The Internal Revenue Service awarded Westminster University $130,000 under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Matching Grant Program (CFDA 21.009) on October 1, 2025, to deliver free tax return preparation and filing services to low- to moderate-income and underserved populations.
Westminster operates VITA sites in Utah serving taxpayers with incomes at or below the Earned Income Tax Credit thresholds, including persons with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency, Native Americans, rural residents, military families, and elderly taxpayers. The award funds volunteer training, quality control enhancements, electronic filing capacity expansion, and return preparation accuracy improvements. The VITA program expects recipients to file all eligible returns electronically, achieve 100 percent of return production goals, ensure at least 90 percent of returns prepared serve EITC-threshold-eligible individuals, and demonstrate incremental year-over-year increases in return preparation volume.
The period of performance runs through September 30, 2026. Westminster may utilize sub-recipients to deliver key program elements, provided they adhere to grant program guidelines. The VITA matching grant requires recipients to document matching funds and maintain records for a minimum of three years following final report submission.