Why businesses ask for this
Three situations bring people to a health check. A change of adviser, where nobody wants to inherit an unknown position. A transaction — a sale, an investor, a bank facility — where somebody else is about to look closely. And a quiet suspicion, usually well founded, that something has been missed.
What they have in common is that the cost of finding out is fixed and known, while the cost of not finding out is neither. In a regime where a single missed registration carries AED 10,000 and a lost free zone status carries several years of rate, that asymmetry is the whole argument.
Who this is for
Businesses that have never had their corporate tax position independently reviewed. Businesses changing accountant, on either side of the handover. Free zone companies relying on QFZP status without a documented basis for it. Groups with intercompany transactions and no transfer pricing documentation.
Also, straightforwardly, businesses that have been filing on their own and want to know whether the returns would survive scrutiny. That is a legitimate reason to ask, and the answer is frequently that they would.
What the work involves
How we run it:
- Registration review. Every entity in the structure checked against whether it should be registered, and whether it is. Dormant and holding companies are where the gaps usually are.
- Filing history. What has been filed, when, and whether anything is outstanding or late.
- Computation review. A sample of the adjustments tested back to the ledger — entertainment, provisions, interest, connected person payments — to see whether the numbers are supported.
- Elections and reliefs. Small Business Relief, participation exemption, loss carry-forward: claimed correctly, claimed incorrectly, or missed.
- Free zone position, where relevant: qualifying income, de minimis headroom, substance and audit status.
- Related party exposure. Transactions identified, owner remuneration tested, documentation assessed.
- Record quality. Whether the underlying books would support the return if someone asked, which is a different question from whether the return was filed.
- Report and ranking. Findings written up, each with its exposure and the cost of fixing it, ordered so you can decide what to act on.
What we typically find
The findings cluster, and after enough of these the pattern is predictable:
- An unregistered dormant or holding entity nobody had thought about
- Small Business Relief that was eligible but never elected, or elected without checking prior periods
- Owner remuneration well above what the role would command, with no adjustment made
- Intercompany balances with no agreement, no term and no rate
- Free zone companies with growing mainland revenue and no de minimis tracking
- General provisions deducted as though they were specific
- A computation that is defensible in substance but has no working paper file behind it
None of these are exotic. All of them are cheaper to find deliberately than to have found for you.
What a health check is not
It is not an audit, and it does not produce an opinion. It is not a filing service, though it frequently identifies filings that need to be made. And it is not a sales exercise dressed as a diagnostic: if the finding is that your position is sound and your current adviser is doing the job, that is what the report says.
We would rather write that report than manufacture a problem. A business that gets a clean health check and stays with its existing accountant has still received something useful, and we would rather be the firm that told them so.
What goes wrong
These are the failures we are brought in to correct, in rough order of frequency:
- Waiting for a trigger. The cheapest time to find a problem is when nobody is asking about it.
- Assuming the previous adviser handled it. Frequently true, occasionally not, and the liability stays with the business either way.
- Checking only the entity that trades. The exposure is usually in the entity nobody looks at.
- Reviewing the return without reviewing the records behind it. A correct number with no supporting file is still a problem when the question arrives two years later.
- Treating a clean filing history as a clean position. Filed on time and filed correctly are different tests.
When this needs to happen
Any time, but three moments are worth naming. Before a year end, because findings about free zone status or owner remuneration can still be acted on. Before a transaction, because somebody else is about to do this exercise less sympathetically. And immediately on changing adviser, because that is the one moment when nobody has yet taken ownership of the historic position.
The review itself takes days rather than weeks once documents are in hand.
What you end up with
- A written report of findings, each with its exposure quantified where it can be
- A ranked action list, ordered by cost of inaction rather than by ease
- Confirmation of what is correct, stated plainly, so you know what not to worry about
- A compliance calendar for the entities reviewed
- A quote for any remedial work, separate from the review itself
What we need from you
To start, we need:
- Trade licences for every entity in the structure
- Corporate tax registration details
- Returns filed to date, with the computations
- Financial statements for the last two periods
- Trial balance and general ledger for the most recent period
- Details of related party transactions and owner remuneration
- For free zone entities, a revenue analysis by customer type
What it costs
Fixed fee, scoped on the number of entities and the number of periods reviewed. A single-entity business with two filed returns is at the light end; a six-entity group with a free zone company and intercompany transactions is a larger exercise.
The fee is for the review. Remedial work is quoted separately and you are under no obligation to have us do it — several clients have taken a report back to their existing accountant, which is a perfectly reasonable outcome.
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a corporate tax health check cover?
Registration across every entity, filing history, a sample review of the computation adjustments back to the ledger, elections and reliefs, free zone qualifying income where relevant, related party exposure including owner remuneration, and whether the underlying records would support the return under scrutiny.
How long does it take?
Days rather than weeks, once the documents are in hand. The variable is how quickly records can be assembled, which is itself usually informative.
Will you tell me if everything is fine?
Yes, plainly. A clean report is a legitimate outcome and we would rather issue one than manufacture a finding. Several clients have taken a clean report back to their existing accountant.
Is this the same as an audit?
No. An audit produces an opinion on financial statements under auditing standards. A health check is a diagnostic review of your tax position and the records behind it, and it produces findings and a ranked action list.
When is the best time to do it?
Before a year end, so findings on free zone status or owner remuneration can still be acted on; before a transaction, because somebody else is about to review you less sympathetically; or on changing adviser, when nobody has yet taken ownership of the historic position.
What if you find something serious?
You get it quantified and ranked, with the options and what each costs. Then you decide. Where a voluntary disclosure or a waiver application is the right route we will say so, and we can prepare it — but that is a separate engagement, quoted separately.
Do you review entities we think are dormant?
Especially those. Unregistered dormant and holding companies are the single most common finding, and the penalty applies per entity regardless of activity.
Can you review returns another firm prepared?
Yes, and that is a large part of what this is. We are not looking to find fault for its own sake — we are testing whether the adjustments are supported, whether the elections were made, and whether the records behind the numbers would stand up to a question two years from now. Frequently the answer is that the work is sound, and we say so.
Send us your licences and the returns filed so far. The review is fixed fee, and a clean report is a perfectly normal outcome.
Check my compliance status 058 101 9570
Last reviewed 27 July 2026. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change — the e-invoicing provider deadline has already moved once. Confirm current requirements with the Federal Tax Authority before acting, or ask us to check your position.