Guidance

Voluntary and community sector organisations who can give you extra support

Check the list of voluntary and community sector organisations funded by HMRC who can give you extra support with your tax or claims such as tax credits or Child Benefit.

HMRC provides funding to voluntary and community sector organisations so they can help you if you need extra support with your tax. This includes claims such as tax credits or Child Benefit. 

We have committed £5.5 million (£1.835 million funding per year) to help voluntary and community sector organisations until 2027. They can: 

  • help you make claims and understand and comply with your tax obligations 
  • offer you support if you cannot use HMRC digital services 
  • give you specialist support if you have disabilities, language barriers, or complex enquiries 

Who we fund 

We work closely with the following organisations who offer free advice and support. 

Advice Direct Scotland  

Advice Direct Scotland offer free, independent, and practical advice to Scottish residents across topics such as tax, benefits, energy, consumer, money and debt, employment, housing and more. 

Advice NI    

Advice NI offer free advice to Northern Ireland residents across many topics such as tax, benefits, money and debt, employment, housing and more. 

Citizens Advice Bureaux 

We fund the following 2 Citizens Advice Bureaux: 

  • East Lancashire - free, independent, and confidential support for individuals needing help with tax, tax credits and generalist advice for all other issues, covering Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale. They also have a specialist debt team in addition to energy, housing, benefits and generalist advisors 
  • South Tyneside – free advice for individuals who need support with tax and tax credits and child benefit along with generalist advice for all other issues 

Good Things Foundation    

Good Things Foundation provides support through over 30 local centres to help people facing digital exclusion and other barriers interact more confidently with HMRC benefits and tax services. 

Money Advice Trust 

Money Advice Trust provides free advice and resources to help people deal with their debts through their National Debtline. Their Business Debtline also provides free debt advice to small businesses and people who are self-employed.  

You can access both of these services over the phone, through our website and via webchat. 

Refugee and Migrant Centre   

Refugee and Migrant Centre provide free casework, advice and guidance on immigration, tax and Child Benefit and welfare, housing/homelessness/destitution, education and health. Alongside this, they also provide English classes, dedicated support with citizenship and employment and run Afghan, Syrian and Ukrainian resettlement schemes. 

Royal Association for Deaf People 

 Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD) provides free, independent and confidential support for Deaf individuals across the UK, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Funded services cover welfare benefits, housing, debt support, health care access and advocacy, all in British Sign Language (BSL). 

You can watch RAD’s video on their services in BSL on YouTube

You can also contact RAD via webcam in BSL

Royal National Institute of Blind People   

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) offer support for people who are blind or partially sighted and need advice on living with sight loss, or specialist help with tax obligations or benefits including help with online services. 

TaxAid  

TaxAid is a charity that helps people in poverty, many of whom are experiencing debt, physical and/or mental health issues when they get into difficulties with their tax affairs, providing free, independent, advice across the range of tax issues that impact people on low incomes. 

Tax Help for Older People  

Tax Help for Older People is a charity service providing free, independent, and expert help and advice for older people on lower incomes who cannot afford to pay for professional tax advice and often have health, debt, bereavement and /or pension related tax issues.

Get extra support

There are many other charities and voluntary organisations that can give general tax advice and signposting as part of their service.

You can also get help from HMRC if you need extra support.

Samaritans

As well as providing funding to voluntary and community sector organisations, we are also working with Samaritans to deliver a three-year project from March 2024 to improve the emotional support available for our customers. The partnership will offer HMRC customers personal specialist emotional support through a dedicated Samaritans helpline should they need it.

Updates to this page

Published 28 July 2022
Last updated 5 April 2024 + show all updates
  1. Added link to YouTube video 'HMRC tax support for deaf people' (Royal Association for Deaf People).

  2. Updated introduction and 'Who we fund' section.

  3. Updated section about support provided by The Samaritans.

  4. The page has been updated with information about the provision of specialist emotional support for HMRC customers.

  5. First published.

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