Accounting in Dubai.
Your accounting records are kept under our own licence; monthly bookkeeping, VAT and the year-end return are handled by a single team.
- Bookkeeping and filing are carried out by our own staff, without outsourcing
- All six service items are stated with their prices
Our Accounting Service Approach.
- Our own accounting licenceBookkeeping and filing are carried out by our own staff, without outsourcing.
- The same team after formationThe team that handles the formation also keeps the accounting records.
- Tracking through the client portalDocuments are held in a single client portal, not in email threads.
- Our own office in DubaiAuthority and bank procedures are handled on the ground by our own office.
Service Scope and Limits.
InfrastructureSetting up the chart of accounts, opening balances and document flow.
Infrastructure set-up
The chart of accounts is created according to the company's activity, balances for the formation period are entered, and the channel through which invoices, receipts and bank statements will be sent to us is defined. This stage is carried out once; the work of later months is built on this structure.
Requested from you
- Sales and purchase invoices
- Expense documents and receipts
- Bank statements
Not included in the monthly fee
- Corporate Tax Registration: After formation, corporate tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) must be completed within the statutory period.
- VAT Registration: Depending on the structure of your activity, a VAT registration or a VAT Exception application is made. It does not apply to every company; it applies only where the necessary conditions are met.
Invoice TrackingSales and purchase invoices, expense records, bank reconciliation.
Income, expense and invoice tracking
Sales and purchase invoices are recorded, expense documents are classified, and at month end bank transactions are compared with the ledger. Reconciliation is the control point of this cycle: differences between the ledger and the account are identified within the same month, not at year end.
Outside the scope
- We do not provide payroll services: Employee payroll services are not offered in Dubai. Monthly accounting covers bookkeeping, filing and reporting.
VAT and ReturnsPeriodic VAT and the annual corporate tax return.
VAT and annual return
For VAT-registered companies, returns are prepared for each quarterly period and submitted to the FTA system. At the end of the financial year the financial statements are prepared, tax calculations are made and the corporate tax return is filed. The year-end work is carried out independently of the monthly service and is priced separately.
Outside the scope
- The year-end return is not included in the monthly service: Preparing the financial statements and the corporate tax return is an annual tax compliance exercise carried out separately. The monthly service does not cover this item; it appears as a separate line in the price list.
- Personal tax opinions are not given on the website: The headings here reflect the general framework. You may send us questions about the taxation of your own structure; the reply is prepared specifically for your situation.
ReportingIncome statements, balance sheets and cash flow reports.
Financial reporting and analysis
The output of bookkeeping is not only the return: an income statement, a balance sheet and a cash flow report are produced from the same ledger. These statements show the areas in which the company has earned and the areas in which it has made losses; they are prepared not for tax but to support your management decisions.
Bank and AuditDocuments are kept ready for bank and audit requests.
Bank and audit compliance
The documents requested in a bank account review or an audit request are the same: current financial statements and the records that support them. When records are kept monthly, these documents are ready; no separate preparation is needed.
Outside the scope
- Independent audit is a separate service: It may be mandatory for certain free zone authorities and for companies above a certain size. The requirement depends on your licence; where it is needed, it is priced as a separate item. The audit is carried out by our contracted audit firm, and the process is managed by us.
- Bank approval and authority processing times are not within our control: Your bank application documents are prepared in the format the bank requires; the decision to open an account rests with the bank. No fixed commitment is given on how long the authorities take to process filings.
Items stated as outside the scope in the proposal: Independent auditPayroll
Forming a company in Dubai brings competitive strength not only regionally but on a global scale.
Annual Accounting Calendar.
Bookkeeping is monthly, VAT is quarterly and the financial year close is annual.
Distribution of obligations across the first 12 months
The twelve months after the licence. Monthly accounting: all twelve months. VAT return: months 3, 6, 9, 12. Financial year close: months 12.
- Monthly accountingevery month12 times
- VAT returnQuarterlyif required4 times
- Financial year closeonce a year1 times
The tax framework on which the accounting rests
Corporate tax
0% up to AED 375,000, 9% above
Calculated on net profit; free zone companies are also within scope.
Corporate tax return
Within 9 months of the end of the tax period
VAT
5%
Registration is mandatory when annual taxable supplies exceed the AED 375,000 threshold.
Personal income tax
None
No personal income tax is levied in the UAE on salaries and dividends.
This table shows the general framework. Application varies with your activity, where the company is managed, your tax residency and the type of income. We do not give personal tax opinions.
Contact Us About Your SituationWhat Regular Accounting Provides.
- Regular monitoring of the filing calendarWhich obligation arises in which month is known from the outset.
- Profit and loss monitored during the yearProduced from the same ledger; used for management decisions as much as for tax.
- Bank and audit documents kept readyThe documents requested are the same; when records are kept monthly, no separate preparation is needed.
