Federal grant programs / Department of the Treasury

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Matching Grant Program (21.009)

Also known as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$159 million
• Grant awards1,459
• Typical award$61,979
• Awarded in FY 2025$39.3 million
• Size rank672 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $24.3 million in fiscal 2021 to $39.3 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 672nd largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 33% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 52 states and territories.

What the program funds

The VITA grant is a matching grant offered to support free tax return preparation through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Eligible organizations must serve low to moderate income individuals (defined by the earned income tax credit (EITC) threshold), persons with disabilities, persons with limited English proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their spouses, and the elderly. Eligible organizations must meet specific goals through their VITA program which include increasing their capacity to file returns electronically, heightening quality control, enhancing training of volunteers, and significantly improving the accuracy rate of returns prepared by VITA sites.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Applicant organizations must provide proof of tax-exempt status and must meet the matching funds requirement. Applicant organizations must be compliant with federal tax obligations. Applicants must be a current partner with the Internal Revenue Service operating a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program with the Taxpayer Services SPEC organization. Individuals are not eligible to apply.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Recipients must use grant funds to operate a VITA program. Allowable expenses must be in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200, reasonable, necessary and allocable. Federal funds may not be used to pay volunteers for tax preparation.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. This grant requires 100% cost sharing or matching of all federal funds awarded. For every federal dollar awarded, the applicant must commit an equal amount. For example, if you request $50,000 in grant funds, you must provide matching funds for at least $50,000. Only funds in support of the VITA Program qualify as matching funds.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

No Data Available

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 92% of the money, colleges and universities 3.9% and state and local governments 2.4%.

By state

40 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.