Welcome to LITC Exchange, the LITC Support Center’s newsletter! Here, we will share news from the low income taxpayer clinic community. LITC Exchange will feature discussions of common issues facing low income taxpayers, advertisement of educational opportunities for LITC practitioners, and highlights of success stories. In this inaugural edition, we discuss the LITC Support Center’s pro bono matching program, LITC Connect, as well as a training opportunity in partnership with the ABA Tax Section.
For more information on LITC Exchange or to submit news, please email LITC@taxpayer-rights.org.
LITC Connect. The center recently launched a new program, LITC Connect. Operating like popular "dating apps," LITC Connect matches LITCs that need volunteer assistance with tax professionals interested in volunteering, including lawyers, CPAs, and enrolled agents. When creating a profile, volunteers are prompted to describe their qualifications (such as bar admissions or professional licenses), areas of expertise, and areas in which they would like more training before accepting a case involving that issue. Then, the algorithm and the Center's Pro Bono Coordinator work together to match the volunteer with an appropriate case. In addition to direct representation, tax professionals can also volunteer to provide technical advice, training, or mentoring to LITC practitioners and volunteers. Through LITC Connect, the Center hosts trainings and makes materials available for volunteers looking to expand their knowledge of tax issues.
Inmate Tax Assistance Project
The Center for Taxpayer Rights is collaborating with the American Bar Association (ABA) Tax Section to aid incarcerated persons who are experiencing tax issues. The Inmate Tax Assistance Project consists of two phases. First, volunteers and LITC practitioners will be trained on relevant issues. Second, volunteers will be matched with cases through LITC Connect.
Over a series of trainings, the Inmate Tax Assistance Project will focus on assisting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated taxpayers with identity and address verification, refund tracing, refund offset, and receiving the Recovery Rebate Credit. In later sessions, we will shift our focus to representing these taxpayers in audit and collection cases and before the Tax Court and U.S. district courts. To ensure that volunteers are competent to handle these cases, this training will be mandatory for those interested in representing incarcerated individuals through LITC Connect. The training will be recorded and made available in the LITC Connect Resource Library.
If you are interested in attending this training, please register through the ABA here. If you require additional assistance, please reach out to Dulce Mascorro at ProBono@taxpayer-rights.org.