What is VDP or Voluntary Disclosure Program
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has set up the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) to allow their clients to disclose any information that is not accurate or not complete and that they may have reported (or not reported) on previous tax returns without having to pay a penalty or face prosecution. VDP is often called Tax Amnesty.
Who Needs to Do VDP?
VDP Tax Relief from penalty and prosecution, as provided for under the VDP, may be considered if a taxpayer:
- failed to fulfill their obligations under the applicable act,
- failed to report any taxable income they received,
- claimed ineligible expenses on a tax return,
- failed to remit source deductions of their employees,
- failed to report an amount of GST/HST, (which may include undisclosed liabilities or improperly claimed refunds or rebates, unpaid tax or net tax from a previous reporting period),
- failed to file information returns, and
- failed to report foreign sourced income that is taxable in Canada.
Conditions for Voluntary Disclosure Program
There are four conditions that must be met in order to ensure that disclosure is valid:
- Voluntary: The disclosure has to be initiated by taxpayers voluntarily without being contacted first by CRA.
- Complete: The information submitted to CRA must be complete for the tax year or reporting periods.
- Penalty: A disclosure must involve the application or potential application of a penalty.
- The disclosure must include information that is generally more than one year overdue
The taxpayer will not have to face prosecution or be subject to penalties if the CRA accepts the disclosure, but payment of the amount owing and any interest on the amount will need to be paid.
Relief Provided Under the VDP
Penalty Relief
If the CRA accepts a disclosure as having met the conditions given, it will be considered a valid disclosure and the taxpayer will not be charged penalties or prosecuted with respect to the disclosure.
Interest Relief
In addition to penalty relief, if disclosure is accepted as valid by the CRA, the CRA may grant partial relief in the application of interest against a taxpayer in respect of assessments for years or reporting periods proceeding the three most recent years of returns required to be filed.
VDP Disclosure Types
Disclosures may be submitted using either of the two types described below (Named or No-Name). Each type includes the same consideration and review of all relevant information; however, it is the timing of the identification of the taxpayer that differs in these two types.
?Named? Disclosure
A ?named? disclosure is a disclosure in which the identification of the taxpayer is stated on the initial disclosure submission.
?No-Name? Disclosure
Taxpayers who are unsure they want to proceed with disclosure are given an opportunity to participate in preliminary discussions about their situation on a ?no-name? basis. These discussions with a VDP officer are informal, non-binding, and general in nature and are done before the identity of the taxpayer is revealed. They are for the benefit of the taxpayer and are intended to provide insight into the VDP process, a better understanding of the risks involved in remaining non-compliant, and the relief available under the VDP.
The CRA can undertake to provide a final and determinative decision on a no-name disclosure only after the identity of the taxpayer is known and all facts of the disclosure, in respect to the four validity conditions, have been verified. In these circumstances, the identity of the taxpayer must be provided within 90 days of the EDD. There will be no extensions to the timeframe for providing the identity of the taxpayer.
In the event a taxpayer had previously put forward a no-name disclosure, a subsequent no-name disclosure for the same information and taxpayer, will not be considered. In order for the taxpayer to then make use of the VDP, they must identify themselves.
The taxpayer may decide not to proceed with the no-name disclosure. They would then, however, remain at risk of the CRA finding the omission and assessing the applicable tax or charge, penalty and interest, in addition to possible criminal investigation and prosecution.
How We Can Help You to Do VDP
To be proactive, we can ensure that you don?t need to go through the VDP by filing accurate and correct returns. However, should there be a need to submit information using the VDP, you can be certain that we will have the special knowledge, contacts, and ability to do it in a timely manner.
CONTACT US RIGHT NOW BY CALLING (877) 928-9767 OR (416)623-9234 OR COMPLETE THE CONTACT FORM FOR A FREE CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION!
We see very often that clients waited until they are at retirement stage and get caught by CRA for their unreported income decades ago. The penalties and interests are often too huge for the retirees to bear and thus they have to sell their homes to pay the tax bill or even claim bankruptcy.
So do not become one of them. Start action while you are still capable of earning income and not as vulnerable to take any blow. Stop waiting! Stop relying on the luck of not being caught. The constant fear of being caught alone can ruin your life.
Act NOW before it is too late! One day of wait may cost you dearly. Losing the chance of VDP is maybe just one day away. If CRA contacts you tomorrow, you lose. CONTACT US RIGHT NOW BY CALLING (877) 928-9767 OR (416)623-9234 OR COMPLETE THE CONTACT FORM FOR A FREE CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION!
What You Need to Do Immediately to Stop The Risk?
If you think you have a risk of being caught by CRA, you do not have time to wait and see. Take actions to control the tax damage!
It is less costly to fix your tax problems right away, rather than dealing with much bigger troubles later.
The first thing to do is to stop hiding. Take action now!
Get help from qualified and experienced tax professionals to help you with the tax problems. Many people try to fix their tax problems on their own, resulting in big damage.
Get Tax help TODAY by calling Tax SOS team at 416-623-9234 or 877-982-9767 or go to the CONTACT FORM .
The Factors in Choosing Your Tax Service Providers
There are many factors to consider when making the decision on whom you will work with. Outweigh other factors, the most important factors are the competency and experience. in addition, the service provider genuinely cares about helping you; Finally, reasonable costs.
Experienced in dealing with tax agencies of all levels for many years, Tax SOS’s team of professionals has helped many clients with tax problems like you to get tax settlement that are satisfactory to the clients who shared their positive experiences and appreciation in their testimonials.
Why many clients have professionals handle their VDP cases instead of themselves.
– Professionals understand all the available options before doing VDP as not all clients are good candidates for VDP. The VDP decision itself require professional experience.
– Professionals do not just go with typical VDP automatically that may expose clients to CRA unnecessarily.
– VDP does involve tax expertise to negotiate a final settlement. It is not just a simple form filling excises.
– VDP takes a long time anywhere between four months to few years and thus require ongoing follow up and contact with CRA. Most clients do not have the time or energy to deal with CRA when required.
– There are many moving pieces to the puzzle to a VDP project. Without professional help, very likely, you may find yourself stuck and confused.
– Doing VDP without tax representation means uneven playground and automatically put taxpayers into a disadvantageous situation.
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We offer RISK-FREE unlimited time consultation just to help you to understand your tax problems better. We will also provide you with the steps to take to fix your tax crisis. It is no obligation for you to work with us.
If you do decide to work with us to fix your tax troubles, we provide rate match guarantee within the entire tax negotiation industry.
Get Tax help TODAY by calling Tax SOS team at 416-623-9234 or 877-982-9767 or go to the CONTACT FORM .
