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Company tax returns on Dhareeba: registration, deadlines and penalties
Every company with a commercial registration in Qatar must file a yearly tax return on the Dhareeba portal, even if it owes no tax. This guide explains who files, when, whether you need audited accounts, monthly withholding tax, the penalties for being late, and what the coming e-invoicing rules mean.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026
- Who files
- Every registered company, including tax-exempt Qatari and GCC-owned firms and home businesses
- Rate
- 10% of taxable profit, on the share owned by non-Qatari, non-GCC owners
- Deadline
- 4 months after year-end: 30 April for a 31 December year-end (2025 returns were extended to 30 June 2026)
- Where
- dhareeba.gov.qa (web only), signing in with your Tawtheeq (NAS) login; GTA call centre 16565
Qatar charges no tax on salaries, but companies are another matter. Under Income Tax Law No. 24 of 2018, business profits are taxed at 10%, and almost every entity that holds a commercial registration (CR), trade licence or home-business licence must file an annual return with the General Tax Authority (GTA) through its online portal, Dhareeba. That includes companies owned wholly by Qataris or GCC nationals, which pay no tax but still have to file. This guide is for expat business owners, managers and in-house accountants: first understand which group your company falls into, then make sure it is registered and has a tax number, keep proper books, deal with monthly withholding tax, and file and pay within four months of your year-end. It is general information, not tax advice; rules and deadlines are updated often, so confirm details with the GTA or a licensed tax adviser.
Before you start
- The company's commercial registration (CR) and commercial licence, and its establishment card
- A Tawtheeq (National Authentication System, NAS) login for the person who will use Dhareeba, linked to their QID
- The company's tax identification number (TIN) and tax card, or the documents to register for one
- The articles of association showing each shareholder's nationality and percentage, because this decides how much of the profit is taxed
- Full accounting records for the year: ledgers, bank statements, invoices, contracts and payroll records
- Financial statements prepared under IFRS, in Arabic, and audited if your company crosses the audit thresholds
- A list of payments made during the year to companies or consultants outside Qatar (for withholding tax)
- A way to pay online if tax is due (the portal shows the amounts and payment options)
- The name and Dhareeba authorisation of your accountant or tax representative, if someone files for you
Step by step
Work out which group your company is in
Corporate tax in Qatar is 10% of taxable profit, but only on the share of the company owned by people who are not Qatari or GCC nationals resident in Qatar. A company owned 100% by expats or foreign companies is taxed on all its profit. A company owned wholly by Qatari or resident GCC nationals is exempt from tax, but it must still register and file a return. If ownership is mixed, the tax applies only to the foreign owners' share. Oil and petrochemical companies pay a much higher rate, very large multinational groups have extra 15% minimum-tax rules, and companies licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) deal with the QFC's own tax office, so this guide is mainly for ordinary mainland companies.
Read guide: Starting a business in Qatar as an expat: commercial registration step by step →Make sure the company has a tax number
Every company needs a tax identification number (TIN) and a tax card from the GTA. Since March 2025, companies that get a new CR through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Single Window receive their tax number automatically, with no separate Dhareeba registration. Older companies, or anyone whose record is incomplete, register on dhareeba.gov.qa: sign in with the NAS (Tawtheeq) login, open the Registration tile and choose Self-Registration, then enter the CR details, activity, address, contact person and accounting period and upload the CR and licences. Do this as soon as the business starts, because tax advisers cite a QAR 20,000 penalty for failing to register.
Read guide: Tawtheeq (National Authentication System): signing up and logging in →Decide who will file and give them access
Dhareeba is a website only; there is no Dhareeba service in Metrash or Hukoomi. Many owners let an accountant or tax firm file for them as a 'taxpayer representative'. In Dhareeba this is done under Registration by choosing Registration through Taxpayer Representative, picking the representative and setting their access level. The company stays responsible for the return and any penalties, even when someone else files it, so keep your own login and check the account yourself.
Keep proper books from day one
The return is built from your accounts, so poor bookkeeping is the most common reason people miss the deadline. Financial statements must follow IFRS, and since the 2020 tax year they must be submitted in Arabic. Accounting books, records and documents for your Qatar activities must be kept in Qatar for 10 years, and advisers cite a QAR 30,000 penalty for failing to keep proper records or provide required accounts. Close your books monthly rather than once a year, and keep contracts and invoices with your bank statements.
