The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has started accepting applications from Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grants for 2025 from all qualified organizations, the agency announced on Tuesday.
LITCs help low-income taxpayers who need assistance resolving a tax dispute with the IRS and support individuals who speak English as a second language to understand the taxpayer process and their rights. The clinics can represent taxpayers in court on audits, appeals, tax collection matters and other tax disputes. The assistance provided by LITCs is free or charged with a small fee.
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Eligible taxpayers will be able to apply until June 12, 2024, for the LITC grants which will cover the period between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. Those who can apply must have an income below a certain threshold, and the amount in dispute with the IRS is usually less than $50,000.
"Low Income Taxpayer Clinics make a tremendous impact on the lives of taxpayers. Especially, for those with the most need," said National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins in a statement shared by the IRS. "I encourage all qualifying organizations to apply for an LITC grant and join the community of clinics across the country that are making a real difference and changing lives."
LITCs are partially funded by the IRS but they act completely independently from it. Its employees and volunteers are not part of the IRS. They help taxpayers collect the necessary documentation to solve a tax controversy with the IRS and submit the appropriate response to the agency's notice.
There are an estimated 132 LITCs in the country, according to The Tax Adviser website, most of which are located within law schools or are part of legal aid programs.
According to the latest data from the IRS, LITCs represented nearly 20,000 U.S. taxpayers during 2020 involved in controversies with the agency and another 18,000 who needed consultations or advice. The impact of LITCs is significant: in the same year, they helped taxpayers secure more than $5.8 million in tax refunds and cut or correct their liabilities by more than $116 million.
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Some 2,900 taxpayers were brought back into payment compliance with the help of LITCs, the IRS said.
In 2023, LITCs helped secure over $10 million in refunds and cut or correct over $41 million in tax liabilities, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) website reported.
The 2024 tax filing season, which opened up on January 29, has just closed. The due date for filing a tax return or to request an extension for most of the nation was April 15, while Maine and Massachusetts had until April 17. Those who have asked for an extension and were granted it have until October 15 to file their taxes.
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