Glossary · UK
What is Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF)?
HMRC's online channel for UK taxpayers to declare previously undisclosed offshore income, assets or gains, introduced in 2016 following international automatic exchange of financial information.
Full Definition
The Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) was launched by HMRC in September 2016 as a permanent channel through which taxpayers can disclose income, gains or assets held offshore that have not been correctly reported for UK tax purposes. Its introduction was timed to coincide with the automatic exchange of financial account information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), through which over 100 jurisdictions now automatically share data with HMRC on accounts held by UK residents. The WDF requires the taxpayer to disclose all offshore tax irregularities (not just those in a specific country or year), compute the tax owed, interest and applicable penalties, and submit the disclosure via HMRC's Digital Disclosure Service. Penalties for offshore matters can be higher than for domestic matters: for deliberate behaviour involving a high-risk territory that has not exchanged information with the UK, penalties can reach 200% of the tax owed. A WDF disclosure does not provide a guarantee against criminal prosecution, but HMRC has stated it will generally not pursue prosecution for matters voluntarily disclosed, except in cases of serious fraud. Given the complexity of offshore tax rules (potential charges include income tax, CGT, IHT on non-UK assets, and the requirement to report under the Requirement to Correct legislation), specialist legal or tax advice is essential before submitting a WDF disclosure.