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    Department of Revenue

    Apply for the Voluntary Disclosure Program

    The Voluntary Disclosure Program lets businesses and people who just learned about their PA taxes come forward and fix their tax issues.

    Email us
    Commonly asked questions

    Overview

    If you join the program, you'll only need to pay the tax and any interest. Most penalties will be forgiven if you follow the rules.

    To join, email ra-voluntarydisclosure@pa.gov to get a case number. Include your contact details, like your address and phone number, in the email.

    Once you have your case number, you'll get instructions and a form called the Business Activities Questionnaire (DEO-50).

    NOTE: This is different from the Use Tax Voluntary Compliance Program.

    Apply for the Voluntary Disclosure Program

    After you get a case number, you need to send the completed Business Activities Questionnaire along with:

    1. The types of tax you owe.
    2. When your tax problems started.
    3. A detailed description of what you do in Pennsylvania, including any products you sell or services you provide.
    4. An explanation of why you didn’t file and pay your taxes before.
    5. Proof that you haven’t been contacted before about these taxes.

    You can stay anonymous when you send this information. You only need to reveal your identity when you sign the final agreement.

    To qualify, you must agree not to challenge the taxes you report, and the Department might audit you. If you're accepted into the program, you'll get an agreement to sign. You must sign it and return it with a Power of Attorney within 45 days. Changing the agreement will make it invalid. After the Department approves it, you'll get a copy with instructions on how to file and pay.

    Once you're in the program, the Voluntary Disclosure Office will handle your account, including registering you for taxes and processing your returns and payments. Don’t register for taxes yourself. If you don’t follow the agreement’s rules, it will be canceled, and you could face additional assessments and penalties.

    Eligibility

    If you just found out you owe taxes (like sales tax or income tax) and qualify, you only need to pay taxes for the last three years plus the current year. Penalties for those years will be forgiven if you file your returns and pay all the taxes and interest you owe.

    If you didn't register with the Department of Revenue but collected taxes (like sales tax or withholding tax) and didn’t pay them, you might still join the program. You’ll need to pay all the taxes you collected, not just for a few years. Penalties will be forgiven for all those years.

    Note: The program doesn’t apply if you don’t owe any taxes.

    Ineligible Taxpayers

    You can’t join the Voluntary Disclosure Program if:

    • You are currently registered or were registered before with the Department of Revenue.
    • The department has already contacted you or tried to collect taxes from you or investigated you.

    The department looks at each type of tax separately. So, if you’ve had issues with one type of tax, it doesn’t stop you from joining the program for other types.

    Corporation tax debts for companies registered with the State and Revenue departments can’t be handled through this program.

    Note: The program doesn’t make agreements for future tax issues, and requests for such agreements will be turned down.

    Contact us

    If you have any questions about the Voluntary Disclosure Program, please reach out to the Voluntary Disclosure Director:

    Name: Matthew Pettigrew

    Office Phone: 717-787-9832

    Email: ra-voluntarydisclosure@pa.gov

    Mailing Address:

    Matthew J. Pettigrew, Director
    PA Department of Revenue, Voluntary Disclosure Program
    1133 Strawberry Square
    Fourth and Walnut Streets
    Harrisburg, PA 17128-1100