--- title: "Fixing Past Returns: CRA Voluntary Disclosures Program" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/voluntary-disclosures-program-canada-fixing-past-returns description: "Fixing past returns: the CRA Voluntary Disclosures Program can give penalty and interest relief on unfiled returns if you come forward first. See how." type: guide updated: 2026-10-04 summary: "If you have unfiled returns, unreported income, or other errors in your tax history, CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) allows you to come forward, correct the record, and pay what’s owed — potentially with relief from penalties and, in some cases, partial interest. The condition is that you apply before CRA has already started looking into the issue." faq_count: 7 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Blog](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog) CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program: Fixing Past Returns Tax # Fixing past returns: *how CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program works* By EverStone CPA · Updated August 2026 · 7 min read **Quick answer:** If you have unfiled returns, unreported income, or other errors in your tax history, CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) allows you to come forward, correct the record, and pay what’s owed — potentially with relief from penalties and, in some cases, partial interest. The condition is that you apply before CRA has already started looking into the issue. The VDP doesn’t erase the tax debt itself, and it has strict conditions around timing and completeness, which is why it’s worth approaching with professional help rather than on your own. Timing is the whole program. **Rather have a CPA handle this?** A CPA at EverStone replies with a straight answer and a fixed fee for your situation. [Get My Fixed Quote →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form) ## Key takeaways - The VDP lets taxpayers correct unfiled returns, unreported income, and other errors before CRA finds them first. - Relief available generally covers penalties and, in some circumstances, part of the interest — not the underlying tax owing. - To qualify, a disclosure generally needs to be voluntary, complete, involve a penalty that would otherwise apply, and be at least a year overdue. - An incomplete or poorly timed application can be denied — and a denial can reveal the very issue you hoped to fix. - Professional guidance before applying is one of the more important decisions in the whole process. Most business owners who fall behind on a filing, or realize after the fact that a return understated income, assume the only options are to stay quiet and hope, or brace for the worst if CRA eventually notices. There’s a middle path. CRA’s Voluntary Disclosures Program exists specifically for taxpayers who want to correct their own record before CRA does it for them, and it can meaningfully change the outcome — but only if it’s approached correctly and on time. ## What the Voluntary Disclosures Program covers The VDP is available for a range of situations: returns that were never filed, income that wasn’t reported, expenses or credits that were claimed incorrectly, and GST/HST errors, among others. It applies across income tax and several other tax types CRA administers. The common thread isn’t the specific mistake — it’s that the taxpayer is coming forward to correct something CRA doesn’t yet know about, rather than responding to something CRA has already flagged. **Dealing with the CRA right now?** Send us the letter. A CPA reads it and replies by email within one business day with what it means and a fixed fee to deal with it. See [our CRA support](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-review-and-audit-support), or [send us the letter](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form). [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form) ## The conditions that have to be met Qualifying for relief under the VDP isn’t automatic just because you decide to file or correct something. CRA generally looks for the disclosure to be: - **Voluntary.** Made before CRA has taken any compliance action — an audit, investigation, or enforcement step — related to the specific issue being disclosed. - **Complete.** The disclosure needs to include all the relevant facts and amounts, not a partial correction that still leaves other issues unresolved. - **Involving a penalty that would otherwise apply.** The situation needs to be one where CRA could reasonably assess a penalty if the taxpayer hadn’t come forward. - **At least one year past due.** The information being disclosed generally needs to be at least a year overdue, which rules out very recent, minor lapses. Missing any one of these conditions can mean a disclosure isn’t accepted on the terms the taxpayer expected, which is part of why this isn’t a do-it-yourself exercise for anything beyond the simplest situation. Behind on a filing or worried about a past return? The sooner this is addressed, the more options are usually available. Send an enquiry to a CPA and get a straight, confidential answer. [Send an Enquiry →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form) [See fixed fees](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) ## What relief actually looks like It’s important to be clear about what the VDP does and doesn’t do. It can provide relief from penalties that would otherwise apply, and in some circumstances a portion of the interest that has accrued. It does not make the underlying tax owing disappear — that amount, along with any interest that isn’t relieved, is still due and generally needs to be paid or arranged through a payment plan. The value of the program is in avoiding penalties and reducing the interest burden, and in resolving the issue on your terms rather than CRA’s, not in eliminating a genuine tax debt. ## Why professional help matters here Because eligibility hinges on facts that are easy to get wrong — most importantly, whether CRA has already begun looking into the issue, which can disqualify a disclosure from being considered “voluntary” — this is not the area to guess in. A CPA can review your situation before anything is submitted, help determine whether the timing and conditions support a disclosure, and prepare a complete submission that doesn’t leave gaps CRA could challenge later. Getting this wrong isn’t a minor setback; a rejected or incomplete disclosure can draw attention to exactly the issue you were trying to resolve quietly. This kind of review often overlaps with a broader look at [what records CRA expects you to keep](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-record-retention-how-long-to-keep-records) once your filings are back on track. ## The bottom line Falling behind on a filing or discovering an old error doesn’t have to turn into a worst-case scenario. CRA built the Voluntary Disclosures Program precisely for taxpayers who want to fix things before being asked to. The conditions are specific and the timing matters, so if you think you might have an issue worth disclosing, it’s worth having a confidential conversation with a CPA before deciding how, or whether, to proceed. Sources - [Canada Revenue Agency — Home](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency.html) - [Canada Revenue Agency — Small businesses and self-employed income](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed-income.html) - [Canada Revenue Agency — Forms and publications](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications.html) This article is general information for Canadian business owners and is current as of July 2026. