Federal Low-Income Taxpayer Practicum

Catalog description

This course will cover basic administrative federal tax practice, with an experiential component. Working under the guidance of 603 Legal Aid’s Low-Income Taxpayer Project, students will learn how to represent a client before the Internal Revenue Service in basic cases involving return preparation, return processing, refund traces, identity verification, identity theft, audits, collections, innocent spouse relief, and appeals. The central focus of the experiential component will be case handling, and students will primarily be assigned cases involving incarcerated people seeking help with missing stimulus payments. In addition to the casework necessary for handling their cases, the students will learn how to interview clients, gather and investigate relevant facts, work with the Internal Revenue Service, and track all case activity and documents in client case management systems. Students will also learn how to conduct outreach and education for low-income populations, network with local professionals to involve them in Pro Bono work, and advocate for systemic change within the Internal Revenue Service.