IRS Accepting Grant Applications for
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics

WASHINGTON - Organizations providing low-cost or no-cost representation to people involved in tax disputes can apply for grants worth up to $100,000 for the 2003 grant cycle, the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday. Grants are also available for programs that inform taxpayers for whom English is a second language of their tax rights and responsibilities.

“Our matching grant program encourages the creation and growth of low-income taxpayer clinics across the nation,” said IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti. “These clinics are an important resource for taxpayers who may have nowhere else to turn.”

The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) program, now in its fifth year, continues to expand. In 1999, the IRS awarded $1.5 million in grants to 34 groups across the nation. In 2002, $7 million was awarded to 127 organizations.

LITC applications must be received by July 1, 2002. The grants will be awarded by November 1 for the period commencing in January 2003.

The application package (Publication 3319) is available on the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov. From the home page, click on “The Newsroom” and then click again on “What´s Hot.” Pub. 3319 is also available by mail by calling 1-800-829-3676.

Qualifying clinics may be run by law, business or accounting schools – whose students represent taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS or Tax Court – or by tax-exempt organizations. These groups can represent taxpayers in tax-related matters, refer taxpayers to qualified representatives and provide non-English-speaking taxpayers information about their tax rights and responsibilities. Clinics may charge a small fee for legal help.

The program allows the IRS to award organizations matching grants of up to $100,000 a year to develop, expand or continue low-income taxpayer clinics.

The grant application process considers a variety of factors, including the clinic program´s quality of service, the number of low-income taxpayers served and how many people in the clinic´s service area use English as a second language.

Potential applicants with questions should contact Beverly Smith, LITC Program and Management Analyst, at 317-226-6771 (not a toll-free number).

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