VITA Permanence Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1875 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to facilitate nationwide avail- ability of volunteer income tax assistance for low-income and underserved populations. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 26, 2019 Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. WENSTRUP) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to facilitate nationwide availability of volunteer income tax assistance for low-income and underserved populations. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Volunteer Income Tax 4 Assistance Permanence Act of 2019’’ or as the ‘‘VITA 5 Permanence Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1875 IH SEC. 2. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLICA- 1 BLE TAXPAYERS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of the Internal Rev- 3 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 4 7526 the following new section: 5 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR AP- 6 PLICABLE TAXPAYERS. 7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX 8 ASSISTANCE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec- 9 retary shall establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax 10 Assistance Matching Grant Program under which the Sec- 11 retary may, subject to the availability of appropriated 12 funds, make grants to provide matching funds for the de- 13 velopment, expansion, or continuation of qualified return 14 preparation programs assisting applicable taxpayers and 15 members of underserved populations. 16 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified return prepara- 18 tion programs may use grants received under this 19 section for— 20 ‘‘(A) ordinary and necessary costs associ- 21 ated with program operation in accordance with 22 cost principles under the applicable Office of 23 Management and Budget circular, including— 24 ‘‘(i) wages or salaries of persons co- 25 ordinating the activities of the program, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1875 IH ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 1 conducting training, and performing qual- 2 ity reviews of the returns prepared under 3 the program, 4 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases, and 5 ‘‘(iv) vehicle-related expenses associ- 6 ated with remote or rural tax preparation 7 services, 8 ‘‘(B) outreach and educational activities 9 described in subsection (c)(2)(B), and 10 ‘‘(C) services related to financial education 11 and capability, asset development, and the es- 12 tablishment of savings accounts in connection 13 with tax return preparation. 14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.—A 15 qualified return preparation program must provide 16 matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all 17 grants provided under this section. Matching funds 18 may include— 19 ‘‘(A) the salary (including fringe benefits) 20 of individuals performing services for the pro- 21 gram, 22 ‘‘(B) the cost of equipment used in the 23 program, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1875 IH ‘‘(C) other ordinary and necessary costs 1 associated with the program. 2 Indirect expenses, including general overhead of any 3 entity administering the program, shall not be 4 counted as matching funds. 5 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each applicant for a grant 7 under this section shall submit an application to the 8 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 9 taining such information as the Secretary may rea- 10 sonably require. 11 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 12 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica- 13 tions which demonstrate— 14 ‘‘(A) assistance to applicable taxpayers, 15 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 16 such taxpayers, 17 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational 18 activities relating to eligibility and availability 19 of income supports available through this title, 20 including the earned income tax credit, and 21 ‘‘(C) specific outreach and focus on one or 22 more underserved populations. 23 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In de- 24 termining matching grants under this section, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1875 IH Secretary shall only take into account amounts pro- 1 vided by the qualified return preparation program 2 for expenses described in subsection (b). 3 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 5 lish procedures for, and shall conduct not less fre- 6 quently than once every 5 calendar years during 7 which a qualified return preparation program is op- 8 erating under a grant under this section, periodic 9 site visits— 10 ‘‘(A) to ensure the program is carrying out 11 the purposes of this section, and 12 ‘‘(B) to determine whether the program 13 meets such program adherence standards as the 14 Secretary shall by regulation or other guidance 15 prescribe. 16 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT 17 RECIPIENTS NOT MEETING PROGRAM ADHERENCE 18 STANDARDS.—In the case of any qualified return 19 preparation program which— 20 ‘‘(A) is awarded a grant under this section, 21 and 22 ‘‘(B) is subsequently determined— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1875 IH ‘‘(i) not to meet the program adher- 1 ence standards described in paragraph 2 (1)(B), or 3 ‘‘(ii) not to be otherwise carrying out 4 the purposes of this section, 5 such program shall not be eligible for any additional 6 grants under this section unless such program pro- 7 vides sufficient documentation of corrective meas- 8 ures established to address any such deficiencies de- 9 termined. 10 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 11 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO- 12 GRAM.