An overview by Borden Ladner Gervais, Taxand Canada
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has recently introduced new guidelines to make its Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) more accessible and flexible for taxpayers correcting past tax errors or omissions.
Key changes include:
Broader eligibility: “Prompted” applications (after CRA contact) now qualify for up to 100% penalty relief and 25% interest relief – a major shift from prior rules.
Greater interest relief: “Unprompted” applications can now receive up to 75% interest relief, including for the three most recent years.
Easier repeat applications: Second applications are now permitted under more flexible conditions.
Simplified documentation: Reduced record requirements – 10 years for foreign income, 6 for Canadian income, and 4 for GST/HST matters.
Wider coverage: Relief now explicitly extends to newer taxes, including the fuel charge, luxury tax, underused housing tax, digital services tax, and global minimum tax.
The revised VDP aims to encourage compliance by offering more generous relief and a streamlined application process. Patrick Reynaud, Tony Zhang and Robert Dziarmaga from our Canadian member firm Borden Ladner Gervais have published an article highlighting the changes in more detail here.
Thank you for downloading
For similar content to our Global Guide, subscribe to our mailing list and keep up to date.
