Voluntary disclosure is a process that allows a person to regularize his or her tax situation by voluntarily admitting errors or omissions in his or her tax return. This is an opportunity to make corrections with the tax authorities before they detect them on their own. This can help avoid harsher penalties and restore tax compliance.

The 4 criteria for voluntary disclosure

• Spontaneity

The request for voluntary disclosure must be made before the tax authorities take control measures or are informed of the situation to be regularized. This means you have to act before they catch you.

• Complete request

A full disclosure request is essential to establish open and respectful communication with the tax authorities and maximize the chances of effectively regularizing the taxpayer’s tax situation. In short, all breaches must be disclosed.

• Verifiable facts

Full and verifiable disclosure is essential to enable the verification of breaches disclosed to the tax authorities. This includes the provision of relevant financial documents and evidence, reinforcing the taxpayer’s credibility and encouraging more favorable regularization. It is therefore important to provide all the information required to verify the accuracy of the shortcomings revealed.

• Be patient!

Processing times are very long, so patience is essential.

How can you avoid the pitfalls of voluntary disclosure?

Get the facts right

You need to do an exhaustive analysis to make sure you get the facts right. This analysis is important, because all problematic elements must be disclosed. Surely you don’t want to leave out certain elements and risk having your application rejected.

Obtain all supporting documents

You’re the person who knows your situation best. You must gather all relevant documentation for the years covered by the voluntary disclosure. This important preparatory work is essential to ensure that your lawyer has all the documents he needs to prepare your challenge.

Prepare a clear, concise application

You need to present your request clearly and concisely. You’ll need to present all the facts clearly, along with an estimate of the applicable income and fees.