It is easy to make a mistake if you fill in your tax return without professional help. It could be that you misinterpret what needs to be done, or just don’t put the figures in the right place. In Canada, the Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program allows residents to contact the CRA and let them know about incorrect or inaccurate information that has previously been submitted. The sort of information that is allowed, will be details that has been incorrectly reported, or that was missed of the disclosure completely.

The Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program is something that is open to any taxpayer, and this can be a business as well as a individual. It does not matter if you are a Canadian resident or not, an employer or employee and if you prefer, you can authorize someone to put in the disclosure for you. It is at times like this that there should be someone helping you. Had you employed professional help at the beginning, you may not be in this position, but at least you are getting the chance to put things right.

There are many things that you can disclose as part of the Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program, and the areas that will be relevant to you will depend on the nature of you employment.  It can be late-filed information returns (e.g. T4, NR4, T4A-NR, T106, T1135, T1134), or GST/HST omissions, unreported source deductions, expenses that should not have been claimed, business income or unreported personal, from sources inside or outside of Canada and late-filed income tax (for example T1, T2) returns. This is not the full list, but will be appropriate for many returns.

If you are unsure as to whether or not you should take part in the Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program, it is worth remembering that doing so could prevent you incurring penalties and even being prosecuted. You would need to pay the tax that you omitted paying previously but this is to be expected.

Before filling in the disclosure it is worth checking with your representative that you have all the information needed. There are a number of reasons for filling in this disclosure – not least the fact that it can stop prosecution. You must start the process before you are informed that there are queries being raised regarding your form, and it will relate to returns that are more than 12 months old.  If you do not a full and detailed submission in relation to the Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program, your application for a disclosure can be refused.

If you are taking advantage of professional help, they will know where to send it, and it will include the need for you to fill in Form RC199, or provide the information in your own words. They will have to include Form T1013, Authorizing or Cancelling any Representative, or Form RC59,  and they must be signed. They will then send it to the relevant tax office dealing with the Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program.

You will be notified of the next stages after about few weeks, and it is possible you will be asked for more information and this will be expected within 30 days of request. Next you will be informed as to whether the disclosure as part of the Canadian Voluntary Disclosure Program has been accepted or not.