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HMRC Digital Disclosure Service (DDS)

Worldwide Disclosure Facility.

Tax affairs back on track. Without the panic.

If you've discovered income that should have been declared in earlier years — often overseas rental income, foreign bank interest, or a foreign investment — you're not alone. The rules are complex, the cross-border picture is rarely obvious, and life gets busy. We make putting it right a calm, structured process.

Specialists in the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) and the HMRC Digital Disclosure Service (DDS) — the two official routes to make a disclosure to HMRC for previously undeclared income. Voluntary disclosure almost always means significantly lower penalties than waiting for HMRC to make contact.

Clear fixed pricing of £295 including VAT per affected tax year, with a minimum full-disclosure fee of £885 including VAT. You know the price before you commit.

Talk to a disclosure accountant See Pricing
  • One fixed fee, agreed upfront
  • Lower penalties for acting first
  • Specialists in overseas income
  • Confidential, no-obligation chat

Who this service is for

We specialise in disclosures for people who are UK tax resident but have ongoing financial ties overseas — typically New Zealand or Australian expats with property or bank accounts back home.

The service applies equally to anyone with previously undeclared income, wherever it came from. You don't need to have done anything wrong on purpose — most clients genuinely didn't know they needed to declare this income.

People discussing HMRC disclosure

You may benefit if…

  • You've received a nudge letter or Certificate of Tax Position from HMRC
  • You own an overseas rental property and haven't reported the rental income in the UK
  • You hold foreign bank accounts earning undeclared interest
  • You're planning to sell a foreign property and want past affairs in order first
  • You've simply realised there's income you should have told HMRC about
  • You file via PAYE only and have never registered for Self Assessment, but should have
  • You have capital gains on overseas assets — particularly a property sale where exchange rate movements created a UK gain
Talk to a specialist

Choosing the right route

Not every situation needs a full disclosure

Before we recommend a Worldwide Disclosure, we look at the size and shape of the issue. There are three routes for cleaning up undeclared income — and choosing the right one matters.

1

File or amend recent year(s)

If we're still inside HMRC's normal filing or amendment windows, we don't need a disclosure at all. We file the current year's return on time, and amend the prior year.

Cleanest, lightest-touch fix

2

A short letter to HMRC

If only one or two prior years are involved and the tax owed is small (typically under £100/year), a full disclosure isn't necessary. We write to HMRC explaining the position.

For small amounts only

Full WDF
3

Worldwide Disclosure Facility

Where three or more years are affected or amounts are significant, the WDF is the right route — covering up to 12 years back for offshore matters.

Most cases

In your first conversation with us we'll work out which route fits your situation — and if it's not a full disclosure, we'll say so.

Time-critical · Act within 30 days

Received a Certificate of Tax Position letter?

Respond on time — typically within 30 days of the letter's date — and tick Box 1 ("I will bring my tax affairs up to date") rather than Box 2.

Ticking Box 2 when there is undeclared income is treated as a false declaration and makes everything significantly more serious. Get in touch before the deadline.

Talk to us today 020 7731 1117

Why it pays to act now

Three reasons voluntary action almost always works in your favour.

Lower penalty ranges

HMRC's published penalty ranges are lower where a taxpayer comes forward unprompted, cooperates fully and provides good-quality information. Where you land within the range depends on the facts of your case.

Stop the interest clock

HMRC charges late payment interest from the date the tax should have been paid, and it compounds daily. The longer you wait, the more it adds up.

Removes prosecution risk

Coming forward voluntarily essentially removes any risk of prosecution. Criminal action is reserved for deliberate fraud or large-scale evasion.

A common first question

Voluntary disclosure to HMRC — how far back?

When you make a disclosure to HMRC, the number of years you need to cover depends on the underlying behaviour. Offshore matters — the kind handled under the Worldwide Disclosure Facility — reach further back than a domestic disclosure.

Reasonable care

4 years

If errors arose despite taking reasonable care, HMRC's reach is limited to four tax years.

Careless — offshore matters

Up to 12 years

For careless errors involving any form of undeclared offshore income — rental income, bank interest, dividends, capital gains, foreign pensions — HMRC can require up to 12 years. This is the most common category for our clients.

Deliberate

Up to 20 years

Where non-compliance was deliberate, HMRC's assessing window extends to 20 years.

For domestic careless errors only, HMRC's window is 6 years. The 12-year reach is an offshore-specific extension under the Requirement to Correct rules — which is what makes the Worldwide Disclosure Facility the relevant route for most cross-border cases.

In practice, most of our voluntary disclosure cases settle with 4–6 years of returns. We work out the right window with you in our first call.