Check whether you need audited accounts
A company must attach audited financial statements, signed by an auditor licensed in Qatar, if its capital is more than QAR 200,000, its income is more than QAR 500,000, or its head office is outside Qatar. Exempt companies owned by Qatari or GCC nationals can use a simplified return without audited accounts if their capital is below QAR 1 million and their revenue below QAR 5 million; above either limit they file the full return with audited statements. Book your auditor early in the year, because January to April is the busiest season and audits often take several weeks.
Handle withholding tax every month
If your company pays a person or company outside Qatar for services used in Qatar, or pays them royalties, interest or commissions, you usually have to keep back 5% of the payment. That 5% must be paid to the GTA before the 16th of the following month, with a monthly withholding statement filed on Dhareeba, and you should give the recipient a certificate on the GTA form. No withholding is needed when the payee holds a Qatar tax card or is registered with the QFC, and dividends are not subject to it. If you do not deduct and pay it, the company can be charged the tax plus a penalty equal to the unpaid amount.
Read guide: Do expats pay tax in Qatar? Income tax, VAT, business tax and home-country rules →Prepare and submit the annual return
The return is due within four months of the end of the company's financial year; for a calendar year that is 30 April. Sign in to Dhareeba, open the income tax return for the right period, enter the figures from your financial statements, calculate the taxable profit and the foreign owners' share, attach the statements and other documents, and submit. Companies that made a loss or had little activity still file; losses can usually be carried forward to set against future profits. Keep the submission acknowledgement in your records.
Pay any tax on time
Tax is payable on the same date the return is due, so filing on time but paying late still brings a penalty. Amounts due and any penalties appear in your Dhareeba account, and you pay through the portal. Advisers cite a late-payment penalty of 2% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month, up to the amount of the tax itself. If cash is tight, file on time anyway and contact the GTA about the balance rather than missing both deadlines.
Watch for extensions, but plan for the normal date
The GTA sometimes extends the deadline. For the 2025 tax year it moved the date from 30 April to 30 June 2026 for most taxpayers, including tax-exempt and Qatari or GCC-owned companies and home businesses, but not for petroleum and petrochemical companies, which still had to file by 30 April 2026. Extensions are announced close to the deadline, often in late April, so do not count on one. For a calendar year 2026, plan to file and pay by 30 April 2027.
Use your tax certificates and keep them current
Once your filings are up to date, you can request certificates from the GTA through Dhareeba. A tax compliance certificate, now valid for one year, shows that the company meets its tax obligations and is often asked for by government bodies, banks and large clients. A no-objection certificate is needed to cancel a CR (valid for 90 days) or to change ownership (valid for 180 days). If you plan to close or sell the company, file all outstanding returns first, because the GTA will not issue these certificates while returns or payments are missing.
If you are late, fix it quickly
Late filing is penalised at QAR 500 per day, up to QAR 180,000, according to the GTA and advisers, and an exempt company that does not file can face a fixed penalty, cited as QAR 10,000. The longer you wait, the more it costs, so file as soon as you can and pay what is due. The GTA has run penalty-relief schemes before (for example a six-month scheme from 1 March 2025 for companies that registered, filed all missing returns and committed to stay compliant), so check gta.gov.qa or call 16565 to see whether any relief is open now.
Get ready for e-invoicing
On 6 May 2026 the Cabinet approved a draft e-invoicing law and its regulations, prepared by the Ministry of Finance with the GTA. As of October 2026 the law still has to complete the legislative process, and no go-live date, scope or technical standard has been officially published; commentators expect a phased start, with large companies first. Nothing changes in your filing yet, but it is sensible to use accounting software that can produce structured electronic invoices and to keep customer tax numbers on file. VAT has not been introduced in Qatar either, so ignore anyone asking you to charge it.
