[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27436-27437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11567]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2014
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 2016 Grant Application Package and Guidelines
(Publication 3319) for organizations interested in applying for a Low
Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant for the 2016 grant year,
which runs from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016. The
application period runs through June 15, 2015.
The IRS will award a total of up to $6,000,000 (unless otherwise
provided by specific Congressional appropriation) to qualifying
organizations, subject to the limitations of Internal Revenue Code
section 7526. For fiscal year 2015, Congress appropriated a total of
$10,000,000 in federal funds for LITC grants. A qualifying organization
may receive a matching grant of up to $100,000 per year for up to a
three-year project period. Qualifying organizations that provide
representation to low income taxpayers involved in a tax controversy
with the IRS or educate individuals for whom English is a second
language (ESL) of their taxpayer rights and responsibilities under the
Internal Revenue Code are eligible for a grant. Beginning in grant year
2016, the LITC Program will award grants only to qualifying
organizations that provide both services. An LITC must provide services
for free or for no more than a nominal fee.
Examples of qualifying organizations 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 I.R.C. Sec. 501(a)
whose employees and volunteers represent low income taxpayers in tax
controversies with the IRS.
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 assistance to low income taxpayers; and (4)
alternative funding sources available to the organization, including
amounts received from other grants and contributions, and the endowment
and resources of the institution sponsoring the organization.
DATES: The IRS is authorized to award a multi-year grant not to exceed
three years. For an organization not currently receiving a grant for
2015, or an organization whose multi-year grant ends in 2015, the
organization must submit the application electronically at
[[Page 27437]]
www.grants.gov. For an organization currently receiving a grant for
2015 which is requesting funding for the second or third year of a
multi-year grant, the organization must submit the funding request
electronically at www.grantsolutions.gov. All organizations must use
the funding number of TREAS-GRANTS-052016-001, and applications and
funding requests for the 2016 grant year must be electronically filed
by June 15, 2015. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program
number is 21.008. See www.cfda.gov.
ADDRESSES: The LITC Program Office is located at: Internal Revenue
Service, Taxpayer Advocate Service, LITC Grant Program Administration
Office, TA:LITC, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 1034, Washington,
DC 20224. Copies of the 2016 Grant Application Package and Guidelines,
IRS Publication 3319 (Rev. 5-2015), can be downloaded from the IRS
Internet site at www.irs.gov/advocate or ordered by calling the IRS
Distribution Center at 1-800-829-3676.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The LITC Program Office at (202) 317-
4700 (not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 7526 of the Internal Revenue Code authorizes the IRS,
subject to the availability of appropriated funds, to award qualified
organizations matching grants of up to $100,000 per year for the
development, expansion, or continuation of qualified low income
taxpayer clinics. A qualified organization is one that represents low
income taxpayers in controversies with the IRS or informs individuals
for whom English is a second language 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). 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.
Mission Statement
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics ensure the fairness and integrity of
the tax system by educating low income taxpayers about their rights and
responsibilities, by providing pro bono representation to taxpayers in
tax disputes with the IRS, by conducting outreach and education to
taxpayers who speak English as a second language, and by identifying
and advocating for issues that impact low income taxpayers.
Selection Consideration
Applications that pass the eligibility screening process will
undergo a two-tier evaluation process. Applications will be subject to
both a technical evaluation and a Program Office evaluation. 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. Each application and request for continued funding will be
given due consideration and the LITC Program Office will notify each
applicant once funding decisions have been made.
Nina E. Olson,
National Taxpayer Advocate, Internal Revenue Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-11567 Filed 5-12-15; 8:45 am]
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