No open-ended hourly billing

Clear pricing, agreed upfront

Proper specialist disclosure work at a sensible fixed price. You'll know the scope and the total professional fee before we start.

Standard fee

£295

including VAT, per affected tax year

Every additional year means another calculation, interest working, penalty position and narrative — so the price follows the years actually involved, not the size of the settlement.

£885

minimum full-disclosure fee, inc VAT

Represents three years of work

The fixed stages — fact-finding, choosing the route, calculations, behaviour and penalty analysis, narrative, review and submission — still have to be done even in a one- or two-year case.

What that works out at

Your final fixed fee is confirmed once we've reviewed the facts. These figures assume the standard scope described below.

Affected tax years Fixed fee (inc VAT)
1 – 3 (minimum applies) £885
4 £1,180
5 £1,475
6 £1,770
8 £2,360
10 £2,950
12 £3,540

Prices shown include VAT at 20%, which is how the fee will appear on your invoice. The net professional fee is £245.83 + VAT per affected tax year (£737.50 + VAT minimum) — relevant only if you're VAT-registered and able to reclaim it.

Covered by the standard price

  • Foreign bank and term-deposit interest
  • An ordinary level of foreign dividends
  • One overseas rental property with reasonably complete records — no automatic rental surcharge
  • Straightforward Foreign Tax Credit Relief
  • Interest and penalty workings, and the disclosure narrative
  • Prompted and voluntary disclosures alike — a nudge letter doesn't raise the price by itself
  • Your review round, submission to HMRC, and one routine round of HMRC clarification questions

Quoted separately — always in advance

  • A foreign property or other capital asset disposal
  • Multiple overseas rental properties, or several countries
  • Trusts, offshore entities, offshore funds or complex portfolios
  • Remittance-basis history, or material residence and split-year uncertainty
  • Extensive reconstruction of missing records
  • A substantive HMRC enquiry, penalty dispute or appeal after submission
  • Ongoing Self Assessment returns and future tax planning

If any of these apply, we'll explain the extra work and agree one clear fixed quotation before we begin. The promise isn't that every case costs the published tariff — it's that you'll understand the scope and the total fee before the work proceeds.

Not every case needs a full disclosure

Where only a small or recent correction is involved, an amended return, a current-year Self Assessment or a concise letter to HMRC may do the job instead — and we'll say so. We won't push you through a full disclosure just to apply the minimum fee. Where a full disclosure genuinely is required, the three-year minimum reflects the real work involved.

Get a fixed quote

A complex process, made simple

Our step-by-step process

We manage the disclosure end-to-end. You'll always know what's happening, what's needed from you next, and what to expect from HMRC. On past cases the process has usually run to something like 10–14 weeks from start to HMRC's first response — an estimate from experience rather than a commitment, since HMRC's own timescales are outside our control.

1

Initial conversation, then a fixed quote

Confidential, no-obligation call. We'll talk through your situation, explain what HMRC expects, and outline the quickest sensible route. By the end you'll know which of the three routes applies, the likely scope, and what happens next. You then receive one clear fixed quotation — stating the assumed years and scope, and flagging any exceptional work that's priced separately — before any substantive work begins.

2

A simple checklist of what we need

One tidy email with a clear checklist — passport, proof of UK address, NI number, UTR (if you have one), the years and types of overseas income, and any tax already paid abroad. We can also log into your HMRC Personal Tax Account as your authorised agent to speed things up.

3

COMP1A — temporary HMRC authorisation

We complete the COMP1A form for you. You print, sign in ink, scan, and email it to HMRC's offshore disclosures team. This gives us authority to deal directly with HMRC on the disclosure.

4

Notifying HMRC of intent to disclose

We submit the formal DDS notification on your behalf. HMRC then post you a confirmation letter containing your case reference and unique payment reference — their turnaround varies and is outside our control. Once HMRC acknowledge the notification, a 90-day window opens to compile and submit the full disclosure.

5

Full tax calculations, done for you

For each tax year we establish your UK income position, categorise foreign income correctly, convert currencies using HMRC's published rates, apply every UK allowance you're entitled to, handle the mortgage interest restriction properly, and claim Foreign Tax Credit Relief under the UK's double taxation agreements.

6

Penalty positioning

Penalties are where good representation earns its keep. We prepare a clear, factual Reason for Disclosure Delay statement that explains why the income wasn't declared earlier, in language HMRC's caseworkers respond to. Done well, that can affect where you land within HMRC's penalty range — though the outcome always turns on your own facts, and the decision is HMRC's.

7

You review and approve everything

Nothing goes to HMRC until you've seen the full disclosure pack and confirmed you're happy. We send year-by-year calculations and a clear summary showing the tax, interest, proposed penalty, and the total offer.

