Streamlined vs VDP
Two different countries' catch-up routes, with different eligibility tests, different relief and different documents. A dual filer behind in both needs both, sequenced.
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Two different countries' catch-up routes, with different eligibility tests, different relief and different documents. A dual filer behind in both needs both, sequenced.
Side by side
| IRS streamlined procedures | CRA Voluntary Disclosures Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | Canada |
| Eligibility | Non-willfulness, plus a residence test that selects the programme | The disclosure must still be voluntary |
| Relief | Penalty relief; the domestic version carries an asset-based penalty | Penalty relief and partial interest relief, in two tiers |
| Documents | Back returns, account reports and a signed certification | An application with the corrected filings and a chronology |
| Closes when | The IRS contacts the filer first | The CRA begins to act |
Which one applies to you
Map both countries' unfiled years before approaching either authority. The order matters: an ordinary late filing in one country can foreclose the relief route in that country while doing nothing for the other.
Where to go from here
We will tell you if you do not need us. That happens more often than you would expect.
Checked and signed off for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. Written as general guidance, not as a recommendation for your situation. Talk it through with us before acting on it.
Where IRS streamlined comes into this file
People reach this page searching for IRS streamlined. It is covered here as it applies to streamlined vs VDP — who it applies to, what has to be filed, and what it costs, at a fixed fee agreed before the work starts.
People also search for: irs streamlined procedure.
The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes
The quote comes from your documents
Nothing is priced from a phone call. We read what you have first, then the fee is set — so the scope and the number are agreed on the same evidence.
You deal with the person who did the work
The practitioner who prepared and reviewed your file is the one who answers the question about it.
Both sides prepared together
Two returns built against each other by one team, so relief is claimed exactly once and nothing falls between the two systems.
Late and missed years are ordinary work
An unfiled history is not a reason to wait longer. We assess what is still open and what relief the delay attracts before the first return goes in.
Cross-border situations we are engaged for
Dual citizen behind in both countries with nothing yet filed
A client who had lived on both sides of the border discovered a gap of several years in each country and wanted to start filing immediately in whichever one felt most urgent. We mapped the missing years on both sides first, established eligibility for each country's route, and set the order in which returns would be prepared so credits landed where they could be used. The engagement produced a sequenced plan, a complete set of back filings, and both applications submitted with the supporting narratives rather than an uncoordinated series of late returns.
Back returns filed quietly before advice was taken
A client had already posted several years of back returns before consulting anyone, on the reasoning that filing was obviously better than not filing. The relief route in that country was no longer available, because there was nothing left to come forward with, while the other country's exposure was untouched. The work consisted of establishing what remained open, preparing the second country's disclosure properly, and building the record for the first country on the footing that now applied. The engagement produced an accurate filing history and a realistic view of the remaining exposure.
Certification narrative built from what the client was actually told
A filer with unreported foreign accounts qualified for the non-residence version of the US programme but could not explain the gap beyond saying nobody had mentioned it. The certification is a signed statement, so it has to be a truthful account rather than a form of words. We reconstructed the chronology from employment history, correspondence and the advice the client had received at each move, and drafted the certification from that record. The engagement produced a submitted application supported by a narrative the client could stand behind under questioning.
Canadian application built around a documented chronology
A Canadian resident with several years of unreported foreign income came to us after a bank sent a routine account-information notice. The Canadian route requires the disclosure to remain voluntary and works in tiers, so the chronology submitted with the corrected filings does real work. We prepared the corrected returns, assembled the chronology from account records and correspondence, and lodged the application before the authority had begun to act. The engagement produced a complete corrected filing history and an application recording precisely when and how the client became aware of the problem.
Disclosure lodged under time pressure before a property sale
A client discovered the gap while preparing to sell a property, with a closing date already agreed and a clearance step ahead of them. The question was whether the disclosure was still voluntary and whether the catch-up work could be done in the time available. We established that no authority had begun to act, prioritised the years that bore on the sale, and lodged the applications ahead of the transaction. The engagement produced filings in place before closing and a written record of the position taken, so the sale proceeded on a known footing.
Residence test decided which US programme applied
A client who had returned to the United States partway through the catch-up period assumed the non-residence version of the programme applied, because that was where the missed years arose. The test looks at each year rather than at present circumstances, and the domestic version carries an asset-based penalty the other does not. We established the residence position year by year from entry records and housing history, selected the programme on that basis, and drafted the certification to match. The engagement produced a submission on the correct route with the evidence for it on file.
Never Filed a US Return — and Only Just Found Out
Born in the United States, left as an infant, and told by a bank that the returns were owed all along. The work is sequencing: establish which years are actually open, choose the catch-up route on the facts rather than filing quietly, and claim the exclusions and credits that were never taken.
Read how this one runsA US Citizen Settled in India, Filing on Both Sides
Residence in India and citizenship in the United States produce two annual returns for one income. The order decides the credit, and the Indian financial year and the US calendar year have to be reconciled before either is prepared.
Read how this one runsAll case studies — every published engagement in one place.
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