How long must UAE corporate tax records be kept?

The FTA specifies at least seven years following the end of the tax period to which the relevant records relate. Confirm any longer or additional requirements affecting your documents.

Are bank statements enough for corporate tax records?

They are part of the evidence. Keep the invoices, contracts, calculations and other records needed to explain the transactions and support the return.

UAE Corporate Tax Records: What to Keep

UAE Corporate Tax Records: What to Keep and How to Organise It

UAE corporate tax records should explain the figures in your return, not just preserve the final total. The FTA says relevant records must be retained for at least seven years after the end of the tax period they concern. Other rules can require different retention periods.

In short

Keep the evidence behind revenue, costs, assets and liabilities.
Calculate retention from the relevant tax period, not the upload date.
A backup is useful only if the company can retrieve and explain it.

What does the seven-year rule cover?

The FTA’s record-retention reminder covers the information supporting corporate tax obligations, including transaction records, assets, liabilities and shareholdings. It applies to relevant records of taxable and exempt persons. Do not treat it as a universal destruction date for every company document.

Set a retention policy with your accountant. VAT, employment, company law, litigation or a specific authority request may affect how long particular material should remain available.

Build the archive around the accounting entry

For each material transaction, connect the invoice, agreement, payment and explanation. A bank debit proves money moved; it may not explain what the company bought or why the cost belongs to the business.

Sales: order or contract, invoice, delivery evidence and receipt.
Costs: supplier invoice, approval and payment reference.
Assets: purchase documents, asset register and disposal evidence.
Funding: agreements, ownership information and accounting treatment.
Tax: calculations, elections, returns and correspondence.

Use names people can actually search

A practical filename might include the date, counterparty and invoice reference. Choose one convention and teach it to whoever uploads documents. Keep the original file as well as any working spreadsheet, so a later reviewer can follow the source.

Try retrieving one unusual payment from several months ago. If the explanation sits only in a former employee’s inbox, the filing system has a gap. Move the business record into an appropriate company-controlled location.

Who owns access and backups?

Assign access by role, protect sensitive documents and test recovery from a backup. If an external bookkeeper maintains the ledger, agree how the company gets exports and source documents when the engagement ends. Avoid having the only copy tied to somebody’s personal account.

What happens when the company closes?

Record keeping continues beyond the last trading day. Include archive ownership, contact details and retrieval arrangements in the company closure plan. Save the final accounts and official confirmations alongside the operating records. Closing a subscription should not erase the evidence needed to answer a later tax question.