What is the Worldwide Disclosure Facility?
Answered 17 March 2026
Based on the available sources, here is what can be confirmed about the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF):
HMRC Guidance / Practice
The Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) is an HMRC offshore disclosure facility that allows individuals to voluntarily disclose offshore tax non-compliance to HMRC. It is one of several publicised offshore disclosure facilities operated by HMRC as part of its compliance strategy to encourage voluntary compliance.
How it works
Once a person notifies HMRC of their intention to make a disclosure via the WDF, they are given 90 days to:
- Gather the information needed to complete their disclosure;
- Calculate the final liabilities including tax, duty, interest and penalties; and
- Complete their disclosure using the unique Disclosure Reference Number (DRN) issued by HMRC when they first notify their intention to disclose.
When a notification is made via the WDF, the actual disclosure is handled by HMRC's campaigns and projects team, who then pass the information back to the relevant caseworker.
Relationship with the Requirement to Correct (RTC)
The WDF played a specific role in the Requirement to Correct (RTC) regime, which required persons with undeclared UK tax liabilities (Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, or Inheritance Tax) involving an offshore matter to disclose to HMRC on or before 30 September 2018.
- Notifying via the WDF before 30 September 2018 extended the disclosure deadline by 90 days.
- If a person notified their intention to disclose via the WDF on or before 30 September 2018 and completed the disclosure fully and accurately within the 90-day time limit, they would not be liable to penalties for failing to correct.
- However, existing penalty legislation (e.g. for inaccuracy or failure to file) would still apply, and tax and interest would still be collected.
Limitations
- A person under an open enquiry cannot use the WDF; they must instead submit an outline disclosure directly to the enquiring officer.
⚠️ Note: The available sources provide limited detail on the full scope and current operation of the WDF. For comprehensive guidance, HMRC's Compliance Handbook (CH123000+) and the dedicated WDF guidance pages are the authoritative references.
Citation sources
The person would have to inform the enquiring officer on or before 30 September that they wish to make a disclosure of offshore tax non-compliance. As there is an open enquiry, they will not be able to use WDF or CDF and will have to submit an outline disclosure to the enquiring officer by 29 November (60 days from the 30 September deadline). The outline disclosure must provide details of the offshore tax non-compliance they have committed, the years involved, a summary of how the non-compliance
This page and chapter are under review as the relevant content is also published in the technical guidance chapters of the Compliance Handbook, within Compliance checks factsheets and in Compliance checks guidance. If you use particular pages regularly, please email hmrcmanualsteam@hmrc.gov.uk to let us know the specific content you find useful. The ‘Requirement to correct’ (RTC) legislation creates an obligation for anyone who has undeclared UK tax liabilities relating to: Income Tax Capital Ga
At the core of HMRC’s compliance strategy is the wish to encourage voluntary compliance. Currently most voluntary disclosures will either be handled under the Contractual Disclosure facility (CDF) or through one of the publicised offshore disclosure facilities, such as the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF). It will be rare to encounter a genuinely unprompted disclosure which does not fulfil the criteria for either CDF or an offshore disclosure facility. It is extremely important to ensure
Once a person has notified us of their intention to make a disclosure, they then have 90 days to gather the information needed to complete their disclosure, calculate the final liabilities including tax, duty, interest and penalties, complete their disclosure, using the unique disclosure reference number (DRN) we send when they first notify their intention to disclose. If a person notified their intention to make a disclosure of offshore tax non-compliance via the WDF on or before 30 September 2