What Is a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement?
Short answer
A voluntary disclosure agreement (VDA) is a formal arrangement in which a business proactively comes forward to a state about unpaid past taxes — usually sales tax or income tax — in exchange for a limited lookback period and reduced or waived penalties.
Last reviewed June 1, 2026
Why come forward voluntarily
Most states offer favorable VDA terms specifically to encourage self-reporting: a shorter lookback period (often 3–4 years instead of the full period a company has been out of compliance) and reduced or fully waived penalties. Those terms generally disappear once a state identifies the exposure on its own — through an audit, a data-sharing agreement with another agency, or a customer’s own audit that references your company.
When a VDA makes sense
A VDA is typically the right move once a nexus review or internal check turns up states where a company should have been registered and collecting tax but wasn’t. It’s usually anonymous in the early stages — a company’s advisor can approach the state without naming the client until terms are agreed to, which lets a company evaluate the deal before committing.
How VPTax helps
VDA negotiation is part of VPTax’s Sales & Indirect Tax service. Your Tax Director evaluates which states present exposure, initiates the VDA process, and manages the resulting catch-up filings once terms are finalized.