What Does QFZP Filing Cost?

Scope before a number

There is no useful QFZP filing price without a defined work list. The FTA's Free Zone Persons guide describes a return that separates Qualifying Income from other Taxable Income, allocates expenses on an arm's-length basis and supports the result with financial records. A quote should say which of those tasks are included. The number of revenue streams, condition of the ledger and open classification issues then become visible commercial price drivers.

If you are comparing two proposals, ask what happens between the trial balance and the submitted return. We prefer a quote that names the schedules, review rounds and client inputs, because a low headline number can simply leave the reconciliation or evidence review outside scope. The right comparison is not the shortest description. It is the one that lets you see what work remains after the first meeting.

• Count the revenue streams needing classification.
• Separate direct costs from shared costs.
• Identify missing records and unresolved treatments.
• State whether return submission is included.

The record condition changes the work

A clean general ledger with consistent customer and activity codes gives the preparer a starting point. A ledger with combined free-zone and mainland income needs a revenue map before the tax calculation can be trusted. Shared payroll, rent, technology and management charges need an allocation note that explains the benefit received. Related-party entries also need the agreement, invoice and pricing support behind them.

The deliverable should name the object that proves completion. That may be a revenue bridge tied to the ledger, a shared-cost schedule tied to the financial statements, an open-items log or an evidence index. The FTA guide gives the tax method, but it does not set an Exiloz fee or prescribe one commercial quote format. That is the boundary of the evidence, and it is why a written scope matters.

Professional fees are not set by Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023 or the FTA's Free Zone Persons guide. Those sources explain the tax treatment and the records behind it. The FTA guide does not specify a universal commercial price for preparation, review or submission. A quote should therefore show the work that drives its number: the number of classifications, reconciliations, missing records, review rounds and auditor coordination. That is why a record sample is part of scoping, not an optional extra after the quote is approved and work begins.

• Ask for a revenue bridge, not only a completed form.
• Ask which allocation keys will be documented.
• Separate tax support from independent auditor work.
• Confirm the number of review rounds and handoff files.

A proper quote names the handoff

For a straightforward file, the work may cover the revenue classification, direct and shared-cost schedules, financial-statement tie-out, tax computation and return submission. For a group with a Domestic Permanent Establishment, property income or several customer categories, the quote should say how each branch will be handled. The more classifications the reviewer must defend, the more source documents and explanation the file needs.

Do not fold an audit opinion into tax preparation language. Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 requires every QFZP to prepare and maintain audited financial statements, while an independent auditor performs the assurance engagement. Tax support can organise the trial balance, evidence index and reconciliation for that review. It cannot turn a preparer's schedule into a statutory audit or an agreed-upon procedures report.

• Name the revenue map and classification memo.
• Name the direct-cost and shared-cost schedules.
• Name the financial-statement reconciliation.
• Name the auditor handoff and every exclusion.

The arithmetic shows what filing support means

The FTA guide's Company J example shows the work a quote must be able to reproduce. Revenue of AED 3,000,000 less direct expenses of AED 2,000,000 and allocated expenses of AED 300,000 leaves AED 700,000 of total profit. The same example splits that profit into AED 450,000 for a Domestic Permanent Establishment and AED 250,000 for the Free Zone parent. Those are schedules, not just data-entry fields.

Our view is that the record sample should come before the final quote. If the ledger cannot show which costs support which component, the price cannot be understood from the form alone. The FTA guide says allocations must be reasonable and consistent with the arm's-length principle. A proposal that omits the allocation schedule should say so plainly, because that omission changes both the deliverable and the client's remaining work.

• Tie total Revenue to the signed financial statements.
• Show direct expenses before shared-cost allocation.
• Explain the key used for each material shared cost.
• Show how the final profit reaches the return.

Send the records that make price possible

Before asking for a final quote, send the latest trial balance, general ledger export, financial statements, revenue list, major contracts, related-party schedule and any existing audit questions. Add the licence and a note identifying branches, mainland premises and distribution activity. These objects let the preparer see the number of classifications, the condition of the records and the boundary between tax support and work that belongs to an auditor.

If the provider cannot tell you what it will deliver, what you must supply and what remains with the independent auditor, the proposal is not ready for approval. Ask for those three answers in writing. Exiloz can scope the working papers, reconciliation and evidence index around your records. Exiloz is not an FTA-accredited e-invoicing Service Provider, is not a registered Tax Agent and does not perform statutory audits.

• Send the trial balance and general ledger export.
• List branches, mainland premises and related parties.
• Ask for exclusions and client inputs in writing.
• Approve the deliverables before work begins.