8

We submit, and you pay HMRC

We submit the full disclosure through the HMRC DDS portal and email you confirmation. You pay HMRC directly using the unique payment reference. If you can't pay in full immediately, we help you arrange a Self Assessment payment plan for the balance.

9

Follow-through after submission

We don't disappear once the disclosure is filed. One routine round of HMRC clarification questions is included in the fixed fee, along with practical guidance when HMRC responds or closes the case. If HMRC opens a substantive enquiry or asks for significant new calculations, we'll explain what's required and agree an additional fixed fee with you before doing that work. HMRC's own timescales are outside our control, so we won't promise a closure date — but you won't be left chasing.

In their own words

From clients we've helped

Real disclosures, resolved quietly. Names anonymised on request.

★★★★★
“After 18 years in the UK, we needed to bring our New Zealand rental property and investments into line with HMRC, and we had no idea where to start. Greg and the team at No Worries handled the whole disclosure process for us, and kept things straightforward. It’s a real weight off our shoulders to have it sorted, and we’re glad to have them looking after our tax returns going forward.”

— Dean D.

NZ expat · rental & investment disclosure

★★★★★
“I received a nudge letter from HMRC about overseas income from New Zealand and wasn't sure where to start. Greg and the team at No Worries took it from there, handled the Worldwide Disclosure end to end. When HMRC came back questioning the penalty rate close to a deadline, Greg turned around a revised submission within days and we ended up with a small refund. Very pleased to have it all sorted and would recommend them to anyone in the same boat.”

— Oliver S

NZ nudge letter · Worldwide Disclosure Facility

★★★★★
“I realised I’d been underpaying UK tax for years on my Australian rental property because I’d missed the changes to mortgage interest relief, and I wanted to come forward voluntarily. Greg and the team at No Worries took it from there, handled the Worldwide Disclosure end to end, and got into the technical detail on the FX rates and finance cost calculations, which gave me real confidence the figures were right. They pushed for the lowest reasonable penalty rate and dealt with HMRC’s pushback efficiently, and the matter is now fully settled. Genuinely glad to have it sorted.”

— Adam M.

Australian rental property · Voluntary disclosure

★★★★★

“I’m enormously grateful for Greg and Leonelle’s patience and perseverance in resolving my offshore income disclosure with HMRC, and I’d point any expat in this situation their way.

After receiving a letter from HMRC in 2025, I was faced with needing to disclose twelve years of New Zealand rental, interest and dividend income, which felt completely overwhelming.

Working with Greg and Leonelle was a game-changer. They immediately took the stress off my shoulders. They were incredibly knowledgeable, communicative, and reassuring throughout the entire process. Their figures were genuinely clearer than HMRC’s own correspondence, and they stuck with me through several rounds of back and forth with HMRC.

Greg and Leonelle went above and beyond to ensure everything was corrected properly and in a timely manner. I am so grateful for their support and expertise. Highly recommended!”

— Anna S.

NZ expat · 12-year offshore income disclosure

In plain English

How HMRC penalties actually work

Penalties aren't a fixed percentage — they're a range, and where you land depends on three things: your behaviour, whether the disclosure was prompted, and the quality of your disclosure.

Behaviour categories

  • Reasonable excuse / care

    0% penalty if accepted — the bar is high

  • Careless

    The most common category. "I didn't know I had to declare this" cases fall here

  • Deliberate but not concealed

    Knew it was taxable, chose not to declare

  • Deliberate and concealed

    Plus active steps to hide the income

Typical penalty ranges (careless)

Unprompted disclosure

Typically 10%–30% — with a 0% floor available in narrow circumstances

Prompted disclosure

Typically 15%–30%, or 20%–30% where more than 12 months have passed

Our approach: we argue for the lowest rate your facts will support, and set out the reasoning in full. We won't promise a particular percentage — that depends on your circumstances and the final decision is HMRC's — but a well-evidenced disclosure genuinely affects where you land in the range.

Penalty suspension — always worth asking for

For careless penalties, HMRC may agree to suspend the penalty for up to two years. Where suspension is granted and you meet the conditions HMRC set — engaging an accountant for ongoing affairs, filing returns on time, keeping proper records — the penalty is cancelled. It isn't available in every case and the decision rests with HMRC, but we put it forward wherever the facts support it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about voluntary disclosure to HMRC.

