Title 26—Internal Revenue--Volume 1
PART 601—STATEMENT OF PROCEDURAL RULES
§ 601.803   Program operations and requirements.
(a) Objective. The objective of the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program is to provide free assistance in the preparation of Federal income tax returns to elderly taxpayers age 60 and over, by providing training, technical and administrative support to volunteers under the direction of non-profit agencies and organizations that have cooperative agreements with the Internal Revenue Service.
(b) Period of program operations. Most tax return preparation assistance will be provided to elderly taxpayers during the period for filing Federal income tax returns, from January 1 to April 15 each year. However, the program activities required to ensure elderly taxpayers efficient and quality tax assistance will normally be conducted year round. Program operations will generally be divided into the following segments each year: October—recruit volunteers; November and December—set training and testing schedules for volunteers, identify assistance sites, complete publicity plans for sites; December and January—train and test volunteers, set volunteer assistance schedules; January through May—provide tax assistance, conduct publicity for sites; May and June—prepare final reports and evaluate program; July and August—prepare for next year's program.
(c) Assistance requirements. All tax return preparation assistance provided under Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs must be provided free of charge to taxpayers and must be provided only to elderly individuals. An elderly individual is an individual age 60 or over at the close of the individual's taxable year with respect to which tax return preparation assistance is to be provided. Where a joint return is involved, assistance may be provided where only one spouse satisfies the 60 year age requirement.
(d) Training and testing of volunteers. Volunteers will normally be provided training and will normally be required to pass tests designed to measure their understanding of Federal tax subjects on which they will provide tax return assistance. Volunteers who do not receive a satisfactory score will not be eligible to participate in the program.
(e) Confidentiality of tax information. Program sponsors must obtain written assurance from all volunteers and all other individuals involved in the program, to respect the confidentiality of income and financial information known as a result of preparation of a return or of providing tax counseling assistance in the preparation of Federal income tax returns.
§ 601.804   Reimbursements.
(a) General. When provided for in cooperative agreements, the Internal Revenue Service will provide amounts to program sponsors for reimbursement to volunteers for transportation, meals, and other expenses incurred in training or providing tax return assistance and to program sponsors for reimbursement of overhead expenses. Cooperative agreements will establish the items for which reimbursements will be allowed and the method of reimbursement, e.g., stipend versus actual expenses for meals, as well as developing necessary procedures, forms, and accounting and financial control systems.
(b) Direct, reasonable, and prudent expenses. Reimbursements will be allowed only for direct, reasonable, and prudent expenses incurred as a part of a volunteer's service or as a part of the program sponsor's overhead.
(c) Limitation. Total reimbursements provided to a program sponsor shall not exceed the total amount specified in the cooperative agreement. The Internal Revenue Service shall not be liable for additional amounts to program sponsors, volunteers, or anyone else.
(d) Availability of appropriated funds. Expense reimbursements and other assistance to be provided by the Internal Revenue Service under cooperative agreements are contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds for the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program.
§ 601.805   Miscellaneous administrative provisions.
(a) Responsibilities and relationship of Internal Revenue and program sponsor. Substantial involvement is anticipated between the Internal Revenue Service and the program sponsors in conducting this program. Specific responsibilities and obligations of the Internal Revenue Service and the program sponsors will be set forth in each cooperative agreement.
(b) Administrative requirements set forth in OMB and Treasury Circulars. (1) The basic administrative requirements applicable to individual cooperative agreements are contained in Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-110, Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Nonprofit Organizations (41 FR 32016). All applicable provisions of this circular and any existing and further supplements and revisions are incorporated into these regulations and into all cooperative agreements entered into between the Internal Revenue Service and program sponsors.
(2) Additional operating procedures and instructions may be developed by the Internal Revenue Service to direct recipient organizations in carrying out the provisions of this subpart, such as instructions for using letters of credit. Any such operating procedures or instructions will be incorporated into each cooperative agreement.
(c) Joint funding. Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs will not be eligible for joint funding. Accordingly, the Joint Funding Simplification Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-510, December 5, 1974 (88 Stat. 1604, 42 U.S.C. 4251-4261) and Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-111, Jointly Funded Assistance to State and Local Governments and Nonprofit Organizations (41 FR 32039), will not apply.
(d) Discrimination. No program sponsor shall discriminate against any person providing tax return assistance on the basis of age, sex, race, religion or national origin in conducting program operations. No program sponsor shall discriminate against any person in providing such assistance on the basis of sex, race, religion or national origin.
§ 601.806   Solicitation of applications.
(a) Solicitation. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue or the Commissioner's delegate may, at any time, solicit eligible agencies and organizations to submit applications. Generally, applications will be solicited and accepted in June and July of each year. Deadlines for submitting applications and the schedule for selecting program sponsors will be provided with application documents.
(1) Before preparing and submitting an unsolicited application, organizations are strongly encouraged to contact the Internal Revenue Service at the address provided in paragraph (b) (2) of this section.
(2) A solicitation of an application is not an assurance or commitment that the Internal Revenue Service will enter into a cooperative agreement. The Internal Revenue Service will not pay any expenses or other costs incurred by the applicant in considering, preparing or submitting an application.
(b) Application. (1) In the application documents, the Commissioner or the Commissioner's delegate will specify program requirements which the applicant must meet.
(2) Eligible organizations interested in participating in the Internal Revenue Service Tax Counseling for the Elderly program should request an application from the:
§ 601.901   Missing children shown on penalty mail.
(a) Purpose. To support the national effort to locate and recover missing children, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) joins other executive departments and agencies of the Government of the United States in using official mail to disseminate photographs and biographical information on hundreds of missing children.
(b) Procedures for obtaining and disseminating data. (1) The IRS shall publish pictures and biographical data related to missing children in domestic penalty mail containing annual tax forms and instructions, taxpayer information publications, and other IRS products directed to members of the public in the United States and its territories and possessions.
(2) Missing children information shall not be placed on the “Penalty Indicia,” “OCR Read Area,” “Bar Code Read Area,” and “Return Address” areas of letter-size envelopes.
(3) The IRS shall accept photographic and biographical materials solely from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (National Center). Photographs that were reasonably current as of the time of the child's disappearance, or those which have been updated to reflect a missing child's current age through computer enhancement technique, shall be the only acceptable form of visual media or pictorial likeness used in penalty mail.
(c) Withdrawal of data. The shelf life of printed penalty mail is limited to 3 months for missing child cases. The IRS shall follow those guidelines whenever practicable. For products with an extended shelf life, such as those related to filing and paying taxes, the IRS will not print any pictures or biographical data relating to missing children without obtaining from the National Center a waiver of the 3-month shelf-life guideline.
(d) Reports and contact official. IRS shall compile and submit to OJJDP reports on its experience in implementing Public Law 99-87, 99 Stat. 290, as required by that office. The IRS contact person is: Chief, Business Publications Section (or successor office), Tax Forms and Publications Division, Technical Publications Branch, OP:FS:FP:P:3, Room 5613, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20224.
(e) Period of applicability. This section is applicable December 13, 1999 through December 31, 2002.