Most small business owners know they're supposed to "keep records." Far fewer know exactly which records, for how long, or that the retention period isn't the same for every document type. Under UAE Corporate Tax and VAT law, it's specific — and getting it wrong doesn't just risk a penalty, it can mean reconstructing years of records from scratch when the FTA actually asks.
The retention periods, by record type
Both Taxable Persons and Exempt Persons must retain relevant corporate tax records for at least seven years following the end of the tax period they relate to. That's the default — but three categories run longer, and one runs shorter:
- Corporate tax records generally — 7 years from the end of the relevant tax period.
- VAT records — 5 years from the end of the relevant tax period.
- Capital asset records — 10 years, given how long assets stay on the books before disposal.
- Real estate–related documentation — 15 years, the longest retention window in UAE tax law.
What actually has to be kept, not just "the accounts"
The Corporate Tax Law is specific about categories, not just "financial statements." At minimum, you need:
- A record of transactions for the tax period — the underlying invoices and entries, not just summary totals.
- A record of assets, including the details of any purchases or disposals during the period.
- A record of liabilities.
- A record of any shares held at the end of the tax period.
Records have to be accurate, complete, and accessible to the FTA on request — which in practice means organized well enough that you (or whoever handles your books) can actually retrieve the specific document being asked for, not just confirm it exists somewhere.
Closing the business doesn't end the obligation
This is the part that catches people off guard: cancelling a trade licence doesn't cancel the retention requirement. The appointed legal representative is required to maintain all historical accounting records for the full statutory period — seven years, or longer for the categories above — even after the business itself no longer exists. If you're winding down a company, the records need a home for years after the licence is gone, not just until the final filing is submitted.
The retention period is the same whether the business is thriving or already closed. It's tied to the tax period the records belong to, not to whether the company still exists.
Why this matters more than it sounds like it should
Administrative penalties apply for failing to maintain the required records, under the relevant tax legislation. But the bigger practical cost is usually time, not the fine itself: if a business gets an FTA information request and can't produce a clean record trail, reconstructing years of transactions after the fact — from bank statements, old emails, and whatever paperwork survived — takes far longer, and is far more expensive, than keeping the books in order from month one would have been.
Monthly bookkeeping, sized for SMEs
We handle day-to-day bookkeeping, reconciliation, and record retention so nothing has to be reconstructed later — sized for what your business actually generates, not an enterprise system you'll never fully use.
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Retention periods and record categories reflect the UAE Federal Tax Authority's published guidance on record-keeping under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 (Corporate Tax) and Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 (VAT). Confirm current requirements for your specific entity type at tax.gov.ae or with your appointed tax agent.
