Voluntary Disclosure Agreements

On this page find information on the Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) program.  The VDA program encourages taxpayers who have unfiled or underreported tax liabilities and have not yet been contacted by the Department, to voluntarily come forward. 

Eligibility

To qualify for the VDA program, the taxpayer (individual or business) must:

  • Have not been contacted by the Department for enforcement purposes about that tax obligation
  • Be compliant with all other Georgia tax obligations that will not be covered by the VDA 
  • Submit an application form

If the applicant is not compliant with more than one tax type, they may apply for VDAs for multiple tax types in one application.

If there are other areas of noncompliance (e.g., an outstanding prior liability), these should be listed in the application and may be resolved in conjunction with the VDA. If you are unable to pay the total amount due, you may request a payment plan.

Benefits

Qualified participants will usually receive a waiver of all penalties and a limit of the length of time the taxpayer must disclose and pay previous liabilities. This length of time, called the “look-back period”, is generally three years but can be shorter or longer, depending upon a taxpayer’s particular circumstances.

  • Penalty Waiver - Penalties will generally be waived for all periods included in the VDA agreement.  However, interest will still be imposed on all amounts due.
  • Look-back Period - Normally, the Department will require a look-back period for which the taxpayer will be required to pay delinquent taxes.
    • The length of the look-back period will depend on several factors, including the nature of the taxpayer's activities and other information submitted in the application.
    • The look-back period will usually be for a minimum of three years for all tax types. For sales and use tax or withholding tax, the look-back period is usually thirty-six months but will be extended as far back as necessary to recover taxes that a taxpayer collected yet did not remit.
  • Download this xls file. Sample spreadsheet to report sales and use tax transactions  with county codes.
  • Alcohol and Tobacco Taxes and Regulatory Matters - Alcohol or Tobacco licensing, registration and tax matters are not handled by this Voluntary Disclosure Agreement program. Businesses interested in discussing alcohol- or tobacco-related matters should email the Alcohol and Tobacco Division or call at 877-423-6711.

Apply for the VDA Program

Submit a completed Voluntary Disclosure Agreement application online. 

Please be specific in completing the application, as vagueness or ambiguity will only delay the processing of your request.  Anonymous requests will be accepted as long as the request includes the name and contact information of a taxpayer representative.

If your company is involved in multistate commerce and seeks to resolve potential tax liabilities in several states, you may want to learn about the Multistate Tax Commission's (MTC) Voluntary Disclosure Program.  This program provides voluntary disclosure agreements regarding prior liability in multiple U.S. states by using MTC as a single point of contact.  

Questions?

For additional information about this program, please contact the Audits Division by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 404-417-6501.