Our standard fee is £295 including VAT for each affected tax year, subject to a minimum full-disclosure fee of £885 including VAT. That covers most cases involving foreign interest, foreign dividends or one overseas rental property where usable records are available. If your case involves a property sale, several properties or countries, a trust, or major missing records, we'll review it and agree one fixed quotation with you before work begins. See the full fee table.
An affected tax year is one that needs to be included in the disclosure calculations because foreign income or gains weren't reported correctly. Sometimes earlier years have to be reviewed too, just to establish whether they need including. The three-year minimum exists because the main stages of a full disclosure — reviewing the facts, choosing the route, calculating the liability, considering interest and penalties, writing the explanation, reviewing and filing — are required even in a one- or two-year case. Before recommending a full disclosure we'll always consider whether an amended return or another proportionate route is more suitable for you.
Yes. One overseas rental property is normally covered where the annual records are reasonably complete, and an ordinary mix of foreign interest and dividends is absorbed within the same blended price. There's no automatic surcharge just because the income is property income. A complex investment portfolio, offshore funds, several countries, multiple properties, a property disposal or substantial reconstruction may need a separate fixed quote.
No. A nudge letter doesn't by itself make a case unusually complex — complexity comes from the underlying income and records, not from the existence of a letter. We review the income, records and years before agreeing the fee.
Talk to us before assuming nothing can be done. We can identify what's missing and whether reliable information can be obtained elsewhere. If extensive reconstruction turns out to be needed, we'll explain that additional work and include it in a fixed quotation before it starts.
One routine round of HMRC clarification questions is included in the fixed fee. A substantive enquiry, a major recalculation, an appeal or a dispute is separate work — we'll explain what's required and agree a fixed additional fee with you before proceeding. We also can't guarantee that HMRC will accept every figure without questions, or how long they'll take.
The HMRC DDS — Digital Disclosure Service — is HMRC's online channel for making a voluntary disclosure of previously undeclared income. The Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) is the specific DDS route used for offshore matters — overseas rental income, foreign bank interest, foreign investments, and overseas capital gains. We handle both routes end-to-end.
For offshore income that wasn't declared due to carelessness — the most common category for our clients — HMRC can require us to go back up to 12 years. For deliberate non-compliance they can go back 20 years. Where reasonable care was taken, the window is just 4 years. In practice, most voluntary disclosure cases are resolved with a disclosure covering 4–6 years.
Criminal prosecution is extremely unlikely for the type of disclosure we handle. HMRC reserves criminal investigation for cases involving deliberate fraud, large-scale evasion, or where the taxpayer has been obstructive. Making a voluntary disclosure demonstrates good faith and effectively removes that risk.
No adviser can promise that, and you should be wary of any who does. The penalty position depends on the facts, the applicable rules, whether HMRC prompted the disclosure, your behaviour and the quality of the disclosure itself. What we can do is calculate and explain the position, make appropriate representations supported by the facts, and put forward suspension where it's available. We won't commit to a specific percentage before we've seen the figures.
We still submit the disclosure with whatever payment you can make at the time. Once submitted, you can contact HMRC's Self Assessment Payment Plan team to arrange monthly instalments. Interest continues to accrue on the outstanding balance, so it's in your interest to pay as much as possible up front, but you won't be turned away.
You receive full credit for tax you've already paid overseas on the same income, under the UK's double taxation agreements. So if NZ has already withheld 10% tax on your bank interest, we deduct that from the UK tax due. You won't be taxed twice on the same income.
We use HMRC's published average annual exchange rates for each tax year. You don't need to convert each transaction at the rate on the day — the annual average is the right figure for income like rent and bank interest. The exception is property sales, where the spot rate on the purchase date and completion date is used.
On past cases, usually somewhere around 10–14 weeks from the day we start to HMRC's first response — but that's an estimate from experience, not a commitment, and HMRC's own timescales are outside our control. The 90-day disclosure window opens once HMRC acknowledge the notification, which gives us comfortable time to do the calculations properly rather than rushing.
In most cases, yes. If you continue to receive foreign income or want to claim Foreign Tax Credit Relief, you'll usually need to file each year. The deadline is 31 January following the end of the tax year. We can handle this for you on an ongoing basis through our Personal Tax service.
No. The DDS is a confidential process between you, us, and HMRC. There's no public record of the disclosure unless very specific (and rare) conditions are met — broadly, large amounts of deliberately undisclosed tax, where the taxpayer hasn't cooperated. None of our standard cases come anywhere near that threshold.
No. Most of these cases come from a genuine misunderstanding of how the UK taxes foreign income — very often someone who paid tax overseas and reasonably assumed that settled it. Our job is to establish the facts, explain the position and help you make a complete correction. No lectures, and no drama.

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Talk to us

Confidential, no-obligation conversation. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and tell you straight whether a full disclosure is even the right route.

Tax affairs back on track.
Without the panic.

If you've decided to make a disclosure to HMRC, the first step is the simplest: a confidential, no-obligation conversation. Acting first usually means lower penalties.

Confidential Consultation Call Us

Prefer to talk? Call us on 020 7731 1117