Family, salary and benefits

I own my FZ-LLC alone. Can the company pay me a salary, and is it deductible?

Depends on the details: keep good documents

In short: Often yes for a company, within limits: a salary for work you really do counts as a cost, up to what that work is worth on the market. Dividends (profit paid out to you) never count as a cost. If you are a freelancer or sole establishment, money you pay yourself is a withdrawal, not a salary.

The basic rule

As the owner, you are a close person of your company (official term: Connected Person). What the company pays you counts as a cost only up to the market value of your work, judged as if you were not related (official term: arm’s length principle), and only if it is purely for the business.

When it is different

Juridical person (FZ-LLC, LLC): a documented salary at market value is deductible; any excess above market value is not.
Natural person (sole establishment, freelancer): amounts you take out of the business are not deductible.
Dividends or profit distributions to the owner are never deductible.
Under Small Business Relief, the question has no effect on the tax for that period, but records still matter.

Documents to keep

Employment contract or written decision fixing your pay
Payroll or transfer records (monthly, not one year-end lump sum)
Evidence of the market rate for a similar role
Board or shareholder decision for any bonus

How safe is it?

Depends on the details: keep good documents Medium: a salary set to wipe out the profit, or a large year-end bonus to yourself, invites questions about market value.

When to ask a professional

Have your pay level confirmed if it is high relative to revenue or to market rates for the role. Who can confirm it for your own case: an FTA-registered tax agent (a tax professional approved by the UAE tax authority), or the optional year-end review in SoloBooks.

If you pay no Corporate Tax this year (Small Business Relief): If you use Small Business Relief this year, you pay no Corporate Tax anyway, so this cost does not change your tax for that year. Keep the documents anyway: they back up your income figure, and they matter if you stop qualifying later.

Check it with the free calculator: Small Business Relief calculator →

Sources

Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses (consolidated, unofficial English translation) — Art. 36(1)–(3) and (5), Art. 34, Art. 33(4)
FTA Corporate Tax Guide: Determination of Taxable Income (CTGDTI1) — Payments to Connected Persons

Last verified: 19 October 2026

General information, not tax advice. Your situation may differ.

Keep your records ready all year

SoloBooks reads your receipts, you approve each one, and you get your year-end figures to file your return yourself.

Start with 1 month free

No card required. Cancel by doing nothing.