Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2024 Grant Application Package, 29804-29805 [2023-09698]

Agencies

• Internal Revenue Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 88 (Monday, May 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29804-29805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09698]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2024 
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 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 2024 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 2024. The budget and the period of performance for the grant 
will be January 1, 2024--December 31, 2024. The application period runs 
from May 8, 2023, through June 26, 2023.

DATES: All applications and requests for continued funding for the 2024 
grant year must be filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on 
June 26, 2023. All organizations must use the funding number of TREAS-
GRANTS-052024-001, and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 
program number is 21.008, see www.sam.gov. The IRS is scheduling two 
optional webinars, Session One on May 11, and Session Two on May 15, 
2023, to cover the full application process. See www.irs.gov/advocate/low-income-taxpayer-clinics for complete details, including posted 
materials and any changes to the date and time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tober at (202) 317-9590 (not a 
toll-free number) or by email at [email protected]. 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 IRS internet site at https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about-us/litc-grants/ or ordered by calling the IRS Distribution Center toll-
free at 1-800-829-3676. See https://youtu.be/6kRrjN-DNYQ 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 https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about-us/litc-grants 
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 2023, pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2023, Congress doubled both the overall LITC grant funding level 
from $13 million in FY 2022 to $26 million and the maximum amount that 
may be awarded to any clinic from $100,000 in FY 2022 to $200,000. See 
Public Law 117-328, Division E. The President's 2024 budget request 
includes a continuation of the overall LITC grant funding level at $26 
million and the $200,000 per-clinic funding cap. In light of the 
President's budget proposal and the uncertain timeline for final 
congressional action, the IRS will allow applicants to request up to 
$200,000 for the 2024 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. See 88 FR 13864-13866 (March 6, 
2023). If Congress ultimately does not continue the LITC Program's 
funding at $26 million and/or the increased per-clinic funding cap of 
$200,000, the IRS will adjust each grant recipient's award to reflect 
any limitations in place at that time. 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 
88 FR 3424-25 (Jan. 19, 2023). 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

[[Page 29805]]

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.

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

    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. In recent years, the IRS has not 
awarded grants to organizations that solely refer taxpayers to other 
qualified representatives. Similarly, the IRS has required 
organizations receiving grants to provide both controversy 
representation and ESL education.
    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. In addition, pursuant to the new ESL 
Education Pilot Program started in 2023 and continuing for 2024, 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.''

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, 
Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota, and the territory of Puerto Rico 
currently do not have an LITC. In addition, two states--Arizona and 
Florida--have only partial coverage. The uncovered counties in Florida 
are Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, 
Hamilton, Hemando, Lafayette, Madison, Nassau, St. Johns, Sumter, 
Suwannee, and Taylor. The uncovered counties in Arizona are Apache, 
Coconino, and Navajo.
    Although each application for the 2024 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 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 
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.
    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, unless recused. 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.

Kim S. Stewart,
Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate.
[FR Doc. 2023-09698 Filed 5-5-23; 8:45 am]
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