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UAE record-keeping rules for corporate tax and VAT: 7 and 5 years, 15 for real estate, new 2026 FTA rules on digital records and supplier checks.
UAE businesses must keep their accounting records, and the documents behind them, for at least 7 years after the end of the tax period for corporate tax and 5 years for VAT. Real estate records must be kept for 15 years for VAT. Records can be digital and in English, as long as they are complete, legible and available to the FTA when it asks, and failing to keep them costs AED 10,000, or AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months.
That is the short version. The longer version matters because 2026 has brought three changes that affect how you store records and what you have to prove. A new FTA decision sets the standard for digital copies. Amendments from 1 April 2026 extend retention while refund claims are pending. From October, you also need documented supplier checks before you claim input VAT.
Below are the record-keeping requirements UAE businesses actually run into: what to keep, for how long, in what format, and what it costs when the file is missing.
What the FTA expects you to keep
The Executive Regulation of the Tax Procedures Law (Cabinet Decision 74 of 2023, Article 2) sets the baseline. You must keep records of:
payments and receipts
purchases and sales
revenue and expenditure
wages and fixed assets
stock at period end
You must also keep the supporting documents behind those records and the workings for any tax election. The VAT Law (Federal Decree-Law 8 of 2017, Article 78) adds its own list, and the FTA can ask for anything else it needs to verify your tax position.
Record | Why the FTA wants it |
|---|---|
General ledger and trial balance | The backbone that every return figure traces back to |
Balance sheet and profit and loss | The starting point for taxable income |
Sales and purchase invoices | Proof that revenue and expenses are real |
VAT tax invoices and credit notes, issued and received | Support for output tax charged and input tax claimed |
Import and export records | Evidence for zero-rating and import VAT |
Payroll and wage records | Support for staff costs (and should match your WPS data) |
Fixed asset register, plus VAT capital asset register where it applies | Depreciation, disposals and Capital Asset Scheme adjustments |
Inventory statements and stock counts at period end | Cost of sales and closing stock values |
Contracts, licences and correspondence | Context for transactions, related parties and your trade licence activities |
Workings for tax elections and calculations | How you reached each figure and each election you made |
The VAT account | Output tax, recoverable tax and corrections in one place |
Under Article 78, VAT records must also cover reverse charge supplies, purchases where you did not deduct input tax, non-business use, and any adjustments.
The bookkeeping standard matters too. Corporate tax figures start from financial statements prepared under IFRS. Under Ministerial Decision 114 of 2023, IFRS for SMEs is allowed for businesses with revenue up to AED 50 million, and the cash basis is allowed up to AED 3 million. If your books cannot produce compliant statements, your tax return has nothing solid to stand on. That is often the point where DIY bookkeeping stops working.
How long to keep records: corporate tax, VAT and real estate
The retention periods are set in different places. Article 56 of the Corporate Tax Law (Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022) sets 7 years for taxable and exempt persons. Article 3 of the Tax Procedures Executive Regulation sets a 5-year default. Article 71(2) of the VAT Executive Regulation sets 15 years for real estate.
Record type | Minimum retention |
|---|---|
Corporate tax records | 7 years after the end of the tax period |
VAT records | 5 years after the end of the tax period |
Real estate records for VAT | 15 years after the end of the tax period |
Extension: dispute with the FTA | Plus 4 years, or until the dispute is settled if later |
Extension: FTA audit | Plus 4 years if under audit or notified before the period ends |
Extension: late voluntary disclosure | Plus 1 year from a disclosure filed in the fifth year |
Extension: pending refund (from 1 April 2026) | Plus 2 years where a refund claim was filed on time and is still undecided |
The plain rule of thumb is simple. Keep everything for at least 7 years after the year end. Keep real estate records for 15 years. Keep records longer while any dispute, audit or refund is open.
For example, a company with a 31 December 2026 year end keeps those records until at least 31 December 2033. If you are already tracking UAE corporate tax filing deadlines and late penalties, put the destruction date in the same calendar.
Digital copies, access and language: the 2026 FTA rules
Article 4 of the Executive Regulation gives you a choice. You can keep the original documents, or you can keep the information in an identical photocopy or electronic copy that can be reproduced readably when the FTA asks. Most businesses now go digital, which is allowed, but FTA Decision 4 of 2026 tightens the standard. It was issued on 2 June 2026 and took effect on 30 July 2026.
Under the decision, your digital records must be:
Complete and identical to the original: all pages, in the same order, with no partial scans
Clear and legible on screen: a blurry phone photo of a faded receipt will not pass
Accessible to the FTA on request: this includes access to the system the records sit in
Open to the FTA when asked: if files are encrypted or password-protected, you must hand over the passwords or keys
Language works like this. Article 5 of the Tax Procedures Law says documents go to the FTA in Arabic. However, the FTA may accept another language and ask for an Arabic translation, at your cost and under your responsibility. Article 5 of the Executive Regulation confirms that English can be accepted, and any translation must be approved under UAE translation law. Keeping your books in English is fine, but budget for certified translation if an audit arrives.
New from October 2026: supplier checks before you claim input VAT
FTA Decision 13 of 2026 was issued on 22 July 2026 under Article 54 bis of the VAT Law and took effect on 1 October 2026. Its message is plain: before you deduct input VAT, you must be able to show you checked who you were buying from.
Your checklist for each supplier:
Who the supplier is: Emirates ID or passport for individuals; certificate of incorporation and the authorised representative's ID for companies
Where it operates: confirm the supplier has a real place of business
Risk signs: watch for an address or key staff that changed more than twice in 12 months, or deals that look unusual for the supplier's size or activity
Bigger suppliers: if you buy more than AED 375,000 from one supplier in 12 months, get a UAE bank letter confirming its account and run a public reputation check
Payment and pricing: pay by electronic means (or document why you paid in cash), and check that prices are in line with the market
The evidence from these checks, and a written supplier verification policy naming who runs them, are now records you must keep for the full retention period. Suppliers not checked in the previous 12 months must be checked again. If the file is missing, your input VAT claim is exposed.
Penalties for poor record-keeping
These are the direct penalties you face:
Failure | Penalty |
|---|---|
Not keeping required records (corporate tax) | AED 10,000; AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months |
Not keeping required records (VAT) | AED 10,000; AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months |
Not providing Arabic translations when asked | AED 5,000 for corporate tax (Cabinet Decision 75 of 2023) and VAT (cut from AED 20,000 on 14 April 2026 by Cabinet Decision 129 of 2025) |
Failing to help an FTA auditor | AED 20,000 for VAT (Cabinet Decision 40 of 2017, as amended) |
Incorrect returns | AED 500 per incorrect VAT or corporate tax return, unless corrected in time |
Voluntary disclosures | 1% of the underpaid tax for each month or part month, plus a fixed 15% if the FTA notified an audit first |
The fixed fines are the least of it. A missing invoice can mean a disallowed input VAT claim. A missing stock count can mean a reopened corporate tax return. Picture a large input VAT claim denied because the supplier file is empty, then add the finance time spent rebuilding records under audit pressure. The real cost is the tax, the knock-on penalties and the lost weeks, not the AED 10,000.
Outsourcing your bookkeeping without outsourcing the risk
The law lets a third party keep your records. It does not move the legal responsibility. If your bookkeeper loses files or cannot produce them in time, the penalty lands on your company, not on them.
Before you sign with any bookkeeper or platform, ask:
Where exactly are the records stored, and in which country?
Who can give the FTA access, and how quickly?
How are passwords and encryption keys handed over if the FTA asks?
What happens to the records if you change provider?
How long do they keep records after you leave, and in what format do you get them back?
If the answers are vague, treat that as your warning. Our guide on whether to use an outsourced or in-house accountant in the UAE covers the wider trade-offs.
Cosmos keeps the books on its platform and files UAE corporate tax and VAT returns through an FTA-registered tax agent, with fractional CFO and payroll support. Cosmos is not an audit firm: it prepares the accounts and works with independent auditors. Book a records check so that record-keeping happens as you go, not in a scramble when an audit letter arrives. Good records also connect with the UAE e-invoicing timeline and with knowing which UAE companies need an audit.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I need to keep business records in the UAE? Keep corporate tax records for 7 years after the end of the tax period and VAT records for 5 years. Real estate records for VAT must be kept for 15 years. Add more time while a dispute, audit, late voluntary disclosure or pending refund is open.
Can I keep records only in digital form? Yes. Digital copies must be complete, identical to the original, legible and accessible to the FTA on request. From 30 July 2026, FTA Decision 4 of 2026 also requires you to hand over passwords or keys for encrypted files.
Do my records have to be in Arabic? No. English is accepted, but the FTA can ask for an approved Arabic translation at your cost. Failing to provide it costs AED 5,000.
Which records must be kept for 15 years? Records relating to real estate for VAT purposes, under Article 71(2) of the VAT Executive Regulation.
Who is responsible if my accountant loses my records? Your business is. Outsourcing the bookkeeping does not transfer the legal duty, so the penalties apply to you.
Do record-keeping duties end when a company closes? No. The retention periods still run after closure, so agree who will hold the records and how the FTA can reach them before you deregister.
The habit that saves most businesses is boring but effective. Set retention dates when each year closes, keep supplier files alongside invoices, and test once a year that you could hand the FTA a complete, readable file within days. If you can do that, the 2026 rules are a formality rather than a threat.
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