IRS Accepting Applications for 2021 Grants for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Until June 16

IRS Accepting Applications for 2021 for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grants; The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has started accepting 2021 LITC Grant applications throughout the United States. For calendar year 2021, the application period for Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grants will run from April 30, 2020 to June 16, 2020. IRS accepting applications for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grants by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on June 16, 2020. Once the deadline is over, no application for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grant will be processed by the IRS.

What is IRS LITC Grant Program?

The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC) Program is a federal grant program which is led by National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins and administered by the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS. In order to develop, expand or maintain an LITC, the IRS awards matching grants of up to $100,000 per year to qualifying organizations under Internal Revenue Code Section 7526. It is necessary that the LITC must offer services either for free of cost or for no more than a nominal fee for provision of services.

IRS Accepting Applications for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grants

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking applications for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grants nationwide. The agency further ensures that each and every application receives due consideration. Under the terms of the LITC Program, the IRS is dedicated to accomplishing maximum access to representation for low income taxpayers in USA.

The IRS will carry on working towards the given program goals by awarding LITC grants for the calendar year 2021:

• To obtain coverage for the states of Hawaii, Nevada, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, West Virginia, and the territory of Puerto Rico for ensuring that each state (along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) has at least one clinic.
• To expand coverage to counties in high-need areas including central Arizona, California, southeast New York, Kern County, mid-Florida and the eastern coast, and northeast Pennsylvania that are not being served by an LITC at present. Please check the 2021 Grant Application Package and Guidelines, Publication 3319 (PDF) to get the complete list of counties.
• To ensure that grant recipients exhibit they are serving geographic areas that have substantial populations eligible for as well as requiring LITC services.

The integrity and fairness of the tax system is maintained intact by means of LITCs. The mission of LITC is to facilitate those taxpayers who are low income or speak English as a second language by making different efforts including:

• Provision of ‘pro bono’representation in tax disputes on behalf of low-income taxpayers with the IRS.
• Counseling and education of low-income taxpayers about their rights and responsibilities as taxpayers.
• Identification of the issues that impact low-income taxpayers along with complete support system.

Federal appropriations are responsible for the funding of LITC grants. Low Income Taxpayer clinics, their employees as well as their volunteers operate independently from the IRS. IRS accepting applications for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grants .Few examples of qualifying organizations cover:

• Clinical programs at accredited business, law or accounting schools qualify for LITC grants whose students represent low-income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS.
• Organizations exempt from tax under IRC Section 501(a) also qualify for LITC grants whose employees and volunteers represent or refer for representation low-income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS.

You can start to apply for 2021 LITC Grant anywhere in USA. The IRS awards multi-year LITC Grant not to exceed three years. The applicant organizations are required to submit full grant application electronically if they are not currently receiving a grant for 2020, or have received a single-year grant for 2020, or whose multi-year grant ends in 2020. However, other applicant organizations are required to submit request for continued funding electronically if they are currently receiving a grant for 2020 that is requesting funding for the second or third year of a multi-year grant. Moreover, all of the applicant organizations have to use the funding number of TREAS-GRANTS-052021-001. The deadline to submit applications for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics grant is June 16, 2020.

The complete requirements for LITC Grant application and program are available in Publication 3319 (PDF). You can also Contact Black Ink if you are interested in getting help regarding IRS Accepting Applications for 2021 process and requirements.