As many UAE businesses close their financial year on 31 December 2025, year-end is the right time to lock (i) compliance items with statutory deadlines and (ii) technical positions that will directly impact your Corporate Tax (CT) computation, IAS 12 tax provisioning, disclosures, and audit readiness.
Below is a practical checklist to align finance, tax, and audit teams—early enough to avoid last-minute surprises.
1) Statutory actions to confirm before closing the year
1.1 Corporate Tax registration (do not leave this to year-end)
Confirm the entity is registered for Corporate Tax and the CT TRN is correctly mapped to the legal entity and licence.
Key reminder: FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024 prescribes CT registration timelines (different timelines apply depending on whether the person has a licence, the date of licence issuance, and whether the person is resident/non-resident).
For many UAE entities incorporated/recognised on or after 1 March 2024, CT registration is generally within 3 months from incorporation/establishment/recognition (including Free Zone Persons).
For Non-Resident juridical persons, timelines depend on whether there is a Permanent Establishment (PE) or nexus in the UAE (see the Decision for the relevant scenario and timeline).
1.2 Corporate Tax return filing and payment calendar (critical for year-end planning)
Corporate Tax returns and settlement of any CT due are generally required within 9 months from the end of the Tax Period.
Practical examples for common year-ends:
FY ended 31 Dec 2024 → due 30 Sep 2025 (if not filed, treat as urgent catch-up)
FY ended 31 Dec 2025 → due 30 Sep 2026
1.3 Tax Group planning (if you want grouping from the next period)
If you plan to form/join a Tax Group, the application should be submitted before the end of the Tax Period for which Tax Group formation is requested.
So, if you want Tax Grouping effective from 1 January 2026, plan eligibility checks, documentation, and systems/process readiness before 31 December 2025.
Practical note for year-end close: Tax Groups must also ensure readiness for Aggregated Financial Statements based on standalone financials of group members (with eliminations and consistent accounting policies).
2) Eligibility checks (exemptions and 0% regimes)
2.1 Small Business Relief (SBR)
If you intend to claim SBR, confirm the revenue threshold and that you can support it with documentation:
SBR requires an election for each Tax Period, and Revenue ≤ AED 3,000,000 in the current and all previous Tax Periods (as applicable).
SBR is not available to Qualifying Free Zone Persons and members of an MNE group (where relevant).
For Tax Groups: confirm whether SBR is relevant based on how the group is structured and reported (and ensure you apply the correct rules for your facts).
[FTA-Small Business Relief Guide]
2.2 Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) – 0% on Qualifying Income
Before year-end, Free Zone entities should stress-test QFZP conditions, especially:
meeting the de-minimis test (non-qualifying revenue not exceeding the lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of total revenue)
maintaining adequate substance, generating Qualifying Income, and complying with Transfer Pricing (arm’s length and documentation)
maintaining audited financial statements (where required under the QFZP conditions)
3) Transfer Pricing: the “year-end” work that becomes painful after year-end
3.1 Disclosure thresholds inside the CT return
The CT return guide includes triggers that often surface late in the year-end process:
Related Party transactions: if aggregate value exceeds AED 40 million, complete the Related Party transactions schedule
Connected Persons: if transactions with at least one Connected Person exceed AED 500,000, complete the Connected Persons schedule
3.2 Master File / Local File requirements (don’t wait for an audit request)
Under Ministerial Decision No. 97 of 2023, Master File + Local File are required where, in the relevant Tax Period, either:
the entity is part of an MNE Group with consolidated revenue ≥ AED 3.15 billion, or
the Taxable Person’s revenue is ≥ AED 200 million.
Year-end action: align intercompany pricing, ensure agreements exist, document benchmarking/position papers, and reconcile TP outcomes to the financial statements.
4) Key tax adjustments to assess before you close the books
Common “material adjustments” businesses should quantify and document before year-end close include:
interest deductibility limitations (where applicable)
entertainment restrictions (where applicable)
Connected Persons: market value testing and non-deductibility risk on non-arm’s length amounts
elections and transitional positions (where relevant)
reliefs/credits (e.g., foreign tax credits, participation exemption, group/restructuring relief) where transactions occurred during the year
These items often drive the effective tax rate, disclosures, and audit questions—capture them in a structured year-end tax pack.
5) Audit readiness and documentation: treat CT as a “financial reporting process”
5.1 Build an “audit-ready CT file”
At a minimum, maintain:
draft CT computation and reconciliation (book-to-tax bridge)
supporting schedules (exempt income, disallowables, losses, related parties, elections)
TP documentation and disclosure support
key contracts (financing, management fees, IP, leases)
management intent evidence (where elections/positions require support)
5.2 Record retention
The FTA emphasizes that Taxable Persons and Exempt Persons must retain relevant records for at least 7 years following the end of the relevant Tax Period.
Conclusion
Year-end is no longer only “compliance”—it is about consistency, documentation quality, and audit-defensibility. The earlier you lock positions and disclosures, the smoother your statutory audit and CT filing cycle
PTG Consultant L.L.C supports businesses with CT year-end readiness, Tax Group structuring, QFZP compliance reviews, transfer pricing documentation, and CT return filing support.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Specific outcomes depend on the facts and applicable legislation and guidance. Professional advice should be obtained before acting on any information in this article.
Key References (Official UAE Sources)
FTA – Filing & payment within 9 months from Tax Period end:
FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024 – Corporate Tax registration timelines (PDF):
FTA – Tax Groups Guide (PDF):
https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Guides/CT/Tax%20Groups%20-%2008%2001%202024.pdf
FTA – Small Business Relief (topic page):
https://tax.gov.ae/en/taxes/corporate.tax/corporate.tax.topics/small.business.relief.23.aspx
FTA – Small Business Relief Guide (PDF):
FTA – Free Zone Persons Guide (QFZP + de-minimis rule) (PDF):
FTA – Corporate Tax Guide: Tax Returns (CTGTXR1 – Nov 2024) (PDF):
https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Guides/CT/CT-Returns-EN-11-11-2024.pdf
MoF – Ministerial Decision No. 97 of 2023 (TP documentation thresholds) (PDF):
FTA – Record retention reminder: