What accounting costs a UAE free zone company each year
A free zone company's yearly compliance bill: bookkeeping, VAT returns, the Corporate Tax return with the 0% analysis, and the audit. Our published fees and a worked example.
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- What does accounting cost a small UAE free zone company each year?
- With up to 40 transactions a month, VAT registration and the 0% Corporate Tax analysis, our published fees come to from AED 10,783* a year before the audit fee.
- Does a free zone company need an audit?
- Audited financial statements are required for every company claiming the free zone 0% rate, whatever its size. Some free zone authorities, such as DMCC, also normally require audited accounts each year.
- Does every free zone company qualify for 0% Corporate Tax?
- No. Consultancy and IT services are not qualifying activities, so income from mainland or overseas clients is often non-qualifying. Breaching the de minimis limit removes the 0% rate for that year and the next four.
Whether the company is in IFZA, DMCC, Meydan, RAKEZ or SHAMS, the yearly accounting and tax bill is made of the same pieces. The free zone itself changes only a few of them — mainly whether the authority asks for audited accounts, and whether the company claims the 0% Corporate Tax rate.
The pieces
| Monthly bookkeeping | From AED 399* a month (Starter, up to 40 transactions); AED 799* (Growth, up to 120); AED 1,499* (Premium, up to 350) |
| VAT returns (once VAT-registered) | From AED 499* a quarter |
| Corporate Tax return | From AED 999* per tax year (Starter); + AED 3,000* for the free zone 0% claim |
| Corporate Tax registration | AED 199*, one-off |
| Statutory audit | Carried out by an independent auditor and charged separately |
These are our published introductory fees at the date of this article. Your fee is confirmed in a written proposal before any work starts.
How we help: Free zone accounting (IFZA, DMCC, Meydan and more) — the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person test checked every year.
A worked example
A small free zone company with up to 40 transactions a month, registered for VAT, that wants its 0% position tested each year:
| Bookkeeping | AED 399* × 12 = AED 4,788* |
| VAT returns | AED 499* × 4 = AED 1,996* |
| Corporate Tax return (Starter) | AED 999* |
| Free zone 0% claim | AED 3,000* |
| Total, pay as you go, before the audit fee | AED 10,783* a year |
| Same work on All-in-One Starter | AED 5,799* + AED 3,000* = AED 8,799* a year |
Whether the 0% rate is actually available depends on the company's income. Consultancy and IT services are not qualifying activities, so income from mainland or overseas clients is often non-qualifying — and if non-qualifying revenue exceeds the de minimis limit, the 0% rate is lost for that year and the next four. A company that will not qualify may be better served by a standard Corporate Tax return. See the 0% conditions.
The audit
Audited financial statements are required for every company claiming the free zone 0% rate, whatever its size. Separately, free zone authorities set their own reporting rules: DMCC companies are normally required to submit audited financial statements to DMCC each year, while for IFZA and other zones it depends on the licence and activity. We confirm the current requirement for your company and prepare audit-ready accounts; the audit itself is carried out by an independent firm.
What pushes the cost up
- More transactions, more bank accounts or several currencies.
- Stock and fixed assets that need registers.
- Customers on the mainland, whose income has to be tracked separately for the 0% test.
- Payments to the owners or to related companies, which must be priced at arm's length and, above the thresholds, disclosed.
- A backlog: catch-up bookkeeping is from AED 299* per month of backlog.
Keeping it predictable
Monthly books, revenue tagged as qualifying or non-qualifying from the first entry, and an early decision on the 0% claim keep year-end surprises — and fees — down. Our All-in-One packages combine bookkeeping, four VAT returns and the Corporate Tax return in one annual fee; compare them on our packages page.
See our pages for IFZA, DMCC, Meydan, RAKEZ and SHAMS companies, or ask for a fixed-fee proposal.
* Our fixed fees apply to businesses with annual revenue up to AED 3 million; above that, we prepare a custom quote. They do not apply to businesses dealing in digital currencies (crypto or other virtual assets), which are quoted separately.