[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14684-14685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05487]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Program; Availability of 2021 
Supplemental 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 a supplemental grant opportunity in Grants.gov for 
organizations interested in applying for an 18-month Low Income 
Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant. The budget and the period of 
performance for the supplemental grant will be July 1, 2021-December 
31, 2022. The application period runs from March 15, 2021, through 
April 16, 2021. Organizations currently receiving a grant for 2021 are 
not eligible to apply.

DATES: All supplemental applications for the 2021 grant year must be 
filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on April 16, 2021. 
The IRS is authorized to award multi-year grants not to exceed three 
years. All organizations must use the funding number of TREAS-GRANTS-
052021-002, and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program 
number is 21.008. See https://beta.sam.gov/. The LITC Program Office is 
scheduling a conference call to cover the application process the week 
of March 15, 2021. 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.) A 
short video about the LITC program is available for your viewing on the 
IRS website.

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 2021, Congress appropriated a total of $13,000,000 in 
federal funds for LITC matching grants. See Public Law 116-260, (H.R. 
133, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021).
    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, 86 FR 7732 (Feb. 01, 2021).
    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. 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 
supplemental application for the 2021 grant year will be given due

[[Page 14685]]

consideration, the IRS will give priority consideration to applications 
from the following underserved geographic areas and counties that have 
limited or no service:

Arizona--Gila
Florida--Brevard, Citrus, Flagler, Hernando, Lake, Orange, Putnam, 
Seminole, Sumter
Idaho--Ada, Adams, Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Boise, Bonneville, 
Butte, Canyon, Caribou, Clark, Clearwater, Custer, Franklin, Freemont, 
Gem, Idaho, Jefferson, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Madison, Nex Perce, Oneida, 
Owyhee, Payette, Power, Teton, Washington, Valley
Nevada--Entire State
North Dakota--Entire State
Pennsylvania--Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Monroe, Northhumberland, 
Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming
Puerto Rico--Entire Territory
West Virginia--Entire State
Wyoming--Entire State

    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 obligations (filing and payment); (7) whether 
debarment or suspension (see 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 evaluation by the Program Office. The final funding decision 
is 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. 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.
    An applicant that is selected for an 18-month grant will be 
required to submit an Interim Report by November 1, 2021, so that the 
LITC Program Office can assess the clinic's progress in meeting program 
goals during 2021.

Bridget T. Roberts,
Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate.
[FR Doc. 2021-05487 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P