—The term ‘qualified return preparation pro- 13 gram’ means any program— 14 ‘‘(A) which provides assistance to individ- 15 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are ap- 16 plicable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed- 17 eral income tax returns, 18 ‘‘(B) which is administered by a qualified 19 entity, 20 ‘‘(C) in which all volunteers who assist in 21 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 22 meet the training requirements prescribed by 23 the Secretary, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1875 IH ‘‘(D) which uses a quality review process 1 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 2 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 4 entity’ means any entity which— 5 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization, 6 ‘‘(ii) is in compliance with Federal tax 7 filing and payment requirements, 8 ‘‘(iii) is not debarred or suspended 9 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera- 10 tive agreements, and 11 ‘‘(iv) agrees to provide documentation 12 to substantiate any matching funds pro- 13 vided pursuant to the grant program under 14 this section. 15 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term 16 ‘eligible organization’ means— 17 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 18 which is described in section 102 (other 19 than subsection (a)(1)(C) thereof) of the 20 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 1002), as in effect on the date of the en- 22 actment of this section, and which has not 23 been disqualified from participating in a 24 program under title IV of such Act, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1875 IH ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec- 1 tion 501(c) and exempt from tax under 2 section 501(a), 3 ‘‘(iii) a local government agency, in- 4 cluding— 5 ‘‘(I) a county or municipal gov- 6 ernment agency, and 7 ‘‘(II) an Indian tribe, as defined 8 in section 4(13) of the Native Amer- 9 ican Housing Assistance and Self-De- 10 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 11 4103(13)), including any tribally des- 12 ignated housing entity (as defined in 13 section 4(22) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 14 4103(22))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi- 15 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en- 16 tity, 17 ‘‘(iv) a local, State, regional, or na- 18 tional coalition (with one lead organization 19 which meets the eligibility requirements of 20 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the appli- 21 cant organization), or 22 ‘‘(v) in the case of applicable tax- 23 payers and members of underserved popu- 24 lations with respect to which no organiza- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1875 IH tions described in the preceding clauses are 1 available— 2 ‘‘(I) a State government agency, 3 or 4 ‘‘(II) an office providing Cooper- 5 ative Extension services (as estab- 6 lished at the land-grant colleges and 7 universities under the Smith-Lever 8 Act of May 8, 1914). 9 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘ap- 10 plicable taxpayer’ means a taxpayer whose income 11 for the taxable year does not exceed an amount 12 equal to the completed phaseout amount under sec- 13 tion 32(b) for a married couple filing a joint return 14 with three or more qualifying children, as deter- 15 mined in a revenue procedure or other published 16 guidance. 17 ‘‘(4) UNDERSERVED POPULATION.—The term 18 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per- 19 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 20 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 21 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 22 spouses, and the elderly. 23 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES AND LIMITATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1875 IH ‘‘(1) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Upon application 1 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec- 2 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 3 to exceed 3 years. 4 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other- 5 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec- 6 retary shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per 7 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 8 program) to grants under this section. 9 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro- 11 mote tax preparation through qualified return prepa- 12 ration programs through the use of mass commu- 13 nications and other means. 14 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING 15 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 16 Secretary may provide taxpayers information regard- 17 ing qualified return preparation programs receiving 18 grants under this section. 19 ‘‘(3) REFERRALS TO QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME 20 TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Qualified return preparation 21 programs receiving a grant under this section are 22 encouraged, in appropriate cases, to— 23 ‘‘(A) advise taxpayers of the availability of, 24 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1875 IH and assistance from qualified low-income tax- 1 payer clinics receiving funding under section 2 7526, and 3 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo- 4 cation of, and contact information for, such 5 clinics.’’. 6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 7 for chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item re- 8 lating to section 7526 the following new item: 9 ‘‘Sec. 7526A. Return preparation programs for applicable taxpayers.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1875.IH H1875 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS