Notice2024-08615
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2025 Grant Application Package
Primary source
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Published
April 23, 2024
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentInternal Revenue Service
Abstract
This document contains a notice that the IRS has provided a grant opportunity in www.grants.gov for organizations interested in applying for a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant. The IRS is authorized to award multi-year LITC grants not to exceed three years. (Organizations currently participating in the LITC grant program that are submitting a Non-Competing Continuation Request for continued funding for 2025 must do so electronically at www.grantsolutions.gov). Grants may be awarded for the development, expansion, or continuation of programs providing qualified services to eligible taxpayers. Grant funds may be awarded for start-up expenditures incurred by new clinics during 2025. The budget and the period of performance for the grant will be January 1, 2025-December 31, 2025. The application period runs from April 22, 2024, through June 12, 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 79 (Tuesday, April 23, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30443-30445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08615]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2025
Grant Application Package
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Solicitation of grant applications.
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SUMMARY: This document contains a notice that the IRS has provided a
grant opportunity in <a href="http://www.grants.gov">www.grants.gov</a> for organizations interested in
applying for a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant. The
IRS is authorized to award multi-year LITC grants not to exceed three
years. (Organizations currently participating in the LITC grant program
that are submitting a Non-Competing Continuation Request for continued
funding for 2025 must do so electronically at <a href="http://www.grantsolutions.gov">www.grantsolutions.gov</a>).
Grants may be awarded for the development, expansion, or continuation
of programs providing qualified services to eligible taxpayers. Grant
funds may be awarded for start-up expenditures incurred by new clinics
during 2025. The budget and the period of performance for the grant
will be January 1, 2025-December 31, 2025. The application period runs
from April 22, 2024, through June 12, 2024.
DATES: All applications and requests for continued funding for the 2025
grant year must be filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on
June 12, 2024. All organizations must use the funding number of TREAS-
GRANTS-042025-001, and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
program number is 21.008, see <a href="http://www.sam.gov">www.sam.gov</a>. The IRS is scheduling two
optional webinars, Session One on April 25, and Session Two on May 7,
2024, to cover the full application process. See <a href="http://www.irs.gov/advocate/low-income-taxpayer-clinics">www.irs.gov/advocate/low-income-taxpayer-clinics</a> for complete details, including posted
materials and any changes to the date and time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tober at (202) 317-4700 (not a
toll-free number) or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ff949e8d9a91d18b909d9a8dbf968d8cd1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="751e1407101b5b011a171007351c07065b121a03">[email protected]</span></a>. The IRS office
that provides oversight of the LITC grant program is the LITC Program
Office, located at: IRS, Taxpayer Advocate Service, LITC Grant Program
Administration Office, TA:LITC, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 1034,
Washington, DC 20224. Copies of the 2024 Grant Application Package and
Guidelines, IRS Publication 3319 (Rev. 5-2024), can be downloaded from
the
[[Page 30444]]
IRS internet site at <a href="https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about-us/litc-grants/">https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about-us/litc-grants/</a> or ordered by calling the IRS Distribution Center toll-
free at 1-800-829-3676. See <a href="https://youtu.be/6kRrjN-DNYQ">https://youtu.be/6kRrjN-DNYQ</a> for a short
video about the LITC Program. Note: To assist organizations in applying
for funding, the ``Reminders and Tips for Completing Form 13424-M''
available at <a href="https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about-us/litc-grants">https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about-us/litc-grants</a>
will include instructions for which questions an organization should
complete if requesting funding only for the English as a second
language (ESL) Education Pilot Program described in this notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 7526, the IRS will annually award up to
$6,000,000 (unless otherwise provided by specific Congressional
appropriation) to qualified organizations, subject to the limitations
in the statute. For FY 2024, Congress has provided overall LITC grant
funding of $28 million and has authorized funding of up to $200,000 per
clinic. The President's FY 2025 budget request proposes an overall LITC
grant funding level of $26 million and a continuation of the $200,000
per-clinic funding cap. In light of the President's budget request and
the uncertain timeline for final congressional action, the IRS will
allow applicants to request up to $200,000 for the 2025 grant year. The
IRS will also continue the ESL Education Pilot Program that was rolled
out as part of the February 2023 supplemental funding opportunity. If
for FY 2025 Congress significantly reduces the overall LITC grant
funding level or reduces the per-clinic funding cap, the IRS will
adjust each grant recipient's award to reflect any limitations in place
at that time.
For an applicant proposing to provide tax controversy
representation, at least 90 percent of the taxpayers represented by the
clinic must have incomes which do not exceed 250 percent of the poverty
level as determined under criteria established by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget. See 89 FR 2961-2963 (January 17,
2024). In addition, the amount in controversy for the tax year to which
the controversy relates generally cannot exceed the amount specified in
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 7463 ($50,000) for eligibility for
special small tax case procedures in the United States Tax Court. IRC
section 7526(c)(5) requires clinics to provide dollar-for-dollar
matching funds, which may consist of funds from other sources or
contributions of volunteer time. See IRS Pub. 3319 for additional
details. An applicant who is planning to operate a program to inform
ESL taxpayers about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities must
have either a volunteer or a staff member designated as a Qualified Tax
Expert, generally an attorney, enrolled agent or certified public
accountant, to review and approve all educational material.