What it costs
| Filing a return on Dhareeba | No filing fee stated by the GTA |
| Corporate income tax | 10% of taxable profit (foreign owners' share only) |
| Late filing penalty | QAR 500 per day, maximum QAR 180,000 |
| Late payment penalty (as cited by advisers) | 2% of unpaid tax per month, up to the tax due |
| Exempt entity not filing (as cited by advisers) | QAR 10,000 |
| Failing to register (as cited by advisers) | QAR 20,000 |
| Not keeping proper records or audited accounts (as cited by advisers) | QAR 30,000 |
Official fees at the time of review. Fees change, so confirm before paying.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a Qatari-owned or GCC-owned company does not need to file because it pays no tax
- Letting a dormant or loss-making company skip its return instead of filing a nil or loss return, or cancelling the CR properly
- Booking the auditor in April, when every firm is busy, and missing the deadline
- Filing the return but paying the tax late, which triggers a separate monthly penalty
- Paying overseas consultants or software suppliers in full and forgetting the 5% withholding tax due by the 16th of the next month
- Leaving everything to an accountant and never checking the company's own Dhareeba account for notices and penalties
- Counting on a deadline extension because one was given the year before
- Throwing away records after a few years; they must be kept in Qatar for 10 years
Questions people ask
My company is 100% Qatari-owned (or my Qatari partner owns 51%). Do I still have to file?
Yes. Companies wholly owned by Qatari or resident GCC nationals are exempt from income tax but must still file an annual return on Dhareeba; small ones can use the simplified return. With mixed ownership, the company files a normal return and pays 10% on the profit share of the non-Qatari, non-GCC owners. Note that ownership for tax is what the articles of association say, not any private side agreement.
When is the deadline for company tax returns?
Four months after the end of your financial year, which is 30 April for most companies. For the 2025 tax year the GTA extended this to 30 June 2026 for most taxpayers, but that extension was a one-off. For the 2026 calendar year, plan on 30 April 2027 unless the GTA announces otherwise.
What is the penalty for filing late, and can it be waived?
Late filing costs QAR 500 per day, up to QAR 180,000, and late payment carries a monthly penalty on the unpaid tax. The GTA has offered penalty-relief schemes in the past, such as the six-month initiative launched on 1 March 2025, but they are announced only from time to time. Check gta.gov.qa or call 16565 for anything currently open, and file the missing returns either way.
Does a small company need audited accounts?
If its capital is above QAR 200,000, its income above QAR 500,000, or its head office is abroad, yes. A small exempt company owned by Qatari or GCC nationals with capital under QAR 1 million and revenue under QAR 5 million can file the simplified return without an audit. If you are unsure which applies, ask a licensed auditor before the year-end, not after.
My company had no activity or made a loss. Do I still file?
Yes. The GTA's 2026 reminder was addressed to every company holding a commercial registration, trade licence or home licence, including exempt ones, that had not yet filed. A loss return also protects your right to carry the loss forward. If the company will never trade, consider cancelling the CR properly, which needs a GTA no-objection certificate.
I run a home business. Does this apply to me?
Home-business licence holders were specifically included in the GTA's 2025 filing call and extension. If you are an expat earning profit through a licensed home business, the 10% tax can apply to it as well. Keep simple records of sales and costs and check your Dhareeba account each year.
We pay a freelancer or software company abroad. Do we have to deduct tax?
Usually yes: 5% withholding tax applies to payments to non-residents for services used in Qatar, and to royalties, interest and commissions, unless the payee has a Qatar tax card. You pay it to the GTA by the 16th of the following month and file a monthly statement on Dhareeba. A tax treaty may reduce the rate; since March 2026, approved 'Trusted Entity' companies can apply treaty rates at source.
Is e-invoicing or VAT mandatory in Qatar now?
Not yet. The Cabinet approved a draft e-invoicing law in May 2026, but as of October 2026 no start date or technical rules have been published, and VAT has not been introduced. Watch the GTA website for the official timetable before buying a new system.
Official sources
- General Tax Authority: income tax and withholding tax information ↗
- QNA: GTA extends 2025 tax return deadline until 30 June 2026 ↗
- Qatar Tribune: tax card issued automatically with commercial registration ↗
- Gulf Times: simplified tax returns for Qatari and GCC-owned companies ↗
- PwC Tax Summaries: Qatar corporate tax administration ↗
- PwC: Qatar e-invoicing law and regulations approved (May 2026) ↗
Always check the official source before acting. QatarSteps is independent and not a government website.