HM Revenue and Customs has secured £1.66 million funding for 2020 to 2021 to allocate to voluntary and community sector organisations to help them provide advice and support to customers who need extra help understanding and complying with their tax obligations and claiming their entitlements, including those who are digitally excluded.
Voluntary and community sector organisations can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £450,000 and bids should include one or more of the following activities:
Advice and support – Providing direct advice and support for HMRC’s customers who need extra help and cannot afford to pay for it.
Digital inclusion – Assisting people who are digitally excluded, to build their confidence and capability to use HMRC’s online services for themselves.
Specialist support and referrals – Providing specialist advice and taking referrals by phone or email from HMRC’s Extra Support team, and assisting customers who need independent advice and support with more complex tax issues, for example complicated PAYE issues, or claims for Special Relief and appeals.
To apply under ‘Specialist support and referrals’, organisations would require the infrastructure and capability to handle about 700 referrals per year, and would be responsible for concluding individual cases.
The closing date for applications is the 11th December 2019 and projects should start in April 2020.
