Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2025 Grant Application Package, 30442-30443 [2024-08641]

Agencies

• Internal Revenue Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30442-30443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08641]


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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 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.

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 www.sam.gov. 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 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) 317-4700 (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 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

[[Page 30443]]

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 
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 M. Collins,
National Taxpayer Advocate.
[FR Doc. 2024-08641 Filed 4-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P