Taxpayer clinics program was started three years ago in 1998. Its mission was to provide low cost legal advice to individuals with low income and those who had problems communicating in English. The taxpayer clinics are situated within and are operated by law, business, accounting schools (students qualified to represent taxpayers in a tax court or in front of the IRS), or tax-exempt organizations. IRS grants them up to $100,000 a year to operate these clinics.
The program that began in 1998 is growing every year since it’s conception. In 1999, IRS gave out $1.5 million dollars to 34 organizations and in 2000 the number had jumped to 82 organizations with the payout of $4.9 million. Applications for the grants can be downloaded from the IRS website (www.irs.gov). Grants are usually granted in December. Qualifications for a taxpayer clinic are determined using three factors:
