Which companies must prepare audited financial statements for Corporate Tax?
You must prepare audited financial statements if your revenue is over AED 50 million a year, or if you're a Qualifying Free Zone Person (regardless of revenue), or if you're part of a Tax Group. Check your annual revenue and free zone status to confirm.
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The detail
Under Article 2 of Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025, a Taxable Person (not a Tax Group) with Revenue exceeding AED 50 million in the relevant Tax Period, and any Qualifying Free Zone Person irrespective of revenue, must prepare and maintain audited financial statements. A Tax Group must instead prepare audited special purpose (aggregated) financial statements under a special purpose ISA framework, submitted within 9 months of the end of the Tax Period. For a Non-Resident Person, only revenue from UAE Permanent Establishments and/or nexuses counts toward the AED 50 million threshold.123
What the law says
- Article 54 of the Corporate Tax Law allows the Minister to require categories of Taxable Persons to prepare audited or certified financial statements.2
- Article 2 of Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 mandates audited financial statements for Taxable Persons with Revenue over AED 50 million (excluding Tax Groups) and for all Qualifying Free Zone Persons.3
- FTA Decision No. 7 of 2025 requires a Tax Group to prepare audited aggregated special purpose financial statements under ISA and submit them within 9 months of Tax Period end.1
What it depends on
- The AED 50 million revenue threshold applies per Tax Period, and for Non-Residents only counts revenue attributable to UAE Permanent Establishments or nexuses.3
- Qualifying Free Zone Persons must have audited financial statements regardless of their revenue level.34
- Tax Groups follow a separate audited special purpose (aggregated) financial statement requirement rather than the standard audit rule.13
Check before you rely on it
- Check your total revenue for the Tax Period against the AED 50 million threshold.
- Confirm whether you hold Qualifying Free Zone Person status.
- Confirm whether you are part of a Tax Group, which has its own audit requirement.
Sources (4) — read the official text
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Article 2 – Requirements for Preparing and Maintaining Audited
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Article 2 – Requirements for Preparing and Maintaining Audited Special Purpose Financial Statements for a Tax Group 1. For the purposes of Clause 1 of Article 54 of the Corporate Tax Law referred to above, a Tax Group shall prepare special purpose financial statements in the form of Aggregated Financial Statements in line with the framework specified in Article 3 of this Decision. Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 7 of 2025 – Unofficial translation 2 2. For the purposes of Clause 2 of Article 54 of the Corporate Tax Law and Clause 2 of Article 2 of Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025, the Aggregated Financial Statements of the Tax Group must be audited under a special purpose framework in accordance with the relevant International Standards on Auditing (‘’ISA’’). 3. For the purposes of Clause 1 of Article 54 of the Corporate Tax Law, the audited Aggregated Financial Statements of the Tax Group must be submitted to the Authority no later than (9) nine months from the end of the relevant Tax Period, or such other date as determined by the Authority.
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Article 54 – Financial Statements
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Article 54 – Financial Statements 1. The Authority may, by notice or through a decision issued by the Authority, request a Taxable Person to submit the financial statements used to determine the Taxable Income for a Tax Period in the form and manner and within the timeline prescribed by the Authority. 2. The Minister may issue a decision requiring categories of Taxable Persons to prepare and maintain audited or certified financial statements. 3. For the purposes of Clause 1 of this Article, the Authority may request a partner in an Unincorporated Partnership to provide financial statements showing all of the following: a. The total assets, liabilities, income and expenditure of the Unincorporated Partnership. b. The partner’s distributive share in the Unincorporated Partnership’s assets, liabilities, income and expenditure.
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Article 2 – Preparing and Maintaining Audited Financial
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Article 2 – Preparing and Maintaining Audited Financial Statements 1. For the purposes of Clause (2) of Article (54) of the Corporate Tax Law, all of the following shall prepare and maintain audited financial statements: a. A Taxable Person that is not a Tax Group and that derives Revenue exceeding AED 50,000,000 (fifty million United Arab Emirates dirhams) during the relevant Tax Period. b. A Qualifying Free Zone Person. 2. For the purposes of Clause (2) of Article (54) of the Corporate Tax Law and Article (3) of Ministerial Decision No. 114 of 2023 referred to above, a Tax Group shall prepare and maintain audited special purpose financial statements in accordance with the form, procedures and rules specified by the Authority. 3. Without prejudice to Clause (1) of this Article, a Qualifying Free Zone Person engaged in the activity of distribution of goods or materials in or from a Designated Zone in accordance with Ministerial Decision No. 265 of 2023 referred to above shall comply with any additional procedures prescribed by the Authority. 4. For the purposes of calculating the Revenue threshold specified in Clause (1) of this Article for a Non-Resident Person, only Revenue derived through Permanent Establishments and/or nexuses in the State shall be taken into account.
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Any amount quantified in foreign currency must be converted to AED at the applicable exchange rate set by the Central Bank of the UAE.62 For further information on the foreign currency conversion under the Corporate Tax Law, refer to FTA Decision No. 13 of 2023. For further information on the conditions and application of IFRS, IFRS for SMEs, Cash Basis of Accounting and preparation of Financial Statements, see the Corporate Tax Guide on Accounting Standards and Interaction with Corporate Tax. For information on preparation of Financial Statements of Tax Groups, see the Corporate Tax Guide on Tax Groups. 6.2. Audit 6.2.1 Have the Financial Statements been audited? ‘Audit’ refers to an opinion issued by an independent external auditor. For entities incorporated in the UAE, (or operating in the UAE through a Permanent Establishment situated in the UAE), the audit must be performed by a UAE-registered auditor, pursuant to Federal Law No. 41 of 2023 on the Regulation of the Auditing Profession and its amendments, read together with Ministerial Resolution No. 403 of 2015 concerning the International Standards for the Auditing Profession, or any other applicable legislation. Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as applicable. Taxable Persons deriving Revenue exceeding AED 50 million during the relevant Tax Period and all Qualifying Free Zone Persons (irrespective of the level of Revenue) are required to prepare and maintain audited Financial Statements for the purposes of the Corporate Tax Law.63 If you are a Taxable Person that falls in any of these categories, this field will be pre-populated as ‘Yes’. 6.2.2 What was the audit opinion? If you answer ‘Yes’ to question 6.2.1, this question will be visible. Select the relevant answer from the dropdown menu. This relates to whether the audit opinion was qualified or unqualified. 62 Article 43 of the Corporate Tax Law. 63 Article 2 of Ministerial Decision No. 82 of 2023. Corporate Tax Guide | Tax Returns | CTGTXR1 54
Written by AI from the FTA sources above and checked before display. Not tax advice or official FTA information - confirm with a tax adviser before you act. Full disclaimer
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