Voluntary disclosure – how to put old tax errors right
If you have found income, wealth, VAT or other tax information that was previously reported wrongly, it can in some cases be corrected without additional tax. What decides it is whether the correction is genuinely voluntary and gives Skatteetaten enough information to assess the correct tax.
When is a correction voluntary?
The Tax Administration Act says additional tax must not be imposed where the taxpayer voluntarily corrects or completes earlier information so that the correct tax can be assessed. The correction is normally not regarded as voluntary if it was prompted by an audit Skatteetaten has already started, an audit the business knows or has reason to believe will be started, or information Skatteetaten has received from others. Having decided internally to put things right, or having contacted an accountant or a lawyer, is not in itself enough. A planned correction gives no automatic protection if the business then waits before actually making it.
The last three years – amend the return yourself
For several taxes and duties the business can amend a return it has already filed within three years of the original filing deadline. That covers wealth and income tax, value added tax and employer's national insurance contributions, among others. For previously undeclared income or wealth, Skatteetaten states expressly that increases relating to the last three income years should not be sent as a separate voluntary disclosure application. The relevant tax returns should be amended directly. Having the right to amend the return yourself does not automatically mean you avoid additional tax. The correction also has to meet the conditions for voluntary disclosure.
What if the error is older than three years?
Once the right to self-amend has expired, the business cannot simply open an old tax return and change the figures. Skatteetaten then has to reopen the assessment. In cases meeting the conditions for voluntary disclosure, the Tax Administration Act allows assessments to be changed up to ten years back. Ten years is an outer limit, though – not a guarantee that Skatteetaten will always reopen all ten years.
What information do you have to give?
Voluntary disclosure is not simply a message saying something is wrong. Skatteetaten has to be given enough information to assess the correct tax. For a voluntary disclosure of previously undeclared income or wealth, that includes complete and correct amounts, documentation of the income or wealth, information about where it comes from, and the relevant documentation for the years in question. If the disclosure concerns a company or an account abroad, you also need to know what should have been reported in the first place – see Do you own a foreign company? How to report it correctly
What do you have to pay if the disclosure is accepted?
Voluntary disclosure does not mean the original tax disappears. The business has to pay the tax or duty that should have been paid. Where an earlier assessment is increased following a self-amendment or an amending decision, interest is also charged under section 11-2 of the Tax Payment Act. In 2026 the rate for that interest is 5%. Where the conditions for voluntary disclosure are met, no additional tax should be imposed for the matter being corrected.
Should you gather everything before contacting Skatteetaten?
You should get as clear a picture as possible before making the correction, because the information has to be correct and sufficient. But spending months quietly preparing is not necessarily wise either. Voluntariness is judged by the situation at the time the correction is made. A practical approach is to map quickly which years and which taxes the error affects, secure bank data and other documentation, establish which periods can still be self-amended, consider whether the conditions are likely to be met, and file correct amended returns without undue delay.
Will the matter be reported to the police?
For Skatteetaten's published scheme for voluntary disclosure of previously undeclared income and wealth, the agency states that where the conditions are met, no additional tax is imposed and the matter is not reported to the police. That should not be read as a general promise that everything which comes to light is shielded from the police if the disclosure reveals other criminal conduct.
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This is general guidance, not advice on your specific case. Deadlines, rates and amounts change – always check the current rules, or get in touch with us.
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