This summer the Internal Revenue Service announced the launch of its 2011 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grant application process. These grants will cover the 2012 grant cycle, which is expected to run from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.
The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grant program offers funds to qualifying organizations so that they might open and maintain a low-income taxpayer clinic. Beneficiaries of the LITC program are typically those organizations that help taxpayers experiencing tax debt or other disputes with the IRS, or provide outreach and education to taxpayers for whom English is a second language.
The LITC program awards matching grants of amounts up to $100,000 per year. Though this grant program is federally administered by the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS, the LITCs themselves and their volunteers are all independent from the IRS.
Regions of Particular Need
The IRS has identified particular geographic areas in need of aid, and are therefore especially interested in supporting programs in these regions. The LITC program has prioritized the building of new clinics in Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. They have also identified Connecticut, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota as target states for ESL clinic applications.
They are also eager to develop tax support services in the following metropolitan areas:
- Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles, Kern, Riverside, and Ventura counties)
- Sacramento, California (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Berks, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties)
- St. Louis, Missouri (Cape Girardeau, Jefferson, St. Francois, and St. Louis counties)
Besides encouraging new applicants to consider building support systems in these areas, the IRS also hopes that existing clinics might consider expanding to encompass the areas of particular need.
Considering Applying?
Applicants to the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grant program may apply to one or both of the areas of focus -support for struggling taxpayers or aid for ESL taxpayers.
Projects that often receive funding include clinical programs at accredited law, business, or accounting schools whose students represent low-income taxpayers. They also often include nonprofit organizations that either represent low-income taxpayers in dispute with the IRS or refer them to qualified representatives. Ideally, applicants should clearly demonstrate the ways in which they hope to help low-income taxpayers to overcome tax debt, file tax returns online, and avoid potentially damaging penalties.
Please also note, these are matching grants. As such, a certain amount of the funding must be provided either by the organization or by another external funding source.
