Table of Contents
It’s October half term. If you’re a Dubai company running on a calendar year, the books will close in about 11 weeks. That’s quite enough time to go through a proper year-end accounting checklist. It’s not quite enough time to leave it all until January.
If you’re a Dutch owner, this can be a bit of a strange thing to get your head around. Back home, your accountant does the jaarafsluiting and sends you a draft. In Dubai, the year-end feeds into your corporate tax return, your VAT return, your audit (if you’re audited) and your licence renewal, all from the same set of figures. If one bit is wrong, the others become very difficult to correct.
This guide tells you what to close, in what order and what to ask your accountant. It’s written with the Dutch owner in mind and is based on the 2026 rules as we work with them at Dubai Consultant.
A good year-end accounting checklist for a Dubai company has ten items on it. Confirm your year-end date, reconcile your bank accounts, clean up your receivables and payables, count your stock, book your accruals and depreciation, reconcile your VAT, settle your payroll and gratuity, make your corporate tax adjustments, check your shareholder balances and finally lock your books for audit. Do them in that order, and the corporate tax return becomes a very short job.
The Netherlands has one moment where the annual accounts go on file. The UAE spreads the pressure across a number of bodies.
The FTA want your VAT return 28 days after each tax period. They want your corporate tax return and payment in 9 months of the financial year. You can check the current rules on the FTA website. Your Free Zone Authority may request audited accounts when you go to renew your licence and your bank may as well.
Same figures, four readers. When they don’t match, you get questions. If you want the full picture on what the law requires you to retain, then our guide to the accounting and bookkeeping rules for UAE companies will have it.
Here’s the calendar for a company with a year-end of 31 December 2026 and quarterly VAT returns filed on the calendar quarter.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| October to November 2026 | Confirm your year-end date. Reconcile every month so far. Chase unpaid invoices. Review the current VAT quarter. |
| Early December | Fix the stock count date. Contact an auditor if you need one. Check payroll and leave balances. |
| 31 December 2026 | Cut-off day. Capture bank balances and run the stock count. |
| January 2027 | Finish reconciliations, accruals and depreciation. Build the trial balance. File the Q4 VAT return by 28 January. |
| February to April 2027 | Audit fieldwork, if required. Sign off the financial statements. |
| By 30 September 2027 | File the corporate tax return and pay any tax due. |
If your year-end isn’t 31st December, then adjust the dates accordingly. The nine month period is always measured from your own year-end.
Many owners never actually selected their year-end. It would be the licence date or the date of the person who set up the books first. Check what’s registered with the FTA and what your accountant is using. If they’re different, then sort that out now before any return is prepared.
Match each bank statement to the ledger (not just the main AED account) and include the euro and dollar accounts, payment platforms, card terminals and petty cash. Clear every unmatched line before 31st December (not after). If you’re still struggling with the banking itself, then our notes on opening a corporate bank account in Dubai will at least save you a bit of pain.
Pull the old report for both sides, chase the old invoices. Only write off a debt when you have absolutely proved that you’ve tried to collect it. For suppliers, compare your ledger to their statements and enter anything that was delivered prior to year-end but wasn’t invoiced.
Only relevant if you’re trading goods. You’ll need to adhere to the cut-off date or as close as you can, and the count sheets must be signed. Stock must be valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. The auditors will want to see those sheets first.
Expenses go in the year they relate to. That means rent paid in advance, annual software, unbilled consulting and utility bills for December. You then run depreciation on your fixed assets and check your asset register still matches what you actually own. Sloppy accruals are by far the most common reason a corporate tax calculation gets reopened.
Your VAT control account should match what you’ve actually filed. Look at sales and purchases right up to 31st December to ensure they’re in the correct quarter. Stock adjustments are another area to watch as they will affect the amount of input VAT you’re entitled to reclaim. Our piece on the VAT mistakes Dutch companies keep making will tell you where the errors occur, and if you’re in a free zone, have a read of the free zone VAT guide as well.
The e-invoicing roll-out is going to be phased through 2026 and 2027. A good time to check your invoicing software is up to the task is at year-end. Our e-invoicing guide has the details on the timing.
Accrue end of service gratuity for each and every employee (including yourself if you’re on payroll). Make sure that the salaries have gone out via the Wages Protection System on time and that any unused leave is properly recorded. It’s a small amount in euros, but it’s one that gets queried quite a bit in the audit.
