The IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice

If you deliberately underreported income, hid assets, or skipped returns you knew you had to file, and the IRS has not caught up with you yet, there is a formal way to come forward. It is called the IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice, or VDP.

It is not amnesty. It is not a guarantee. It is a long-standing IRS practice that lets people with criminal exposure resolve their tax obligations in a way that, if they meet every requirement, may result in a recommendation against prosecution.

Which version this guide describes

The VDP changes over time, so here is exactly what this guide covers:

• The criminal side: IRM 9.5.11.9, Voluntary Disclosure Practice, and its subsections, revised November 19, 2025 (the revocation and record keeping subsections carry earlier dates).
• The civil side: IRM 4.63.3.18, the civil framework for voluntary disclosures made after September 28, 2018, revised April 21, 2025.
• The IRS CI Voluntary Disclosure Practice page on irs.gov, last reviewed or updated July 20, 2026.

On December 22, 2025, the IRS announced proposed changes to the VDP and opened a 90-day comment period ending March 22, 2026. As of the IRS page dated July 20, 2026, the IRS was still describing those changes as a proposal, and it said eligibility under any revised VDP will be determined under the procedures in effect when the changes are finalized. This guide notes where the proposal would differ. Check the current IRS page before acting.

What the VDP is for

IRM 9.5.11.9 describes it as a compliance option "for taxpayers who have committed tax or tax-related crimes and have criminal exposure due to their willful violation of the law." If the violation was not willful, the manual says, taxpayers "should consider other options including correcting past mistakes by filing amended or past due returns."

That makes the first question the most important one: was the conduct willful? The IRS defines willfulness on its VDP page as "the intentional, purposeful, deliberate act to hide income or assets." Its FAQs warn that if a narrative describes mere negligence or carelessness, the clearance request will be denied. See willfulness in criminal tax cases.

What it does and does not do

IRM 9.5.11.9 is direct about the limits:

• "A voluntary disclosure will be considered along with all other factors in determining whether criminal prosecution will be recommended. A voluntary disclosure does not guarantee immunity from prosecution."
• The practice "creates no substantive or procedural rights for taxpayers."
• CI's determinations, including on timeliness, completeness, truthfulness, rejection, and revocation, "are not subject to any administrative or judicial review or appeal process."

The IRS VDP page puts the benefit this way: a timely, accurate, and complete disclosure may result in prosecution not being recommended.

Who is not eligible

The VDP is not available to taxpayers with illegal source income. The manual specifies that income from activities legal under state law but illegal under federal law counts as illegal source income, and the civil manual, IRM 4.63.3.18.1, gives cannabis as the example.

Form 14457 asks disqualifying questions. Under IRM 9.5.11.9.4, a "yes" to any of these may make the taxpayer ineligible: whether the IRS has notified you, your spouse, or related entities of an examination or criminal investigation; whether any of you are under criminal investigation by the IRS or any law enforcement authority; and whether any of you have income from illegal activity. A materially false statement on any part of the form may make the taxpayer ineligible or lead to revocation.

The core requirements

A voluntary disclosure must be truthful, timely, and complete. IRM 9.5.11.9 also requires taxpayers to:

1. Cooperate with the IRS in determining their tax liability and compliance reporting requirements.
2. Cooperate in investigating any professional enablers who aided in the noncompliance.
3. Submit all required returns, information returns, and reports for the disclosure period.
4. Make good faith arrangements to pay in full the tax, interest, and penalties the IRS determines apply.

The IRS VDP page adds that each taxpayer and entity entering the program presented through a representative needs a separate Form 2848.

Timeliness

A disclosure is timely only if it is received before any of these happen, under IRM 9.5.11.9:

• The IRS has started a civil examination or criminal investigation of the taxpayer, or notified the taxpayer it intends to.
• The IRS has received information from a third party, such as an informant, another government agency, or the media, alerting it to the taxpayer's noncompliance.
• The IRS has acquired information directly related to the taxpayer's noncompliance from an enforcement action, such as a search warrant, summons, or grand jury subpoena.

The IRS page lists a John Doe summons as an example of third-party information. You may not know when one of these events has happened. That is why waiting is dangerous. Read voluntary disclosure timeliness.

The process in brief

The current process has two parts, both on Form 14457, Voluntary Disclosure Practice Preclearance Request and Application:

1. Part I, preclearance. CI checks eligibility, including timeliness and whether income is from legal sources, and issues written notice of approval or denial.
2. Part II, the application. Due within 45 days of the preclearance letter, with at most one 45-day extension. It includes a narrative signed under penalties of perjury telling the complete story of the willful noncompliance.

If CI preliminarily accepts the disclosure, the case goes to a civil examiner. The step-by-step details are in Form 14457: the voluntary disclosure steps.

Spouses and related entities

Criminal liability is personal, and the VDP reflects that. The civil manual, IRM 4.63.3.18.1, says that when spouses filed joint returns but only one committed a tax crime, the willful spouse or both spouses may enter the VDP. A spouse whose conduct was not willful is not required to make a voluntary disclosure, though a joint disclosure eases the civil examination.

Businesses are handled separately too. Related entities identified on an individual's disclosure must check the box on Form 14457, Part I, indicating that the entity is also making a voluntary disclosure, to be eligible for VDP terms. Under IRM 4.63.3.18.2, the VDP penalty framework is not available for related entities that do not make a voluntary disclosure.

Penalties under the current civil framework

Under IRM 4.63.3.18.2 and 4.63.3.18.3, the civil examination generally covers the most recent six tax years for which the due date has passed. A civil fraud penalty under IRC 6663, or the fraudulent failure to file penalty under IRC 6651(f), applies to the year with the highest tax deficiency, in lieu of accuracy-related and delinquency penalties for the other years, assuming full cooperation. FBAR violations in VDP cases are treated as willful. The proposed framework would replace the single fraud penalty with standardized per-year penalties. Details are in the voluntary disclosure penalty framework.

After acceptance

Preliminary acceptance is conditional. Under IRM 9.5.11.9.6 and 9.5.11.9.7, a taxpayer who fails to cooperate fully with the civil examination can have preliminary acceptance revoked, and a taxpayer who provided materially false information can be referred back to CI through the fraud referral process. The civil manual says taxpayers must also stay compliant for all years after the disclosure period.

The alternative some people try

Some people simply file amended returns and hope nobody looks closely. That is often called a quiet disclosure, and it is not the same thing. See quiet disclosure risks.

Getting it right

The VDP is a legal decision with criminal consequences at every step: whether you qualify, what the narrative says, who gets named, and what penalties you are agreeing to. It should be prepared by a lawyer, under the attorney-client privilege, before anything is sent to CI. More about the firm's tax practice is on the firm's main site.

Status questions have a defined channel too. IRM 9.5.11.9.3 says IRS employees who receive questions about preclearance or preliminary acceptance should direct taxpayers and representatives to email the Voluntary Disclosure Program at the CI address listed in the manual.

General information only, not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and IRS procedures change; the sources cited were reviewed on the date shown above.