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Being late is the most fixable problem we handle.
People arrive here expecting the worst. Both countries run procedures for taxpayers whose failure to file was not deliberate. Eligibility depends on residency, conduct and filing history, and tax and interest can still be due, so the first step is working out which route actually fits.
How much trouble are you actually in?
Three questions. Nothing is filed, nothing is reported, and no email address is asked for.
Which return have you not been filing?
About twenty seconds. Nothing you tap here is stored, sent or tied to you.
The programmes exist because this is common
People arrive at this page braced for the worst. It is worth saying plainly that both tax authorities would rather have you compliant than pursue you, and both run established routes for taxpayers whose failure to file was not deliberate.
These are not favours granted case by case. They are published procedures, used routinely, with defined scope and defined paperwork. The US route generally covers three years of returns and six of account reports. Canada's disclosure programme works differently but with the same intent.
Coming forward first helps, but it is not the only test that matters.
That is the reason not to sit on it. Information now moves between tax authorities and financial institutions automatically, so waiting does not reduce the exposure. It only reduces the options available when the letter arrives.
A streamlined procedure may be available where the failure to file was non-willful. Eligible foreign offshore submissions can receive relief from specified penalties; domestic offshore submissions generally carry a 5% offshore penalty. Tax and interest may remain due. We assess eligibility before recommending a route.
What a catch up usually involves
The exact package depends on how many years are open and which authority is involved.
United States
- Streamlined filing compliance procedures
- 14653 certification, foreign offshore procedures, where the nonresidency test is met
- 14654 certification, domestic offshore procedures, which generally carry a 5% offshore penalty
- Three years of 1040 returns, amended returns under the domestic procedures
- Six years of FinCEN 114 reports
- Delinquent information return procedures
- Penalty abatement requests where relevant
Canada
- Voluntary Disclosures Program application, prompted or unprompted under the policy from 1 October 2025
- Late or amended T1 returns
- T1135 for unreported foreign assets
- T1-ADJ adjustment requests
- Interest and penalty relief requests
- Taxpayer relief applications
Working out the exposure
- Establishing which years are actually open
- Reconstructing missing income records
- Foreign tax credit recalculation
- Registered plan and fund reporting
- Assessing whether conduct was non wilful
- Deciding the right route before filing
Where it usually goes wrong
Three approaches that make a manageable situation worse.
Quietly filing the missing years
Sending in back returns outside a formal procedure is known as a quiet disclosure, and it forfeits the protection those procedures provide. It does not automatically bar you from an otherwise eligible IRS streamlined submission later, although penalties already assessed are not abated. What disqualifies an IRS submission is a civil examination of any year or a criminal investigation. The safer order is to establish the position first, then file.
Waiting to see if anything happens
Information now moves between tax authorities and financial institutions automatically. Waiting does not reduce exposure, it only reduces the options available when the letter eventually arrives.
Filing the wrong number of years
More is not safer. Each programme specifies which years it covers, and filing outside that scope can create obligations and questions that were not there before. The scope gets decided first, then the returns get prepared.
How a catch up runs
Scope first, documents second, filing last. Nothing is submitted until you have agreed the plan.
A confidential call, no commitment
Twenty minutes to establish roughly how many years are open and what the realistic exposure looks like. Nothing gets filed, and nothing is reported anywhere, off the back of that conversation.
Scope, then documents
We decide which programme fits and which years it covers before anything is prepared, then collect what is needed through one encrypted upload.
Filed together, and closed out
The package goes in as a coordinated whole with the certification it needs, and you get a written note of what to do differently from here.
Questions late filers ask
This is general guidance rather than advice on your situation.
How much trouble am I actually in?
Often less than you think. IRS streamlined procedures are built for non-willful failures to file. The foreign offshore version can give relief from specified penalties for eligible taxpayers; the domestic version generally carries a 5% offshore penalty and cannot be used to submit delinquent Forms 1040. Tax and interest may still be due. Canada's Voluntary Disclosures Program has separate criteria and is not a copy of the US route. We assess which applies before anything is filed.
Will I go to prison?
That is the fear that keeps people from calling, and for an ordinary taxpayer who simply did not realise they had a filing obligation it is not the realistic outcome. Criminal exposure is associated with deliberate concealment, which is a different situation and a different conversation.
How many years do I need to file?
It depends on the route. The US streamlined procedures generally look at three years of returns and six of account reports. Canadian disclosure scope varies with the circumstances. Establishing the correct scope is the first piece of work, before anything is prepared.
What if I have already been contacted?
Then move quickly and get advice before responding. Some relief narrows once contact has been made, but the situation is still very much workable and the response itself matters a great deal.
Other situations we handle
Late filing usually sits alongside one of these.
The first conversation is confidential and costs nothing.
Twenty minutes to find out where you actually stand, with no filing and no commitment.
Book a call