Tax Clinic

Our Mission

The School of Law operates one of only three Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the only such clinic in southern Virginia. The Clinic, which works throughout the calendar year, provides reliable, valuable service free of charge to qualifying clients facing post-filing tax controversies before the Internal Revenue Service and/or Virginia Department of Taxation. Such controversies include but are not limited to audits, appeals, non-filing issues, collections issues, innocent spouse relief, and representation in U.S. Tax Court.

Student-Attorneys in the Clinic also engage in educational outreach to locals about their rights and responsibilities as U.S. taxpayers. Past outreach has included classes conducted at prisons and in high schools. Student-Attorneys are supervised by Acting Director Kari Munro, a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, who represented the United States in criminal prosecutions involving white collar crime, tax, narcotics, and violent crime.

The terms of the Clinic's federal grant mandate that the Clinic provide legal representation chiefly to taxpayers whose income does not exceed 250 percent of the annual Federal Poverty Guidelines. Limited exceptions may be made, and final eligibility will be determined during an initial intake call. The Clinic can provide educational outreach to all taxpayers, regardless of income.

Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Mission

Our Clinic is partially funded through a matching federal grant provided by the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic program, which is administered by the Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Advocate Service. However, the Clinic is completely independent of, and not associated with, the IRS or the federal government.

The mission of the LITC program is to "represent individuals whose income is below a certain level and who need to resolve tax problems with the IRS. LITCs can represent taxpayers in audits, appeals, and tax collection disputes before the IRS and in court. LITCs can also help taxpayers respond to IRS notices and correct account problems. In addition, LITCs can provide information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities in different languages for ESL individuals." For more about the LITC program, click here.

LITCs do not handle transactional tax matters or routine tax return preparation. If you need help with current year tax returns, the IRS has two programs-VITA and TCE-that provide seasonal preparation of federal income tax returns. Click here or call 1-800-906-9887 to find a VITA location near you. Call 1-888-227-7669 to find a TCE location near you.

The Washington and Lee Tax Clinic complies with IRS Publication 4025.