One of the most-asked questions about the Trading Online Voucher (TOV) was: "Is it a 50/50 grant or a 90/10 grant?" Both numbers were used in official communications. Here's what each one actually meant, and why it matters for anyone reading older grant guides today.
The default: 50/50
The Trading Online Voucher Scheme's standing rule was a 50/50 match. Government paid 50% of the eligible project cost up to €2,500; the applicant paid the other 50%. So a €5,000 project could attract the maximum grant of €2,500.
That was the rule before COVID, and that's the rule the eTOV successor scheme reverted to from late 2024 onwards.
The 90/10 window: COVID-19 supports
During the COVID-19 emergency response (broadly 2020–2021), the TOV match rate was temporarily increased to 90% government / 10% applicant. The maximum grant size also increased during that window — up to €2,500 (later raised) — and the application criteria were temporarily widened to bring in more SMBs that had been forced to pivot to online trading.
The 90/10 ratio was framed as an emergency support. It wasn't the default rate; it was a time-limited boost to encourage rapid online migration during lockdown trading.
Why the confusion persisted
The 90/10 figure stuck in the public conversation long after the COVID window closed. Reasons:
- The most-shared TOV social-media posts of 2020–2021 used 90/10 as the headline figure. Those posts kept circulating in 2022, 2023 and beyond.
- Agencies wrote blog explainers during the COVID window that they didn't update afterwards.
- The official LEO communications (correctly) used 90/10 during the emergency window and 50/50 outside it, but Google search results returned both versions side-by-side.
- The €2,500 maximum stayed the same across both ratios, so people didn't always notice the match-rate change.
What's true today (2026)
The original TOV scheme is closed. The eTOV successor scheme operates at 50/50 with a higher ceiling — up to €7,500. There is no 90/10 emergency uplift currently active.
If you read a guide that says "90% grant" — check the publication date. If it predates late 2021, the figure was correct at time of writing but no longer applies.
What this means in practice
- For a website project sized to attract the maximum eTOV grant, plan total project spend of around €15,000 — the 50/50 match means the grant covers up to €7,500, the business pays the other €7,500 (excluding VAT).
- Smaller projects work too — the scheme matches 50% of whatever the eligible spend is, up to the cap.
- The 90/10 ratio is now historical context, not a planning input.
For a fuller treatment of the current rules, application process and eTOV transition, read our main Trading Online Voucher €2,500 grant guide.
Read next
- The Trading Online Voucher €2,500 web design grant — how it actually works
- How to create a digital marketing strategy for a small Irish business
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