- Evidencing the 0% rate through the recordsQualifying status does not arise automatically; the records show that the conditions are met.
Taking Over Accounting Services.
The handover is carried out in four steps; responsibility is not left unclear at any stage.
- Position review
- Transfer of records
- Access update
- Move to the new routine
What is needed for the handover
- VAT and corporate tax numbers
- Latest returns filed
- Trial balance and general ledger
- Bank statements
- Licence and company agreement
- Audit report, if any
Which Services Are Required?
Six items are assessed on the basis of four questions; the final scope is set out in the proposal.
1 / 4
Company location
Answer the four questions; the list appears here
Corporate Tax Registration-400 USD
VAT Registration-400 USD
Monthly Accounting Service-350 USD
VAT Return-350 USD
Financial Year End and Corporate Tax Return-420 USD
Independent Audit-1,400 USD
Accounting Service Fees.
No single total is stated because the same items do not arise for every company.
Corporate Tax RegistrationUSD 400 + VAT
Corporate Tax Registration
After formation, corporate tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) must be completed within the statutory period.
- Opening the corporate tax registration
- Preparing the application documents
- Obtaining the TRN (Tax Registration Number)
- Following up the application process
VAT RegistrationUSD 400 + VAT
VAT Registration
Depending on the structure of your activity, a VAT registration or a VAT Exception application is made. It does not apply to every company; it applies only where the necessary conditions are met.
Monthly Accounting Servicefrom USD 350 + VAT
For as long as the company is active, keeping accounting records in good order is a legal requirement. Keeping records in one batch at year end may lead to penalties and incorrect tax calculations.
For companies with a high volume of transactions, the fee may vary with the number of monthly transactions.
- Income and expense records
- Processing sales and purchase invoices
- Bank reconciliations
- Financial reporting
- Tax checks
- Regular financial advisory
VAT ReturnUSD 350 + VATeach period
VAT Return
For VAT-registered companies, returns are prepared for each quarterly period and submitted to the FTA system. If you have no VAT registration, this item does not arise.
Financial Year End and Corporate Tax ReturnUSD 420 + VAT
At the end of each financial year, the financial statements are prepared, tax calculations are made and the Corporate Tax Return is submitted to the FTA system.
An annual tax compliance exercise carried out independently of monthly accounting. The monthly accounting service does not cover this item.
Independent Auditfrom USD 1,400 + VAT
Audit
It may be mandatory for certain free zone authorities and for companies above a certain size. Whether it is mandatory in your free zone depends on your licence.
The fee varies with the transaction volume.
Amounts are in USD and exclude VAT · full terms
Amounts are in USD and, unless otherwise stated, exclude VAT; they are updated when official fees change. Time limits are those set by legislation; because the authorities' processing times are outside our control, we do not give a fixed commitment on timing. Which items arise for your company depends on your activity, your licence and your transaction volume.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Yes. Every company carrying on a commercial activity is required to keep accounting records and commercial books. Corporate tax records are retained for seven years from the end of the tax period and VAT records for five years; the penalty for failing to keep records is AED 10,000. A ledger written up in one batch at year end carries the risk of penalties and incorrect tax calculations.
Yes. Free zone companies also register for corporate tax, retain their records for seven years and file a return every year. If the 0% rate is to be used, audited financial statements are also prepared, irrespective of income.
The 0% rate does not apply automatically: it applies to the qualifying income of a qualifying free zone company that meets the conditions, and the fact that the conditions are met is evidenced by the records. Corporate tax registration and the return are completed even when the rate comes out at 0%.
Registration is mandatory if your taxable supplies and imports over the last 12 months have exceeded AED 375,000, or will do so within the next 30 days, and the application is made within 30 days. Registration is voluntary above AED 187,500. If only zero-rated supplies are made, an exception from registration may be requested. If you have no registration, the VAT return item does not arise either.
Every company registers, including those in free zones. Companies formed after 1 March 2024 apply within three months of formation. The penalty for late registration is AED 10,000; under the FTA's current practice, this penalty is waived if the first return is filed within seven months of the end of the first period.
It is filed within nine months of the end of the tax period; for companies whose financial year is the calendar year, the deadline is 30 September. A return is filed even when the tax comes out at 0%. This period is set by the authority; it is preferable to complete the preparatory work early.
Yes. Records for the deficient periods are reconstructed from documents; if an error understating tax is found in a return already filed, a corrective return is submitted. The penalty for a voluntary correction is 1% per month of the tax difference; after the FTA's audit notification, a further 15% is added. This work is not included in the monthly fee; it appears as a separate line in the proposal.
No. The amount in the price list is a starting level; for companies with a high volume of transactions it may vary with the number of monthly transactions. If you send us your invoice and transaction numbers, a net amount is stated in the proposal.