Low Income Taxpayer Clinics

 

Specifically, under this expansion, a qualified organization may receive a grant for the following activities of (1) referring low-income taxpayers in a controversy with the IRS to a qualified representative instead of providing controversy representation directly to those taxpayers; or (2) operating a pilot program to inform ESL taxpayers about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities without also providing controversy representation. Thus, a qualified organization is one that (1) ensures low-income taxpayers have access to representation (either by providing the representation directly or providing it indirectly with a referral to a qualified representative) in controversies with the IRS, or that (2) provides ESL taxpayers education about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities. Although a qualified organization is no longer required to provide both representation and education services, organizations are still encouraged to provide both services, if their resources allow. A qualified organization must not charge more than a nominal fee for its services (except for reimbursement of actual costs incurred).

Active 21.008 Internal Revenue Service, Department of The Treasury B - Project Grants Not applicable. Internal Revenue Code, as amended, 26 U.S.C. 7526 A qualified organization may receive up to $200,000 for the 2023 grant year. Examples of a qualified organization include: (1) a clinical program at an accredited law, business, or accounting school whose students represent low-income taxpayers in tax controversies with the IRS (and when necessary, refer to qualified volunteers to provide representation when the students cannot do so), (2) an organization exempt from tax under IRC section 501(a) whose employees and volunteers represent low-income taxpayers in controversies with the IRS, (3) an organization exempt from tax under IRC section 501(a) whose employees and volunteers refer to qualified representatives to provide representation, (4) an organization that operates a program to inform ESL taxpayers about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities, and (5) an organization that operates a program to inform ESL taxpayers about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities and functions as a referral service to refer taxpayers to qualified representatives for controversy representation, but such organization must be tax-exempt under section 501(a). Low-income taxpayers are those with incomes which do not exceed 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines published annually by the Department of Health and Human Services, or taxpayers for whom English is a second language. Not applicable. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. To be considered for the 2023 Supplemental LITC grant funding, a complete application must be submitted by April 18,2023, 11:59 p.m. ET through the grants.gov system. The entity must be registered in the Sam.gov system and be assigned a Unique Entity Identification and be an organization in order to complete and submit an application in grants.gov. A complete application consists of the following items:(a) Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance; (c) IRS Form 13424, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Application (d) IRS Form 13424-J, Detailed Budget Worksheet and Narrative;(e) IRS Form 13424-M, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Application Narrative; (f) Attachments Form (used to attach items g-k); (g) Tax exemption determination letter, if applicable*; (h) Proof of academic accreditation, if applicable*; (i) Most recent audited financial statement (if the applicant expends $750,000 or more in federal funds during the applicant's fiscal year, this must be a single audit or program-specific audit as defined in 2 CFR ? 200.501.) If the applicant's most recent audited financial statement is available on the Federal Audit Clearinghouse found at harvester.census.gov/facweb/ then in lieu of attaching the audit, check the "yes" box located on Form 13424-M in response to question II.4. ii. See Section IV.E.iv, OMB Audit Requirement, infra; An applicant that does not have audited financial statements must submit an unaudited statement for its most recent fiscal year and a statement as to why an audited financial statement is not available*; (j) Applicants must also provide documentation (e.g., articles of organization or an IRS Form 2848) which shows that the designated Tax Compliance Officer on Form 13424 is properly authorized to receive tax information*; and (k) any approved indirect cost rate agreement. Full applications go through a 2 review process: (1) A technical evaluation (ranking) by TAS employees; and (2) A program evaluation which includes the review of all factors, recommendation by the LITC Director, and the final funding decision by the National Taxpayer Advocate. May 2, 2022 to June 16, 2022 A notice was published in the Federal Register, which announces deadline dates for submission of applications. The application period will be open 40 days. From 60 to 90 days. None Not applicable. Evaluation factors include but are not limited to: (1) Quality of the proposed programs; (2) History of performance under LITC grants in prior years, if applicable; (3) Soundness of the proposed budget; and (4) Any significant concerns identified during the technical evaluation and risk assessment. Awards under this program are issued to provide financial assistance that enhances the grant recipients ability to represent low income taxpayers in controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and inform individuals for whom English is a second language of their taxpayer rights and responsibilities. Each recipient is required to enter into an assistance agreement that requires the awardee to comply with program goals and abide by other terms and conditions pertinent to assistance received under this program. The overarching goals that will need to be reported on are, New representation cases to be opened, Consultations with low income and ESL taxpayers, Educational activities conducted for low income and ESL taxpayers, and Low income and ESL taxpayers who will be reached in educational activities. For grant year 2023 it also includes referring low-income taxpayers in a controversy with the IRS to a qualified representative instead of providing controversy representation directly to those taxpayers and operating a pilot program to inform ESL taxpayers about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities without also providing controversy representation. Not applicable. Not applicable. Award recipients are required to maintain records to substantiate total costs incurred and to assure that all performance measures were met. Records must be retained in accordance with the provisions of OMB 2CFR200.334. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is mandatory. 100%. All awards of financial assistance shall be matched by the recipient on a dollar-for-dollar basis. In general, funds from sources (other than from other federal government sources) can be counted as matching funds. Complete details of matching funds can be found in IRS Publication 3319, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Application Package and Guidelines. Qualified matching funds include (but are not limited to): • Cash contributions, including Legal Services Corporation funds; • Grantee contributions, including payments for:  1. Salaries and fringe benefits paid to clinic staff;  2. Equipment and supplies used in the clinic;  3. Rent and utilities costs to operate the clinic; and  4. Other costs necessary to the operation of the program; • Third-party in-kind contributions, including:  1. The value of volunteer services furnished by professional and technical personnel, consultants, and other skilled and unskilled labor;  2. The fair market value of donated equipment and supplies; and  3. The fair rental value of donated space. • Program income, including nominal fees charged, from activities that are directly related to the clinic’s objectives. Indirect expenses, including general overhead of the institution sponsoring the clinic, are not countable as matching funds.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The budget period for this application is for 6 months. The exact dates are 7/1/2023 - 12/31/2023. The LITC Program Office may disperse funds in multiple releases or in one lump sum. None/Not specified. Michael Condict
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20224 US
MIchael.j.condict@irs.gov
Phone: 202-317-4700
Fax: 877-477-3520 https://www.irs.gov/advocate/low-income-taxpayer-clinics 20-0912-0-1-803 (Project Grants) FY 22$13,000,000.00; FY 23 est $26,000,000.00; FY 24 est $26,000,000.00; FY 21$13,000,000.00; FY 20$12,000,000.00; FY 19$12,000,000.00; FY 18$12,000,000.00; FY 17$11,800,000.00; - As a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,2023, the LITC Program Office is expanding the type of qualified services an organization can provide. The $26,000,000 is only available for 2023 and may not be available for 2024. Range of grant: $10,000 to $200,000. IRS Publication 3319, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Application Package and Guidelines. Not applicable.