E. SITE ASSISTANCE VISITS

The LITC Program Office or the Local Taxpayer Advocate (LTA) conducts a site assistance visit to each grant recipient every year. There are three types of site assistance visits:

n Orientation visit;

n Operational review visit; and

n LTA visit.

Orientation Visits

The LITC Program Office conducts an orientation visit to each grant recipient that did not receive a grant in the preceding year. The orientation visit will generally occur during the first 120 days of the grant year. An orientation visit provides an opportunity to familiarize a new grant recipient with LITC Program requirements and to measure the progress of its startup activities. During the visit, the staff of the LITC Program Office will discuss accounting procedures and internal controls with the new grant recipient and perform a limited sampling of records and

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expense documentation to ensure that the controls are in place and being used appropriately. The orientation visit also allows the staff to assess the status of newly funded clinics and to identify potential areas where the grant recipient may need to create systems or improve processes to meet the requirements of the LITC Program.

During the orientation visit, discussions about the clinic’s finances will incorporate accounting and financial controls as documented on the pre-visit assessment/site visit plan prepared by the Advocacy Analyst prior to the visit. Specifically, the LITC Program Office reviews at least one receipt and invoice at random and other supporting documentation, including approvals and reimbursements for the LITC conference travel, if available. In addition, LITC Program Office staff samples at random personnel expenses, if any, from the first quarter of the current grant year. As there will be no report for comparison, the primary purpose of this sampling provides a basis for discussing financial recordkeeping and determine how well the clinic is following policies and procedures.

Operational Review Visits

The purpose of an operational review visit is to evaluate a clinic’s overall operations and to provide technical assistance to help the grant recipient maintain compliance with the terms and conditions of the LITC grant. The visit may include the review of documents, papers, or other records of the grant recipient. OMB regulations require that the IRS must have the right to access any documents, papers, or other records of a grant recipient pertinent to the award to make audits and examinations. See 2 CFR § 200.337(a). The Treasury Department implemented a regulation making it clear that “[t]he right of access under 2 CFR § 200.337 shall not extend to client information held by attorneys or federally authorized tax practitioners under the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic program.” See 2 CFR § 1000.337. When monitoring and evaluating clinic activities, the LITC Program Office will respect the clinic’s duty to protect confidential information and will not interfere with the confidential nature of the relationship between qualified representatives and their clients. Therefore, the LITC Program Office will not require LITCs to provide access to taxpayer-specific information for auditing or verifying that the 90/250 requirement has been satisfied, or that the amounts in controversy generally do not exceed the amount specified in IRC § 7463. In addition, the LITC Program Office will not require an LITC to provide access to information a taxpayer provided to the LITC during a consultation that did not result in the taxpayer executing a representation agreement. Prior to an operational review visit, however, the assigned Advocacy Analyst will require the clinic to complete an LITC Site Assistance Visit – Case Eligibility Requirements Tracking Form to collect data on eligibility decisions made by the clinic during the grant year but does not request any taxpayer identifying information such as taxpayer names or identification numbers.

If the LITC Program Office identifies a concern with a clinic’s procedure for collecting financial eligibility or amount in controversy information and making eligibility determinations, the LITC Program Office staff member conducting an operational review visit may decide to randomly sample the financial eligibility or amount in controversy determinations made by the clinic staff. This will be done by asking the clinic to generate a list of cases accepted for representation by a unique identifier for the timeframe that is under review. The unique identifier should not be the taxpayer’s name or taxpayer identification number. Using a clinic staff member as an intermediary, the LITC Program Office staff visiting will randomly select a few cases to review and will ask the intermediary to pull the case file information. The LITC Program Office staff will then ask the intermediary to answer questions about what is recorded for the applicant, including the household composition, household income, and the amount in controversy.

During an operational review visit, the grant recipient’s assigned Advocacy Analyst will interview clinic personnel, examine intake procedures, review case management and reporting systems, and sample financial records. An operational review visit may also include observation of clinic facilities and review of procedures and internal controls, personnel policies, training plans, privacy and confidentiality policies, outreach plans and materials, educational curricula, fee policies, and client satisfaction instruments.

By supporting and monitoring the work of LITCs, the LITC Program Office staff builds a relationship with clinicians to create trust and encourage the LITCs to seek guidance and assistance from the Program Office. Generally, the LITC Program Office will visit each LITC at least once every three years. The LITC Program Office may visit at any time and more often if an assessment of the clinic indicates that more close monitoring is necessary and best accomplished by additional visits.

Local Taxpayer Advocate Visits

The LTA assigned to a clinic must visit the LITC at least once a year. If the LTA participates in an orientation or operational review visit with the LITC Program Office, the LTA will have time during that visit to discuss current issues, collaborations, or other topics of mutual interest. If the LTA does not accompany the LITC Program Office on a visit, the LTA will conduct a separate LTA visit. The purpose of the LTA visit is to foster the relationship between the LTA’s office and the clinic by providing an opportunity to share emerging case issues and ideas to collaborate on joint education and outreach activities.

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