Revenue gives at least 28 days' notice of an audit or risk review, and if you ask within 21 days you can have up to 60 days to prepare a qualifying disclosure, which can cut the penalty sharply. We review your position, prepare any disclosure, and deal with Revenue alongside you.
Information checked 3 October 2026 against the Revenue Code of Practice for Compliance Interventions (2022 edition).
What's included
| Level | What it is |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Revenue asks you to check something yourself: a self-review, an aspect query or a profile interview |
| Level 2 | A risk review or an audit of specific taxes and periods, with at least 28 days' notice |
| Level 3 | A Revenue investigation, used where Revenue suspects serious evasion |
The penalty is a percentage of the tax underpaid. It depends on how the error happened (careless or deliberate), how serious it was, whether you made a qualifying disclosure, and whether you cooperated fully.
| Behaviour | No disclosure, no cooperation | No disclosure, full cooperation | Prompted disclosure | Unprompted disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Careless, without significant consequences | 20% | 15% | 10% | 3% |
| Careless, with significant consequences | 40% | 30% | 20% | 5% |
| Deliberate (first time) | 100% | 75% | 50% | 10% |
Worked example
A business underpaid €8,000 of tax through a careless error with significant consequences. With an unprompted qualifying disclosure the penalty is 5%, or €400. After an audit notice, a prompted disclosure means 20%, or €1,600. With no disclosure it is 30% (€2,400) with full cooperation, or 40% (€3,200) without. Interest is due on top in every case.
A qualifying disclosure is a full written statement of the tax underpaid in the periods and taxes in scope, made with payment of the tax, interest and penalty. It is prompted if made after Revenue notifies an audit, and unprompted if made before Revenue makes any contact. As well as lower penalties, a qualifying disclosure keeps you off Revenue's published list of tax defaulters.
Interest still applies: 0.0274% a day on VAT and employer PAYE, and 0.0219% a day on income tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
Not if you make a qualifying disclosure. Publication also does not apply where the tax involved is €50,000 or less, or where the penalty is 15% or less of the tax.
Source: Revenue: Code of Practice for Revenue Compliance Interventions, checked 3 October 2026.
No. A statutory audit is an independent check of a company's financial statements by a registered auditor under the Companies Act. A Revenue audit is Revenue checking whether your tax returns are correct.
Six years for business records, including invoices, bank statements and the workings behind your returns.
Source: Revenue: Keeping records, checked 3 October 2026.
Yes, and it is the cheapest route. An unprompted qualifying disclosure carries the lowest penalties: 3% for a careless error without significant consequences.
Source: Revenue: Code of Practice for Revenue Compliance Interventions, checked 3 October 2026.
Next step
The sooner you get advice, the more options you have. Book a call or ring the office.
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm · info@mawhately.ie
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