UAE Corporate Tax records and seven-year retention
A decision guide for management teams establishing a supportable Corporate Tax record-retention process.
Direct answer
UAE Taxable Persons and Exempt Persons must generally retain the records and documents relevant to a Tax Period for at least seven years after the end of that Tax Period. The retention clock follows the Tax Period to which the record relates, not simply the date the document was created.
Customer decision questions
Questions management should answer before acting
- 01
Can each material figure in the Corporate Tax return be traced to accounting records and supporting evidence?
- 02
Is the retention end date assigned by Tax Period, including records created in an earlier period but relevant later?
- 03
Are asset, liability, transaction, ownership and election records held in a readable and retrievable form?
- 04
Who owns preservation when systems, advisers or employees change?
Worked example
Worked example: retention end date
- Tax Period ends 31 December 2025.
- An invoice issued in 2024 is paid and recognised under the applicable cash-basis treatment in that 2025 Tax Period.
- The supporting record relates to the 2025 Tax Period.
Evidence and document checklist
- General ledger, trial balance and reconciliations
- Invoices, contracts and transaction support
- Asset purchases, disposals and fixed-asset records
- Liability and financing schedules
- Ownership and share records at period end
- Tax adjustments, elections, relief evidence and filed return pack
- Related-party and transfer-pricing support where relevant
- Retention register with owner, system and disposal-review date
Decision path
- 1
Map
Link return lines and material positions to their source records.
- 2
Classify
Assign the Tax Period, evidence owner, storage location and access control.
- 3
Test
Retrieve a sample file and reproduce the supporting calculation.
- 4
Retain
Apply the seven-year minimum and pause disposal for reviews, disputes or other obligations.
Client responsibilities
- • Management supplies complete records and identifies systems, custodians and historic migrations.
- • Management approves tax positions and the final retention policy.
- • Record owners preserve readability, access and audit trails throughout the retention period.
Professional boundaries
- • This module is general information, not a legal opinion or authority ruling.
- • Other UAE laws, free-zone rules, audit requirements and contracts may require longer retention.
- • A records review does not assure that every tax position will be accepted by the FTA.
Questions and concise answers
How long must UAE Corporate Tax records be kept?+
Taxable Persons and Exempt Persons must generally keep relevant records and documents for at least seven years after the end of the Tax Period to which they relate.
Does the seven-year period start when an invoice is created?+
Not necessarily. The FTA guide explains that the period follows the Tax Period to which the document relates. For example, under cash-basis accounting, an earlier invoice paid in a later Tax Period may follow the later period.
Can records be deleted automatically after seven years?+
Automatic deletion is risky. First check whether an FTA review, dispute, another law, an audit requirement or a contract requires the record to be retained longer.
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