Accounting profit is not the same as taxable profit. You start with your financial statements and then make adjustments for items which the tax law treats differently (client entertainment, for example, as well as fines and exempt income). The standard rate is 9% on taxable income in excess of AED 375,000, and our comparison of the UAE corporate tax rate with that of the Netherlands illustrates what that translates into in euros.
Two things definitely warrant a bit more attention this year.
Small Business Relief first. That allows companies with revenue of up to AED 3m to be treated as having zero taxable income. That relief only applies to tax periods ending on or before 31st December 2026, so for many owners that will be the final year in which they can take advantage of it. Second, for a Qualifying Free Zone person, the 0% rate is subject to qualifying income, real substance and audited accounts. One misstep and you’re back to the standard rate.
Our look at the 2026 tax changes and the walk through of the UAE corporate tax return covers the filing side in more detail.
This is the area where Dutch owners get into trouble. If your Dutch BV and your UAE company are lending money to each other, charging each other management fees or sharing costs then you need agreements and sensible pricing on those transactions. Related party transactions can trigger disclosure and transfer pricing rules. A director’s current account which is just continually growing with no documentation at all is another issue. Sort it out before year-end rather than whilst the auditor is waiting.
Keep your contracts, invoices, bank statements and the signed accounts all in one place. Seven years is the safe figure for tax records. Digital copies are absolutely fine provided you can produce them when required. Update your register of shareholders and beneficial owners if anything has changed during the year.
Not every company does, but more do than you’d expect. Free Zone persons need audited financial statements to qualify. Other taxable companies will need them when their revenue exceeds AED 50m. In addition, some Free Zones will require an audit report as part of the licence renewal process, so again you’ll need to check the rules of your particular free zone.
The real trap is timing. The auditors are all booked up in Q1. If you get in contact with one in January and are hoping for a February sign-off, you’ll be bitterly disappointed. Book in November or early December.
Your UAE year-end doesn’t switch off anything in the Netherlands. Just tell your Dutch accountant what the UAE company earned and what it paid (in euros) and include the exchange rate that you used. The dirham is pegged to the dollar, so the euro value will move even if your AED figures don’t.
It’s also worth re-reading the way the Netherlands-UAE tax treaty deals with dividends and fees between your companies. If you’ve moved your life as well as your business, then you’ll also want to check the list of taxes that Dutch people still pay and your days under the 183-day rule. Your company books and your personal tax position are more closely linked than most people would care to admit.
The final one is the worst. By the time the return’s due, the evidence is a year old.
Be absolutely honest about where you are. If you run one company, have no stock, no audit duty and clean books throughout the year, then a good bookkeeping package and a careful close will be all that you need.
Get help when you’ve got a free zone company chasing the 0% rate, related party deals with a Dutch BV, late VAT filed or an audit on the way. The cost of making those mistakes is far greater than the fee. Our accounting and bookkeeping team do the year-end closes for precisely that scenario, and a tax consultant in Dubai can be on site for the corporate tax side. If licence renewal or other government actions are on your list, then our PRO service will deal with that paperwork.
Not sure which bucket you’re in? Book in for a free business consultation and we’ll tell you straight (we’ll even tell you if the answer is that you can do it yourself). The MoF also publishes the corporate tax guidance if you want to have a look at the source.
When is the corporate tax return due for a December year-end?
Within nine months after the year-end (so 30th September of the following year). For the financial year ending 31 December 2025, that would be 30 September 2026.
How long should accounting records be kept in the UAE?
Seven years is the safe rule for tax records (counted from the end of the period). Your accountant will be able to advise you as to whether you have any property records which may be subject to a longer rule.
Is the UAE financial year always 31st December?
No. You can choose another twelve months if your financial statements use it. The corporate tax period follows that choice, and the filing deadline moves with it.
Do free zone companies need to prepare year-end accounts?
Yes. Every company must keep proper accounts, and free zone companies still have corporate tax duties even when the rate is 0%. Many also need audited statements.
What happens if I file the corporate tax return late?
The FTA charges administrative penalties. Late filing currently costs AED 500 per month for the first twelve months and AED 1,000 per month after that. Late payments add their own penalties on top.
December arrives on schedule whether the books are ready or not, so the best day to start your year-end accounting checklist is this week.
Boulevard Plaza, Tower 2 – Office No. 1301, Burj Khalifa – Downtown Dubai, Dubai
Dubai Consultant © All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Powered by InvesQ