26 U.S.C. § 7525 — Confidentiality privileges relating to tax-

Page 3963 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7525 1996—Subsec. (b)(3)(C). Pub. L. 104–193, § 110(l)(4), for- merly § 110(l)(8), as renumbered by Pub. L. 105–33, sub- stituted ‘‘assistance under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act’’ for ‘‘aid to families with dependent children’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, except as other- wise provided, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture. Amendment by section 4002(b)(1)(E), (2)(O) of Pub. L. 110–246 effective Oct. 1, 2008, see section 4407 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 1161 of Title 2, The Congress. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–193 effective July 1, 1997, with transition rules relating to State options to accel- erate such date, rules relating to claims, actions, and proceedings commenced before such date, rules relating to closing out of accounts for terminated or substan- tially modified programs and continuance in office of Assistant Secretary for Family Support, and provisions relating to termination of entitlement under AFDC program, see section 116 of Pub. L. 104–193, as amended, set out as an Effective Date note under section 601 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 101–508, title XI, § 11622(c), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–505, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to in- structions prepared for taxable years beginning after 1990.’’ § 7524. Annual notice of tax delinquency Not less often than annually, the Secretary shall send a written notice to each taxpayer who has a tax delinquent account of the amount of the tax delinquency as of the date of the notice. (Added Pub. L. 104–168, title XII, § 1204(a), July 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 1471.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 104–168, title XII, § 1204(c), July 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 1471, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to cal- endar years after 1996.’’ § 7525. Confidentiality privileges relating to tax- payer communications (a) Uniform application to taxpayer communica- tions with federally authorized practitioners (1) General rule With respect to tax advice, the same com- mon law protections of confidentiality which apply to a communication between a taxpayer and an attorney shall also apply to a commu- nication between a taxpayer and any federally authorized tax practitioner to the extent the communication would be considered a privi- leged communication if it were between a tax- payer and an attorney. (2) Limitations Paragraph (1) may only be asserted in— (A) any noncriminal tax matter before the Internal Revenue Service; and (B) any noncriminal tax proceeding in Fed- eral court brought by or against the United States. (3) Definitions For purposes of this subsection— (A) Federally authorized tax practitioner The term ‘‘federally authorized tax practi- tioner’’ means any individual who is author- ized under Federal law to practice before the Internal Revenue Service if such practice is subject to Federal regulation under section 330 of title 31, United States Code. (B) Tax advice The term ‘‘tax advice’’ means advice given by an individual with respect to a matter which is within the scope of the individual’s authority to practice described in subpara- graph (A). (b) Section not to apply to communications re- garding tax shelters The privilege under subsection (a) shall not apply to any written communication which is— (1) between a federally authorized tax practi- tioner and— (A) any person, (B) any director, officer, employee, agent, or representative of the person, or (C) any other person holding a capital or profits interest in the person, and (2) in connection with the promotion of the direct or indirect participation of the person in any tax shelter (as defined in section 6662(d)(2)(C)(ii)). (Added Pub. L. 105–206, title III, § 3411(a), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 750; amended Pub. L. 108–357, title VIII, § 813(a), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1581.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2004—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–357 amended heading and text of subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The privilege under subsection (a) shall not apply to any written communication be- tween a federally authorized tax practitioner and a di- rector, shareholder, officer, or employee, agent, or rep- resentative of a corporation in connection with the pro- motion of the direct or indirect participation of such corporation in any tax shelter (as defined in section 6662(d)(2)(C)(iii)).’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2004 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 108–357, title VIII, § 813(b), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1581, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to com- munications made on or after the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Oct. 22, 2004].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 105–206, title III, § 3411(c), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 751, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to com- munications made on or after the date of the enact- ment of this Act [July 22, 1998].’’ Page 3964 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7526 § 7526. Low-income taxpayer clinics (a) In general The Secretary may, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, make grants to provide matching funds for the development, expansion, or continuation of qualified low-income tax- payer clinics. (b) Definitions For purposes of this section— (1) Qualified low-income taxpayer clinic (A) In general The term ‘‘qualified low-income taxpayer clinic’’ means a clinic that— (i) does not charge more than a nominal fee for its services (except for reimburse- ment of actual costs incurred); and (ii)(I) represents low-income taxpayers in controversies with the Internal Revenue Service; or (II) operates programs to inform individ- uals for whom English is a second lan- guage about their rights and responsibil- ities under this title. (B) Representation of low-income taxpayers A clinic meets the requirements of sub- paragraph (A)(ii)(I) if— (i) at least 90 percent of the taxpayers represented by the clinic have incomes which do not exceed 250 percent of the pov- erty level, as determined in accordance with criteria established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and (ii) the amount in controversy for any taxable year generally does not exceed the amount specified in section 7463. (2) Clinic The term ‘‘clinic’’ includes— (A) a clinical program at an accredited law, business, or accounting school in which students represent low-income taxpayers in controversies arising under this title; and (B) an organization described in section 501(c) and exempt from tax under section 501(a) which satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1) through representation of tax- payers or referral of taxpayers to qualified representatives. (3) Qualified representative The term ‘‘qualified representative’’ means any individual (whether or not an attorney) who is authorized to practice before the Inter- nal Revenue Service or the applicable court. (c) Special rules and limitations (1) Aggregate limitation Unless otherwise provided by specific appro- priation, the Secretary shall not allocate more than $6,000,000 per year (exclusive of costs of administering the program) to grants under this section. (2) Limitation on annual grants to a clinic The aggregate amount of grants which may be made under this section to a clinic for a year shall not exceed $100,000. (3) Multi-year grants Upon application of a qualified low-income taxpayer clinic, the Secretary is authorized to award a multi-year grant not to exceed 3 years. (4) Criteria for awards In determining whether to make a grant under this section, the Secretary shall con- sider— (A) the numbers of taxpayers who will be served by the clinic, including the number of taxpayers in the geographical area for whom English is a second language; (B) the existence of other low-income tax- payer clinics serving the same population; (C) the quality of the program offered by the low-income taxpayer clinic, including the qualifications of its administrators and qualified representatives, and its record, if any, in providing service to low-income tax- payers; and (D) alternative funding sources available to the clinic, including amounts received from other grants and contributions, and the endowment and resources of the institution sponsoring the clinic. (5) Requirement of matching funds A low-income taxpayer clinic must provide matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all grants provided under this section. Match- ing funds may include— (A) the salary (including fringe benefits) of individuals performing services for the clin- ic; and (B) the cost of equipment used in the clin- ic. Indirect expenses, including general overhead of the institution sponsoring the clinic, shall not be counted as matching funds. (6) Provision of information regarding quali- fied low-income taxpayer clinics Notwithstanding any other provision of law, officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury may— (A) advise taxpayers of the availability of, and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice and assistance from one or more spe- cific qualified low-income taxpayer clinics receiving funding under this section, and (B) provide information regarding the lo- cation of, and contact information for, such clinics. (Added Pub. L. 105–206, title III, § 3601(a), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 774; amended Pub. L. 116–25, title I, § 1402(a), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 997.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 116–25 added par. (6). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2019 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 116–25, title I, § 1402(b), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 997, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by this sec- tion [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [July 1, 2019].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 105–206, title III, § 3601(c), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 776, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by