Guidance

HMRC Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Grant Funding programme 2027 to 2030

Updated 8 June 2026

Summary

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority, with the vital purpose of collecting the money that pays for the UK’s public services, helping families and individuals with targeted financial support, and providing property valuations that support taxation and benefits.

HMRC has 5 strategic objectives. The HMRC Charter explains what customers can expect from HMRC and what HMRC expects in return. The Charter is supported by HMRC’s principles of support for customers who need extra help which underpin HMRC’s approach to supporting such customers.

In addition to providing support through our own Extra Support Team, HMRC has worked with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) for over 20 years to deliver support and access to services for customers the Department finds hardest to reach. The aim is to support customers back into mainstream HMRC channels by building their capability and confidence and resolving issues which may have become a barrier to direct engagement with HMRC. These may include, for example, HMRC debts and outstanding tax obligations.

HMRC has secured £11 million funding (£3.7 million per year) for a 3-year grant funding programme from April 2027 to March 2030 for VCS organisations to support customers who need extra help (CWNEH) with their tax affairs, enabling them to be long-term self-sufficient.

Opening date	8 June 2026, 12:01am
Closing date	3 July 2026, 11:59pm
Location	National
Funding organisation	HMRC
Who can apply	Public Sector and Non-Profit organisations
Funding available	We invite bids for funding of between £40,000 and £1 million per year, with a maximum threshold set at 50% of your organisation’s turnover (last audited accounts).

Eligibility

Applicants will need to confirm that they satisfy all of the criteria to apply for funding.

Your organisation must be one of the following:

• a registered charity
• a voluntary and community sector organisation
• a social enterprise
• a mutual
• a co-operative

Your organisation must have:

• three years’ financial history in place
• a turnover of no less than £80,000 per year
• sound and comprehensive financial systems and processes that enable you to track the amount of funding spent throughout the year and to demonstrate that you have allocated the funding to the specific activity detailed in your bid

Your organisation must not:

• have any directors who have been disqualified in the last 5 years, and or any directors, trustees, treasurers or anyone in a position of financial responsibility who has had a conviction such as for fraud, within the last 5 years
• use the grant to support or promote religious activity
• use the grant for any activity that is party political in intention, use or presentation

Your organisation must be able to:

• identify customers who have HMRC-related issues and be competent in supporting with HMRC services
• provide the required performance data and information to HMRC throughout the programme
• identify and source suitable customers and staff to assist HMRC with research requests
• ensure a representative attends and participates in the quarterly Individual Stakeholder Forum (ISF), which is HMRC’s main consultation forum to give a voice to the VCS and other organisations representing individual customers

Any bids that progress through the evaluation process will be subject to verification of the eligibility criteria along with additional financial/operating checks as part of our due diligence process. This may include, but is not limited to, checks of wider data sources and requesting further evidence from you. HMRC reserves the right to reject your funding application should you fail to provide further evidence in any timescales stipulated and further due diligence checks identify non-compliance with the eligibility criteria outlined above.

Objectives

Summary

HMRC would like organisations to provide free, independent, multi-channel tax and tax-related support to HMRC’s CWNEH with their tax affairs, enabling them to be long-term self-sufficient.

Organisations will build an essential bridge between HMRC and CWNEH, meeting the rise in the demand for extra support and to meet the commitments published in HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap.

Who we want organisations to support


Organisations must be able to demonstrate they can provide tax and related support services to unrepresented HMRC customers who need extra help, including but not limited to:

• customers with reduced mobility or physical disabilities
• customers with sensory disabilities, including visual and hearing impairments
• customers with low digital capability or confidence or limited access to digital devices
• customers HMRC envisages are likely to need the most support, such as those impacted by Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA), small businesses, and pensioners impacted by fiscal drag​
• customers experiencing age related difficulties
• neurodiverse customers, such as customer with dyslexia, autism, ADHD or cognitive difficulties
• customers with mental health conditions, including depression, stress and anxiety
• customers with language barriers
• customers in extreme distress through life events such as bereavement, breakdown of a relationship or safeguarding concerns including domestic or economic abuse ​
• customers who otherwise would not engage with HMRC, or who HMRC finds hardest to reach, such as prisoners and those on probation

Where we need support

We want accessible services in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This can be through organisations either providing UK coverage or community outreach for deprived or remote areas.

Organisations should be able to demonstrate how they will reach customers and what evidence of demand there is for the service in their communities.

Service proposal: how organisations will support HMRC customers

Bids must be for a minimum of 2 of 3 activities:

Supporting customers with ‘simple’ tax and tax related enquiries

• a ‘simple’ enquiry can be resolved at the first point of contact or with limited adviser assistance, such as through providing general advice or signposting to relevant HMRC guidance
• you should include which areas of HMRC’s work you will support, for example (but not restricted to), PAYE, Self-Assessment and compliance checks

Supporting customers with ‘complex’ tax and tax related enquiries

• a ‘complex’ enquiry requires more than one interaction to resolve or substantial adviser assistance, either because it involves a single complex tax issue, multiple tax issues or because the customer has complex extra support needs
• you should include which areas of HMRC’s work your service will support, for example (but not restricted to) PAYE, Self-Assessment and compliance checks

Supporting customers to use HMRC’s digital services

• examples of HMRC’s digital services include the HMRC App, MTD ITSA, the Personal Tax Account and the Business Tax Account
• support can be to customers with digital capability, confidence and access (no digital barriers), and to customers who do not have digital capability, confidence or access

HMRC research

HMRC will periodically ask organisations to help identify suitable people to take part in research activities. These activities might vary and could include short telephone interviews, surveys or group discussions.

Organisations must be able to work in partnership with HMRC to promote research opportunities and help people from their networks and communities to take part in research.

Measuring, monitoring, evaluation and insight

You will be required to provide data, insight and information to HMRC throughout the programme, including:

• quarterly statistics detailing the number of unique customers supported and the number of enquiries handled, a breakdown of the customers and the type of enquiries
• written 6-monthly reports with an overview of performance and example case studies
• details of quality performance

Timelines

The timelines for the funding round are:

• application window: 8 June 2026, 12:01am to 3 July 2026, 11:59pm
• HMRC’s grant funding team will be hosting live Q&A sessions with interested applicants on 11 and 17 June
• evaluations will take place in July and August 2026
• notifications sent to successful/unsuccessful applicants by the end of October 2026
• grant agreements in place and funding programme commences 1 April 2027

How to apply

If you are confident your organisation can provide this service and you satisfy the eligibility criteria as set out above, please follow the link to the advert and application which will be published on Find a Grant. The advert provides more information on expectations and definitions.

We will only accept one bid per organisation. Your bid will be evaluated against the criteria set out in the advert and the application form.

Supporting information

Supporting information links:

HMRC Charter

HMRC Principles of extra support

HMRC Privacy Notice

If you have any questions about the guidance or evaluation process, please sign up to our Q&A session on 11 or 17 June. Details of all questions and answers will be made available on the Eventbrite website.

Terms for funding awards

All successful applicants will be subject to comprehensive due diligence reviews and other database searches, including fraud risk indicators.

If your application is successful, we will send you a grant agreement that complies with Cabinet Office standards. This will include; terms for funding, invoicing and payment schedules. You will need to read, check, sign and return this agreement to secure funding.

How we will support you

If your bid is successful, we will:

• allocate you an account manager from HMRC’s Customer Stakeholder Engagement Team who will be your first point of contact to discuss the progress of your funded activities
• discuss and agree your proposed outcomes and measurement methodology
• review the data you collect by commissioning from you quarterly statistics as well as mid and end of year reports to evidence your outputs and expected outcomes
• monitor invoices to agreed timescales and engage with you to ensure delivery is within the agreed budget

HMRC will arrange to visit organisations periodically throughout the project to analyse the grant spend and establish that you are spending the funds in accordance with the original bid. Please be advised that HMRC will reserve the right to withdraw and clawback funding if organisations are found to be in breach of the grant agreement at any point during the programme.

HMRC is under no obligation to accept any application or make an award of funding and will not be liable for any costs incurred by any applicant in submitting an application, including if the funding application is terminated, suspended or amended by HMRC.