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For corporate tax, two groups must prepare and maintain audited financial statements. They are a taxable person that is not a tax group and has revenue above AED 50,000,000 in the tax period, and a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP). Other audit duties come from company law and from free zones, and those are separate.
Source: Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 84 on audited financial statements, checked .
Is an audit mandatory in the UAE?
Not for every company under one rule. The duty comes from three places: corporate tax law, your free zone's own rules and company law. Check each row below against your company.
| Source of the duty | Who it covers | Status in our sources |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax (Ministerial Decision No. 84) | QFZPs and non tax group companies with revenue above AED 50,000,000 | Read in full |
| Corporate tax (FTA Decision No. 7) | Tax groups, which must prepare audited special purpose statements | Read, for tax periods starting on or after |
| Company law | Limited liability and joint stock companies | Check, see below |
| Free zone rules | Companies licensed in each free zone | Varies by zone, check with your zone |
Which companies need audited accounts for corporate tax?
The test is revenue in the tax period. For a non-resident, only revenue from permanent establishments and nexus in the UAE counts. Ministerial Decision No. 84 applies to tax periods starting on or after . It replaces an earlier decision, which still applies to periods that began before that date.
Source: Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 84, checked .
Do qualifying free zone persons need an audit?
A QFZP gets the 0% rate on Qualifying Income. A further condition in Ministerial Decision No. 229 is audited financial statements under Decision No. 84. So the audit is part of keeping the status. Read qualifying free zone person for the other conditions.
Source: Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 229, checked .
Tax groups
A tax group must prepare audited special purpose financial statements under FTA Decision No. 7, for tax periods starting on or after .
Source: Federal Tax Authority, Decision No. 7, checked .
Do free zones require an annual audit?
Free zone authorities set their own audit rules for licensed companies. Some ask for an audited report with licence renewal. Many keep a list of approved or registered auditors. This is outside FTA sources, so read the page for your zone: DMCC, JAFZA, RAKEZ, ADGM, DAFZA, DIFC and other zones, or the full free zone list.
Do mainland LLCs need a statutory audit?
The Commercial Companies Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 32) is reported by a search extract to say that every limited liability company and joint stock company must have one or more auditors who audit the accounts each year. For an LLC they are appointed by the partners. The auditor must be registered with the Ministry and licensed by the competent authority. We could not open the law itself, so we cannot give article numbers. Treat this as a point to check with your adviser and the Ministry.
What to do now
Work out which line you are on: tax rule, company law, free zone, or none. Then see what an audit costs on the audit cost page and what firms do in audit services in Dubai.
Why the revenue test matters for planning
Revenue in the tax period decides whether the audit duty applies, so a company that grows close to the line should track it through the year. A firm can test your figures before the year end, which leaves time to appoint an auditor instead of rushing. Cost is covered on the audit cost page.
Records the auditor will ask for
Auditors work from your books. Clean ledgers, bank reconciliations and invoices shorten the job. See record keeping rules for what to hold and for how long.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so check the Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority pages before you rely on any point here.
