WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will accept applications for the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant programs through June 2, 2014. Some organizations can apply to receive annual funding for up to three years.

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by June 2, 2014. Previous grant recipients have the option to apply for up to three years of annual funding, which reduces the amount of paperwork that must be completed annually, and helps recipients with budget planning.

Interested applicants can find TCE and VITA application packages on Grants.gov. Electronic versions of the grant application package instructions, Publication 1101 for TCE and Publication 4671 for VITA, can be found on the IRS.gov website.

The TCE program was established in 1978 to provide tax counseling and return preparation to persons who are 60 or older. Volunteers who provide free federal income tax help to seniors nationwide receive free training and technical assistance.

The VITA program, created in 1969, provides free federal income tax filing assistance to underserved communities. The VITA Grant program was established in 2007 to supplement the VITA program. The grant program enables VITA to extend services to underserved populations in hard-to-reach urban and non-urban areas. It increases the taxpayer’s ability to electronically file returns, and enhances volunteer training to improve the accuracy rate of returns prepared at VITA sites.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service awarded nearly $10 million in matching grants to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) for the 2014 grant year (Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2014).

LITCs are organizations that represent low income taxpayers in federal tax disputes with the IRS for free or for a nominal fee, organizations that provide tax education and outreach to taxpayers who speak English as a second language, or organizations that do both.

Through the LITC program, the IRS awards matching grants of up to $100,000 per year to qualifying organizations. The LITC program is a federal program administered by the Taxpayer Advocate Service, led by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. However, LITCs, their employees, and volunteers operate independently of the federal government.

More information about LITCs and the work they do to represent, educate, and advocate on behalf of low income taxpayers is available in IRS Publication 5066, the LITC Program Report. IRS Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, provides information about LITCs by geographic area, including contact information and details about the languages each LITC can accommodate in addition to English. Publication 4134 and Publication 5066 are available at IRS.gov.

A list of the 133 organizations receiving LITC grants for the 2014 grant year is also available on IRS.gov.