I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1875 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to facilitate nationwide availability 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Volunteer Income Tax 

5 Assistance Permanence Act of 2019’’ or as the ‘‘VITA 

6 Permanence Act of 2019’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1875 IH

1 SEC. 2. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR APPLICA2 BLE TAXPAYERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 

5 7526 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR AP7 PLICABLE TAXPAYERS. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX

9 ASSISTANCE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec10 retary shall establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax 

11 Assistance Matching Grant Program under which the Sec12 retary may, subject to the availability of appropriated 

13 funds, make grants to provide matching funds for the de14 velopment, expansion, or continuation of qualified return 

15 preparation programs assisting applicable taxpayers and 

16 members of underserved populations. 

17 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified return prepara19 tion programs may use grants received under this 

20 section for— 

21 ‘‘(A) ordinary and necessary costs associ22 ated with program operation in accordance with 

23 cost principles under the applicable Office of 

24 Management and Budget circular, including— 

25 ‘‘(i) wages or salaries of persons co26 ordinating the activities of the program, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1875 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 

2 conducting training, and performing qual3 ity reviews of the returns prepared under 

4 the program, 

5 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases, and 

6 ‘‘(iv) vehicle-related expenses associ7 ated with remote or rural tax preparation 

8 services, 

9 ‘‘(B) outreach and educational activities 

10 described in subsection (c)(2)(B), and 

11 ‘‘(C) services related to financial education 

12 and capability, asset development, and the es13 tablishment of savings accounts in connection 

14 with tax return preparation. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.—A 

16 qualified return preparation program must provide 

17 matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all 

18 grants provided under this section. Matching funds 

19 may include— 

20 ‘‘(A) the salary (including fringe benefits) 

21 of individuals performing services for the pro22 gram, 

23 ‘‘(B) the cost of equipment used in the 

24 program, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1875 IH

1 ‘‘(C) other ordinary and necessary costs 

2 associated with the program. 

3 Indirect expenses, including general overhead of any 

4 entity administering the program, shall not be 

5 counted as matching funds. 

6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each applicant for a grant 

8 under this section shall submit an application to the 

9 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con10 taining such information as the Secretary may rea11 sonably require. 

12 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

13 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica14 tions which demonstrate— 

15 ‘‘(A) assistance to applicable taxpayers, 

16 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 

17 such taxpayers, 

18 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational 

19 activities relating to eligibility and availability 

20 of income supports available through this title, 

21 including the earned income tax credit, and 

22 ‘‘(C) specific outreach and focus on one or 

23 more underserved populations. 

24 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In de25 termining matching grants under this section, the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1875 IH

1 Secretary shall only take into account amounts pro2 vided by the qualified return preparation program 

3 for expenses described in subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish procedures for, and shall conduct not less fre7 quently than once every 5 calendar years during 

8 which a qualified return preparation program is op9 erating under a grant under this section, periodic 

10 site visits— 

11 ‘‘(A) to ensure the program is carrying out 

12 the purposes of this section, and 

13 ‘‘(B) to determine whether the program 

14 meets such program adherence standards as the 

15 Secretary shall by regulation or other guidance 

16 prescribe. 

17 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT

18 RECIPIENTS NOT MEETING PROGRAM ADHERENCE

19 STANDARDS.—In the case of any qualified return 

20 preparation program which— 

21 ‘‘(A) is awarded a grant under this section, 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) is subsequently determined— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 1875 IH

1 ‘‘(i) not to meet the program adher2 ence standards described in paragraph 

3 (1)(B), or 

4 ‘‘(ii) not to be otherwise carrying out 

5 the purposes of this section, 

6 such program shall not be eligible for any additional 

7 grants under this section unless such program pro8 vides sufficient documentation of corrective meas9 ures established to address any such deficiencies de10 termined. 

11 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO13 GRAM.—The term ‘qualified return preparation pro14 gram’ means any program— 

15 ‘‘(A) which provides assistance to individ16 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are ap17 plicable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed18 eral income tax returns, 

19 ‘‘(B) which is administered by a qualified 

20 entity, 

21 ‘‘(C) in which all volunteers who assist in 

22 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 

23 meet the training requirements prescribed by 

24 the Secretary, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 1875 IH

1 ‘‘(D) which uses a quality review process 

2 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

3 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

5 entity’ means any entity which— 

6 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization, 

7 ‘‘(ii) is in compliance with Federal tax 

8 filing and payment requirements, 

9 ‘‘(iii) is not debarred or suspended 

10 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera11 tive agreements, and 

12 ‘‘(iv) agrees to provide documentation 

13 to substantiate any matching funds pro14 vided pursuant to the grant program under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term 

17 ‘eligible organization’ means— 

18 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 

19 which is described in section 102 (other 

20 than subsection (a)(1)(C) thereof) of the 

21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 1002), as in effect on the date of the en23 actment of this section, and which has not 

24 been disqualified from participating in a 

25 program under title IV of such Act, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 1875 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec2 tion 501(c) and exempt from tax under 

3 section 501(a), 

4 ‘‘(iii) a local government agency, in5 cluding— 

6 ‘‘(I) a county or municipal gov7 ernment agency, and 

8 ‘‘(II) an Indian tribe, as defined 

9 in section 4(13) of the Native Amer10 ican Housing Assistance and Self-De11 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

12 4103(13)), including any tribally des13 ignated housing entity (as defined in 

14 section 4(22) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 

15 4103(22))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi16 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en17 tity, 

18 ‘‘(iv) a local, State, regional, or na19 tional coalition (with one lead organization 

20 which meets the eligibility requirements of 

21 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the appli22 cant organization), or 

23 ‘‘(v) in the case of applicable tax24 payers and members of underserved popu25 lations with respect to which no organizaVerDate 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

1 tions described in the preceding clauses are 

2 available— 

3 ‘‘(I) a State government agency, 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(II) an office providing Cooper6 ative Extension services (as estab7 lished at the land-grant colleges and 

8 universities under the Smith-Lever 

9 Act of May 8, 1914). 

10 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘ap11 plicable taxpayer’ means a taxpayer whose income 

12 for the taxable year does not exceed an amount 

13 equal to the completed phaseout amount under sec14 tion 32(b) for a married couple filing a joint return 

15 with three or more qualifying children, as deter16 mined in a revenue procedure or other published 

17 guidance. 

18 ‘‘(4) UNDERSERVED POPULATION.—The term 

19 ‘underserved population’ includes populations of per20 sons with disabilities, persons with limited English 

21 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

22 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

23 spouses, and the elderly. 

24 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES AND LIMITATIONS.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 1875 IH

1 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Upon application 

2 of a qualified return preparation program, the Sec3 retary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not 

4 to exceed 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other6 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec7 retary shall not allocate more than $30,000,000 per 

8 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 

9 program) to grants under this section. 

10 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro12 mote tax preparation through qualified return prepa13 ration programs through the use of mass commu14 nications and other means. 

15 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

16 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

17 Secretary may provide taxpayers information regard18 ing qualified return preparation programs receiving 

19 grants under this section. 

20 ‘‘(3) REFERRALS TO QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME

21 TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Qualified return preparation 

22 programs receiving a grant under this section are 

23 encouraged, in appropriate cases, to— 

24 ‘‘(A) advise taxpayers of the availability of, 

25 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 1875 IH

1 and assistance from qualified low-income tax2 payer clinics receiving funding under section 

3 7526, and 

4 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo5 cation of, and contact information for, such 

6 clinics.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

8 for chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item re9 lating to section 7526 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7526A. Return preparation programs for applicable taxpayers.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS