Final accounts checklist for closing a UAE company properly

Pick the date trading stops and tell staff, customers and suppliers. From that date, the books record only wind-down transactions: collecting what is owed, paying what is due, selling assets and settling with employees. Any new sale after the cessation date complicates the tax position and the liquidation.

Close the books at the cessation date as you would a year end: reconcile every bank account, count any stock, and list every open invoice and bill.

Chase every receivable and decide what to write off. Pay suppliers, landlords and service providers, and get closing statements showing nil balances. Sell or transfer fixed assets and stock, recording the sale price and any gain or loss. Sales of assets by a VAT-registered company are usually supplies on which VAT is charged, so issue proper tax invoices.

Worked example: a Dubai trading company closing down sells its delivery van for AED 42,000 plus AED 2,100 VAT. The van’s book value is AED 35,000, so the company records a AED 7,000 gain and AED 2,100 output VAT on its final return.

Final salaries, leave encashment and end-of-service benefits must be calculated under the employment law that applies to the company’s licence and settled before visas are cancelled. These are often the largest closing payments. Record each settlement in the ledger with the calculation attached, and keep the signed settlement forms; authorities ask for them.

Worked example: a company closing with four staff owes final salaries of AED 46,000, unused leave of AED 18,500 and end-of-service benefits its accountant calculates at AED 92,000. That AED 156,500 should be accrued in the books at the cessation date, so the owners see the real cash needed to close before they start distributing anything. Many closures stall because this figure was never accrued and the bank balance turned out to be too small.

File the final VAT return and apply to deregister for VAT, and file the final corporate tax return and apply to deregister for corporate tax, following the FTA’s current procedures and time limits on EmaraTax. The FTA generally needs all returns filed and liabilities paid before it approves deregistration, so leave time for that queue.

Corporate tax records must be kept for seven years after the end of the relevant tax period, even after the company has gone. Decide now who will hold them.

Most authorities require a liquidator, often an audit firm, who prepares liquidation accounts showing how assets were realised and liabilities settled, and what was distributed to shareholders. The final balance sheet should show nothing left except share capital returned and retained profits distributed.

Beneficial owner rules add a step. Under Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023, as explained in Shams’ guidance, the liquidator hands a copy of the beneficial owner and shareholder registers to the registrar within 30 days of appointment, and records must be kept for at least five years after dissolution.

Tick these off in order.

• Cessation date set and communicated.
• Books closed and reconciled at cessation date.
• Receivables collected or written off with approval.
• Suppliers, landlord and utilities settled with nil statements.
• Assets and stock sold with tax invoices issued.
• Employees settled and visas cancelled.
• Final VAT and corporate tax returns filed; deregistration applied for.
• Liquidation accounts prepared and records archived.

HelloBooks gives you the starting point: ageing reports for receivables and payables, a fixed asset list, and the VAT 201 return prepared from the ledger for your accountant to review and file. Ask the AI agent “what is still open with any supplier?” or “list every invoice unpaid at the cessation date” and work through the answers. Export the full ledger and attachments for archiving.

The liquidator and your tax agent handle filings and approvals; HelloBooks does not deregister anything on your behalf.