IRS VITA and TCE grants

The IRS offers the VITA and TCE supporting grants to IRS partner organizations that operate Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs. These grants support free tax preparation service for underserved communities. Find details and how to apply.

On this page

• VITA grant
• TCE grant
• Application and period of performance timeline
• Grant recipient list

VITA grant

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) matching grant supports partner organizations in providing free tax preparation service to underserved populations through the VITA program. Underserved populations include people with low to moderate incomes, persons with disabilities, the elderly, individuals with limited English proficiency, Native Americans, and people in hardest-to-reach urban and rural areas.

The VITA grant aims to grow VITA services across the country, increase the number of returns filed electronically, enhance volunteer training and significantly improve the accuracy of returns prepared at volunteer sites. VITA recipients can use grant funds for:

• Wages or salaries of persons coordinating VITA program activities.
• Developing training materials, conducting training and performing quality reviews of the returns prepared.
• Ordinary and necessary costs associated with the VITA program operation in accordance with cost principles under the Office of Management and Budget circular.

TCE grant

The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) grant supports organizations in providing free tax counseling and assistance to those aged 60 or older in preparing their federal income tax returns. The TCE grant provides tax counseling assistance at locations throughout the community that are convenient to taxpayers.

TCE recipients may use grant funds for:

• Reimbursing volunteers for out-of-pocket expenses including transportation, meals and other expenses incurred by them in providing tax counseling assistance.
• Salaries, wages, and benefits of personnel that provide administrative or database support.
• Salaries, wages, and benefits of technical personnel that provide electronic filing support.

Organizations that are awarded a grant are responsible for all aspects of operating a TCE grant including, but not limited to, publicity, recruitment, training, site selection and volunteer management.

Application and period of performance timeline

VITA/TCE grant timeline: