Voluntary correction of unpaid tax
Tax disclosure accountant in Cardiff
We reconstruct omitted income, gains and business liabilities, select the appropriate HMRC route and prepare the tax, interest, penalty analysis and formal disclosure.
Putting earlier years right
What is a voluntary tax disclosure to HMRC?
A disclosure tells HMRC about tax that should have been reported or paid in an earlier period. It normally includes the corrected facts, additional liability, interest, penalty position, explanation and formal offer of payment.
A current return that can still be filed or amended may need to be dealt with outside the disclosure. The periods included should therefore be mapped before totals are prepared.
HMRC’s current voluntary disclosure guide explains the main routes and 90-day process.
Existing HMRC contact changes the position
If HMRC has already opened a check or written about the income, the matter may not qualify as an unprompted disclosure. Send the complete correspondence before notifying through an online service.
Before notification
Establish the complete scope and preserve the records
Notification starts a formal timetable. Enough work should be done beforehand to choose the correct route and confirm that the calculation can be completed.
Identify every taxpayer
Joint owners, spouses, companies, trusts and estates make separate disclosures for their own liabilities where required.
Map income and gains
List each source, country, asset, business and period, including connected filings and tax already paid.
Check HMRC contact
Letters, campaigns, information requests and live enquiries may determine whether the disclosure is prompted and which team handles it.
Assess behaviour carefully
Reasonable care, carelessness and deliberate conduct affect look-back periods and penalty ranges. The conclusion must follow the evidence.
Choosing the mechanism
Which HMRC tax disclosure route applies?
The Digital Disclosure Service does not cover every tax or circumstance. A current campaign or dedicated correction process takes priority where applicable.
Digital Disclosure Service
Used for specified onshore Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, Corporation Tax, National Insurance and ATED liabilities.
Let Property Campaign
For qualifying individual landlords correcting unpaid tax on residential rental income from the UK or abroad.
Worldwide Disclosure Facility
The offshore route for foreign income, assets or gains, used through the wider digital disclosure framework.
VAT correction route
VAT errors cannot use the Digital Disclosure Service. The next-return adjustment or separate online or written notification rules apply.
Check the official Let Property Campaign guide for landlord disclosures and the VAT error-correction rules for VAT. Use HMRC’s underpaid-tax disclosure service only after the route is confirmed.
From records to settlement
How a complete disclosure is prepared
Each year is calculated under the rates, allowances and law applying to that period.
Choose route and years
Confirm taxpayers, taxes, behaviour, campaigns and returns still open for amendment.
Notify HMRC
Submit the required initial notification without guessing at figures not yet established.
Reconstruct and calculate
Prepare income, gains, allowable costs, tax, interest and penalty schedules by period.
Disclose, offer and pay
Submit the narrative and formal offer with payment or an agreed payment arrangement by the deadline.
The normal Digital Disclosure Service timetable is 90 days
HMRC should receive the completed disclosure and payment within 90 days of the notification acknowledgement, unless a different process or agreed arrangement applies.
Disclosure service
What our tax disclosure work includes
We create the year-by-year records, identify allowable costs and reliefs, calculate additional tax and interest and prepare the behaviour and penalty analysis.
The disclosure narrative explains what happened, how the figures were reconstructed and what has changed to keep future returns accurate. You approve the final figures, offer and submission.
Work can include
- route, taxpayer and period review;
- record reconstruction and source schedules;
- tax, interest and penalty calculations;
- behaviour and quality-of-disclosure analysis;
- narrative and formal offer preparation;
- submission and HMRC follow-up;
- current returns and future-compliance plan.
Cardiff individuals, landlords and businesses
The reconstruction should follow how the income actually arose
A Cardiff landlord may have agent statements, joint ownership and mortgage records; a consultant may have several payment platforms; an internationally connected individual may need foreign statements and exchange rates.
We rebuild the source first and keep transfers, loans and money already taxed separate from genuinely omitted income. That gives HMRC a traceable calculation rather than an unsupported estimate.
Future filings must be corrected too
A disclosure does not replace current returns, digital records or ongoing VAT and company obligations. The new reporting process should be agreed before the disclosure is submitted.
Connected tax work
Related services and calculations
These subjects may use the same facts, but each retains its own filing or advisory purpose.
Landlord tax returns
Prepare current rental accounts and property pages.
Open this page →Foreign income returns
Report overseas sources and foreign tax correctly.
Open this page →HMRC compliance checks
Respond where HMRC has already opened a defined review.
Open this page →HMRC tax investigations
Obtain support for wider, serious or escalating enquiries.
Open this page →Clear fee basis
Scope and price are agreed before work begins
A Let Property Campaign disclosure starts at £2,000 plus VAT. Other disclosures are quoted after the tax years, income sources, behaviour, records and HMRC contact are reviewed.
Common questions
Questions about voluntary tax disclosure preparation
The correct answer follows the complete facts, records and procedure. These are the usual starting points.
How many years must a disclosure cover?
The period depends on the tax, legal assessment limits, failure to notify and whether the behaviour involved reasonable care, carelessness or deliberate conduct. It must be determined from the facts.
Can I disclose only the most recent year?
Not if earlier affected years remain assessable. A disclosure should cover the complete unpaid-tax position required by the chosen route.
Does voluntary disclosure remove all penalties?
No. It can improve the penalty position, particularly when unprompted and fully assisted, but the statutory behaviour, range and reductions still have to be considered.
Can VAT errors use the Digital Disclosure Service?
No. HMRC states that VAT errors use the VAT correction routes, which may involve adjustment on a later return or separate notification.
What if I cannot pay everything within 90 days?
Contact and agree a payment arrangement with HMRC before submitting where the disclosure route requires this. Inability to pay does not remove the need to calculate and disclose accurately.