Notice2025-07978
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2026 Grant Application Package
Primary source
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Published
May 8, 2025
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. Grants may be awarded for the development/start up, expansion, or continuation of programs providing qualified services to eligible taxpayers. The budget and the period of performance for the grant will be January 1, 2026-December 31, 2026. The application period runs from May 15, 2025, through July 14, 2025.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 88 (Thursday, May 8, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 88 (Thursday, May 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19594-19596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07978]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2026
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. Grants may be awarded for the development/start up, expansion,
or continuation of programs providing qualified services to eligible
taxpayers. The budget and the period of performance for the grant will
be January 1, 2026-December 31, 2026. The application period runs from
May 15, 2025, through July 14, 2025.
DATES: All applications and requests for continued funding for the 2026
grant year must be filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on
July 14, 2025. The funding number is TREAS-GRANTS-042026-001, 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 informational webinars,
Session One on May 8, and Session Two on May 22, 2025, 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
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toll-free number) The LITC Program Office at (202) 317-4700 or by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#305b5142555e1e445f5255427c79647360425f5742515d7f5656595355705942431e575f46"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="412a2033242f6f352e2324330d08150211332e2633202c0e2727282224012833326f262e37">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 2026 Grant Application Package and
Guidelines, IRS Publication 3319 (Rev. 5-2025), can be downloaded from
the 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>. 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 Program described in this notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sec. 7526, the IRS will
annually award up to $6,000,000 (unless otherwise provided by
Congressional appropriation) to qualified organizations, subject to the
limitations in the statute. The IRS will allow applicants to request up
to $200,000 for the 2026 grant year. The IRS will also continue the ESL
Education Program that was rolled out as part of the February 2023
supplemental funding opportunity. For FY 2026, if Congress
significantly reduces the overall amount of LITC grant funding 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 federal
poverty level as determined under criteria established by the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget. See 90 FR 5917 (Jan. 17, 2025).
In addition, the amount in controversy for the tax year to which the
controversy relates generally cannot exceed the amount specified in IRC
Sec. 7463 ($50,000) for eligibility for special small tax case
procedures in the United States Tax Court. IRC Sec. 7526(c)(5)
requires clinics to provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds, which may
consist of funds from other non-federal 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.
Type of Qualified Services an Organization Can Provide
IRC Sec. 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.
Pursuant to the ESL Education Program 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 ESL Education Program and should carefully
follow the instructions provided.
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, Montana, and West Virginia. In addition, Florida, Nevada and
South Dakota have only partial coverage. The uncovered counties in
those states are listed below:
Florida--Brevard, Citrus, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry,
Hernando, Highlands, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Madison, Martin,
Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, St. Johns, St.
Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, and Volusia.
Nevada--Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Eureka,
Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, White
Pine, and Elk.
South Dakota--Aurora, Beadle, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown,
Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington,
Corson, Custer, Davison, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Fall River,
Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hughes,
Hutchinson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence,
Lincoln, Lyman, McCook, McPherson, Meade, Mellette, Miner, Minnehaha,
Moody, Oglala Lakota, Pennington, Perkins, Potter, Sanborn, Shannon,
Spink, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Union, Walworth, Yankton,
and Ziebach.
Although each application for the 2026 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 the ESL Education 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
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 most of cases will be placed with
volunteers the following will be considered: (1) the
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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.
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
submitting an application 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. 2025-07978 Filed 5-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P
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