HMRC’s has awarded twelve voluntary and community sector organisations a share of £5.5 million in funding to help customers with their tax affairs.
The £5.5 million funding pot applies over a three-year programme from April 2024 to March 2027 (£1.835 million per year), to help fund Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations. These organisations can then in turn help taxpayers who need extra help understanding and complying with their tax obligations and claiming their entitlements.
Registered charities, voluntary and community organisations, social enterprises, mutual organisations and co-operatives based in the UK were eligible to apply for funding. The application window for the current funding round closed on 21 August 2023.
The successful Voluntary and Community Sector organisations to receive a share of the grant funding are:
- Advice Direct Scotland
- Advice NI
- Citizens Advice Bureau – Isle of Wight, Gosport and Fareham
- Citizens Advice East Lancashire
- Citizens Advice South Tyneside
- Good Things Foundation
- Money Advice Trust
- Refugee Migrant Centre
- Royal National Institute of Blind People
- Royal Association for Deaf People
- Tax Aid
- Tax Volunteers (Tax Help for Older People)
The new grant agreements will be in place before the grant funding programme begins on 1 April 2024. HMRC is aiming to direct the grant funding to help taxpayers who are currently hardest to reach, who cannot or will not interact directly with HMRC, or need extra support in doing so.
The funding is aimed at helping VCS organisations that deal with taxpayers such as those with mental health or learning difficulties, people on low incomes or in debt and facing financial hardship, older people, migrants, carers, and people who are digitally excluded.