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it does not create a client relationship. Tax rules change and your situation is unique, so please [speak with a CPA](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form) before acting on anything here. About this article **EverStone CPA** Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, a CPA firm working with small and midsized businesses in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. [About the firm →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/about) · [Send an enquiry →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form) If the CRA has already assessed one of the unfiled years without you, that is [an arbitrary assessment](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-arbitrary-assessment-notional), and filing the actual return is what replaces it. Any balance that survives is already collectible. See [CRA collections: what happens next](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-collections-what-happens-next). Unfiled foreign reporting is one of the more common reasons owners come forward, because the penalties compound monthly. See [Form T1135 and the foreign income verification rules](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t1135-foreign-income-verification-canada). ### Related articles [CRA audit triggers →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-audit-triggers-small-business) [T2 deadlines & late-filing penalties →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/t2-deadline-penalties-canada) [How long to keep CRA records →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/cra-record-retention-how-long-to-keep-records) FAQ ## Frequently asked questions **What is the Voluntary Disclosures Program?** The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) is a CRA program that allows taxpayers to come forward and correct inaccurate or incomplete information, or file previously unfiled returns, in exchange for potential relief from penalties and, in some cases, partial interest relief, provided specific conditions are met. **What kinds of issues does the VDP cover?** The VDP can cover unfiled income tax or [GST/HST returns](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services), unreported income, ineligible expenses or credits claimed in error, and other errors or omissions across a range of tax obligations, provided the disclosure meets the program’s conditions. **What conditions must be met to qualify for relief?** A disclosure generally needs to be voluntary (made before CRA initiates any compliance action related to the issue), complete, involve a situation where a penalty would otherwise apply, and include information that is at least one year past due. Missing any one of these conditions can affect eligibility. **Does the VDP eliminate the tax owing?** No. The VDP can provide relief from penalties and, in some cases, a portion of the interest that would otherwise apply, but it does not eliminate the underlying tax debt. The tax itself, along with any remaining interest, is still owed and generally needs to be paid or arranged. **Why get professional help before applying?** Because the VDP has strict conditions — particularly around what counts as “voluntary” — an incomplete or poorly timed application can be denied, and a denied application may reveal the very issue you were hoping to correct. A CPA can help assess eligibility and prepare a complete disclosure before anything is submitted to CRA. **What if CRA has already contacted me about the issue?** Then the disclosure is generally no longer voluntary, and that is the condition most likely to disqualify an application. Compliance action on the specific issue, such as an audit, investigation or enforcement step, closes the door on that item. This is why the timing is the whole program, and why the position is worth reviewing before anything is submitted. **Does a partial disclosure work if I only fix one year?** No. A disclosure has to be complete, covering all the relevant facts and amounts rather than correcting one item while leaving others outstanding. A partial correction can be rejected on that basis, and a rejected application can draw attention to exactly the issue you hoped to resolve quietly. Scope the whole picture before submitting anything. ## Behind on filings or worried about a past return? We review VDP eligibility confidentially before anything is submitted to CRA. Send an enquiry. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form)[Book a Paid Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call) A disclosure is only as good as the records supporting it, so [catching the bookkeeping up](https://www.everstonecpa.com/behind-on-bookkeeping) generally comes first. **Run your own numbers with the free calculators:** [estimate your incorporation savings](https://www.everstonecpa.com/incorporation-calculator) · [run a paycheque calculation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/payroll-deduction-calculator) · [GST/HST calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-calculator) [← Vehicle & mileage deductions for business (2026)](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/vehicle-mileage-deductions-canada-business) [What is a fractional CFO — and do you need one? →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/what-is-a-fractional-cfo) ## Have a question about this? Ask it free through [the quick-question form](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) and a CPA replies by email within one business day. For something that needs a proper look, a one-off **Advice Call** is a paid 45-minute session with a Chartered Professional Accountant: $225 plus GST, booked by email or phone with a secure payment link. It is credited against your first invoice if you become a client within 60 days. Looking for an accountant to take this on rather than an answer? [Send an enquiry](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=catch-up#enquiry-form). 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