[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 84 (Thursday, April 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24090-24091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09135]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2021
Grant Application Package
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This document contains a notice that the IRS has made
available the 2021 Grant Application Package and Guidelines
(Publication 3319) for organizations interested in applying for a Low
Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant for the 2021 grant year,
which runs from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021. The
application period runs from April 30, 2020, through June 16, 2020.
DATES: All applications and requests for continued funding for the 2021
grant year must be filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on
June 16, 2020. The IRS is authorized to award multi-year grants not to
exceed three years. For an organization not currently receiving a grant
for 2020, an organization that received a single year grant in 2020, or
an organization whose multi-year grant ends in 2020, the organization
must apply electronically at www.grants.gov. For an organization
currently receiving a grant for 2020 that is requesting funding for the
second or third year of a multi-year grant, the organization must
submit a request for continued funding electronically at
www.grantsolutions.gov. All organizations must use the funding number
of TREAS-GRANTS-052021-001, and the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance program number is 21.008. See https://beta.sam.gov/. The
LITC Program Office is scheduling a teleconference to cover the
application process in mid-May. See www.irs.gov/advocate/low-income-taxpayer-clinics for more details, including registration information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Beard at (949) 575-6200 (not a
toll-free number) or by email at [email protected]. The LITC
Program Office is 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 2021 Grant
Application Package and Guidelines, IRS Publication 3319 (Rev. 5-2020),
can be downloaded from the IRS internet site at www.irs.gov/advocate or
ordered by calling the IRS Distribution Center toll-free at 1-800-829-
3676. (Note, however, that the Distribution Center may be closed due to
COVID-19. If so, the publication will only be available online.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 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 set forth in the statute. Grants may be awarded for the
development, expansion, or continuation of low-income taxpayer clinics.
For calendar year 2020, Congress appropriated a total of $12,000,000 in
federal funds for LITC matching grants. See Public Law 116-93, 133
Stat. 2317, 2439 (2019).
A qualified organization may receive a matching grant of up to
$100,000 per year. A qualified organization is one that represents low-
income taxpayers in controversies with the IRS and informs individuals
for whom English is a second language (ESL taxpayers) of their taxpayer
rights and responsibilities, and does not charge more than a nominal
fee for its services (except for reimbursement of actual costs
incurred).
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
(2) an organization exempt from tax under IRC section 501(a) whose
employees and volunteers represent low-income taxpayers in
controversies with the IRS and may also make referrals to qualified
volunteers to provide representation. A clinic will be treated as
representing low-income taxpayers in controversies with the IRS if at
least 90 percent of the taxpayers represented by the clinic have
incomes that do not exceed 250 percent of the federal poverty level,
taking into account geographic location and family size. Federal
poverty guidelines are published annually in the Federal Register. See,
for example, 85 FR 3060 (Jan. 17, 2020).
In addition, the amount in controversy for the tax year to which
the controversy relates generally cannot exceed the amount specified in
IRC section 7463 (currently $50,000) for eligibility for special small
tax case procedures in the United States Tax Court. The IRS may award
grants to qualified organizations to fund one-year, two-year, or three-
year project periods. Grant funds may be awarded for start-up
expenditures incurred by new clinics during the grant year. IRC section
7526(c)(5) requires dollar-for-dollar matching funds.
Mission Statement
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics ensure the fairness and integrity of
the tax system for taxpayers who are low-income or speak English as a
second language 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 them.
Selection Consideration
Despite the IRS's efforts to foster parity in availability and
accessibility in the selection of organizations receiving LITC matching
grants and the continued increase in clinic services nationwide, there
remain communities that are underrepresented by clinics. Although each
application and request for continued funding for the 2021 grant year
will be given due consideration, the IRS is particularly interested in
applicants from the following underserved geographic areas:
Arizona-Central
California-Kern County
[[Page 24091]]
Florida-Mid-Florida and the Eastern Coast
Hawaii-Entire State
Montana-Entire State
Nevada-Entire State
New York-Southeast Corner
North Dakota-Entire State
Pennsylvania-Northeast Corner
Puerto Rico-Entire Territory
West Virginia-Entire State
Wyoming-Entire State
A more detailed list of the underserved counties within each state
is available in Publication 3319 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3319.pdf.
In determining whether to award a grant, the IRS will consider a
variety of factors, 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, if
any, in providing representation services to low-income taxpayers; (4)
the quality of the application, 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. Applications that pass the eligibility
screening process will undergo a Technical Evaluation and must receive
a minimum score to be considered further. Details regarding the scoring
process can be found in Publication 3319. Applications achieving the
minimum score will be subject to a Program Office evaluation. 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. The final funding decision is made by
the National Taxpayer Advocate, unless recused. The costs of preparing
and submitting an application (or a request for continued funding) are
the responsibility of each applicant. Applications and requests for
continued funding may be released in response to Freedom of Information
Act requests. Therefore, applicants must not include any individual
taxpayer information.
The LITC Program Office will notify each applicant in writing once
funding decisions have been made.
Bridget T. Roberts,
Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate.
[FR Doc. 2020-09135 Filed 4-29-20; 8:45 am]
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