillar Two, transfer pricing, and Corporate Tax files consistent.
If you want support aligning your group's Pillar Two position with the updated guidance, explore SBC's Corporate Tax and Transfer Pricing services, review more analysis across our insights hub and full range of services, or contact the SBC team to review your DMTT and reporting readiness before the next filing cycle.
23/6/26 Achieving DMTT Readiness in Dubai
Page Title: Achieving DMTT Readiness in Dubai: A Practical Guide for MNEs
Meta Title: DMTT Readiness in Dubai: Guide for UAE MNE Groups
Meta Description: A practical guide to UAE DMTT readiness for Dubai MNEs: scope, 15% ETR, safe harbours, deadlines, and a step-by-step compliance roadmap.
Primary Keywords: DMTT readiness Dubai, UAE Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax
Secondary Keywords: UAE DMTT scope, Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024, 15% effective tax rate UAE, Pillar Two Dubai, substance-based income exclusion, Top-up Tax Return deadline
Slug: achieving-dmtt-readiness-dubai-guide