Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2021 Grant Application Package, 24090-24091 [2020-09135]

Agencies

• Internal Revenue Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[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]
 BILLING CODE 4830-01-P