Mission Statement
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics ensure the fairness and integrity of
the tax system for taxpayers who are low-income or ESL by providing pro
bono representation on their behalf in tax disputes with the IRS;
educating them about their rights and responsibilities as taxpayers;
and identifying and advocating for issues that impact low-income and
ESL taxpayers.
Expansion of the Type of Qualified Services an Organization Can Provide
Through Implementation of ESL Education Pilot
IRC section 7526(b)(1)(A) authorizes the IRS to award grants to
organizations that represent low-income taxpayers in controversies
before the IRS or provide education to ESL taxpayers regarding their
taxpayer rights and responsibilities.
To achieve maximum access to justice for low-income and ESL
taxpayers, the IRS has expanded the eligibility criteria for a grant by
removing the requirement for eligible organizations to provide direct
controversy representation. Pursuant to the ESL Education Pilot Program
started in 2023 and continued through 2025, a grant may be awarded to
an organization to operate a program to inform ESL taxpayers about
their taxpayer rights and responsibilities under the IRC without the
requirement to also provide tax controversy representation to low-
income taxpayers. See IRS Pub. 3319 for examples of what constitutes a
``clinic.'' Applicants should note clearly on their applications their
intent to apply for the Pilot Program and should carefully follow
special instructions that will be supplied for completing the
application for the Pilot Program.
Selection Consideration
Despite the IRS's efforts to foster parity in availability and
accessibility in choosing organizations receiving LITC matching grants
and the continued increase in clinic services nationwide, there remain
communities that are underserved by clinics. The states of Hawaii,
Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia and the
territory of Puerto Rico currently do not have an LITC. In addition,
two states--Florida and Montana--have only partial coverage. The
uncovered counties in Florida are Citrus, Hamilton, Hernando,
Lafayette, Madison, Nassau, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor,
Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia. The uncovered
counties in Montana and are Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Custer,
Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Garfield, Golden
Valley, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lincoln, Madison, McCone,
Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder
River, Powell, Prairie, Richland, Sanders, Sheridan, Stillwater, Sweet
Grass, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wheatland, and Wibaux.
Although each application for the 2025 grant year will be given due
consideration, the IRS is especially interested in receiving
applications from organizations providing services in these underserved
geographic areas. For organizations that intend to refer low-income
taxpayers involved in controversies with the IRS to other qualified
representatives rather than providing representation directly to low-
income taxpayers, priority will be given to established organizations
that can help provide coverage to underserved geographic areas. For the
ESL Education Pilot Program, special consideration will be given to
established organizations with existing community partnerships that can
swiftly implement and deliver services to the target audiences.
As in prior years, the IRS will consider a variety of factors in
determining whether to award a grant, including: (1) the number of
taxpayers who will be assisted by the organization, including the
number of ESL taxpayers in that geographic area; (2) the existence of
other LITCs assisting the same population of low-income and ESL
taxpayers; (3) the quality of the program offered by the organization,
including the qualifications of its administrators and qualified
representatives, and its record in providing services to low-income
taxpayers; (4) the quality of the organization, including the
reasonableness of the proposed budget; (5) the organization's
compliance with all Federal tax obligations (filing and payment); (6)
the organization's compliance with all Federal nontax monetary
obligations (filing and payment); (7) whether debarment or suspension
(31 CFR part 19) applies or whether the organization is otherwise
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excluded from or ineligible for a Federal award; and (8) alternative
funding sources available to the organization, including amounts
received from other grants and contributors and the endowment and
resources of the institution sponsoring the organization.
For programs where all or the majority of cases will be placed with
volunteers, we will also consider the following: (1) the quality of the
representatives (attorneys, certified public accountants, or enrolled
agents who have agreed to accept taxpayer referrals from an LITC and
provide representation or consultation services free of charge); and
(2) the ability of the organization to monitor referrals and ensure
that the pro bono representatives are handling the cases properly,
including taking timely case actions and ensuring services are offered
for free or a nominal fee.
Applications and requests for continued funding that pass the
eligibility screening process will then be subject to technical review.
An organization submitting a request for continued funding for the
second or third year of a multi-year grant will be required to submit
an abbreviated Non-competing Continuation Request and will be subject
to a streamlined screening process. Details regarding the scoring
process can be found in Publication 3319. The final funding decisions
are made by the National Taxpayer Advocate. The costs of preparing and
applying are the responsibility of each applicant. Applications may be
released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests after any
necessary redactions are made. Therefore, applicants must not include
any individual taxpayer information. The IRS will notify each applicant
in writing once funding decisions have been made.
Erin Collins,
National Taxpayer Advocate.
[FR Doc. 2024-08615 Filed 4-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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