The Community Tax Law Project

What The Community Tax Law Project does

The Community Tax Law Project (CTLP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1992 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It is the first independent Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) in the United States and serves as the model for the IRS's national LITC program. CTLP provides free tax controversy legal representation to low- and moderate-income Virginia residents whose household income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level and whose disputes involve $50,000 or less per tax year. It is Virginia's only statewide provider of these services.

CTLP's core offering is direct legal representation in federal and state tax disputes with the IRS and Virginia Department of Taxation, spanning examinations, appeals, collections, and Tax Court proceedings. Specific services include IRS notice response, Tax Court petitions, Offers in Compromise, installment agreements, innocent and injured spouse relief, Collection Due Process hearings, and Earned Income Tax Credit appeals. The organization augments a 4-person in-house staff (Executive Director, Staff Attorney, Paralegal & ESL Outreach Coordinator, Program Assistant) with a Pro Bono Panel of 60+ volunteer attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents, and runs a law student Legal Internship Program. No proprietary technology platform supports service delivery; the website is built on Wix and intake is handled via phone and email.

CTLP is funded through a mix of IRS LITC grant funding, individual donations, Combined Federal Campaign and United Way designations, IRA Charitable Rollovers, and gifts of stock. It handled approximately 800-1,000 represented and brief advice cases per year, and was recognized with the Virginia State Bar's Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Pro Bono Award in 2001. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors led by President Melissa L. Wiley, with Nancy A. Rossner serving as Executive Director.

Name

The Community Tax Law Project

Legal name

The Community Tax Law Project

Website

https://ctlp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Community Tax Law Project is a Richmond, Virginia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 that provides free tax controversy legal representation to low- and moderate-income Virginia taxpayers (income at or below 250% of federal poverty level) through a 4-person staff and a 60+ volunteer pro bono panel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic / Tax Controversy Legal Services

NAICS

Other Legal Services (54119), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Tax Law (BPAHAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM), Taxpayer Services, Education & Outreach (BPAIADAM)

Keywords

• Tax controversy representation
• Low income taxpayer clinic
• Irs dispute legal aid
• Nonprofit legal services
• Pro bono tax defense

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: CTLP relies on donations from individuals. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.
2. Grants: CTLP relies on grants to fund services including direct legal representation, legal advice, education on tax matters, and outreach to low income and ESL taxpayers.
3. Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Federal employees can designate CTLP to receive donations through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC code #67736).
4. United Way: Employees participating in United Way campaigns can designate CTLP to receive a portion of their donation using code #6345.
5. IRA Charitable Rollover: Individuals age 70½ or older can make charitable gifts directly to CTLP from traditional or Roth IRAs without incurring federal income taxes.
6. Gifts of Stock: Appreciated securities can be donated through CTLP's gift account at Charles Schwab.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Community Tax Law Project provides free legal representation and related assistance to low-income Virginia taxpayers in federal and state tax controversies with the IRS and the Virginia Department of Taxation. Services span the full lifecycle of a tax dispute—examinations, appeals, collections, refund claims, and Tax Court proceedings—and are delivered through in-house attorneys, a Pro Bono Panel of more than 60 volunteer tax professionals, and a law student internship program. The organization also runs bilingual outreach and taxpayer rights education, particularly for limited English proficiency populations.

Product overview

The Community Tax Law Project (CTLP) is Virginia's only statewide nonprofit provider of free tax controversy legal services to low- and moderate-income taxpayers. CTLP operates as a unified service model combining direct in-house legal representation, a Pro Bono Panel of over 60 volunteer tax professionals, and a law student internship program. The core offering consists of free legal representation in federal and state tax disputes when the amount in dispute is $50,000 or less per tax year and household income does not exceed 250% of the federal poverty level. Services include IRS notice response, Tax Court petitions, Offers in Compromise, installment agreements, innocent spouse relief, and Collection Due Process Hearings. CTLP also provides taxpayer rights education and targeted outreach to limited English proficiency populations through bilingual staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Controversy Legal Representation Free legal representation for low-income Virginia taxpayers in federal and state tax disputes with the IRS and Virginia Department of Taxation, spanning examinations, appeals, refund claims, collections, and Tax Court proceedings.
• IRS Notice Assistance Representation and response handling for IRS Notices including Notices of Intent to Lien or Levy and Notices of Deficiency on behalf of income-qualified clients.
• Tax Court Petition Filing Preparation and filing of petitions to the United States Tax Court for taxpayers with disputed tax amounts.
• Offer in Compromise Services Assistance with negotiating Offers in Compromise to settle tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed.
• Installment Agreement Negotiation Help negotiating payment plans with the IRS for taxpayers unable to pay their full tax liability upfront.
• Innocent and Injured Spouse Relief Legal assistance for spouses seeking relief from joint tax liability when they are not responsible for the debt, including survivors of domestic violence.
• Collection Due Process Hearings Representation at Collection Due Process Hearings to challenge IRS collection actions on behalf of low-income clients.
• Taxpayer Rights Education Education and outreach programs for taxpayers with limited English proficiency about their rights and responsibilities in tax matters, including through bilingual content.
• ESL Taxpayer Outreach Targeted outreach and education to taxpayers who speak English as a second language, including Hispanic community outreach conducted through bilingual staff.
• Pro Bono Panel Matching Matching of eligible low-income taxpayers with more than 60 volunteer attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents who provide free tax representation.
• Legal Internship Program Law student internship program providing hands-on experience in tax controversy representation, client interaction, and IRS negotiations.
• Earned Income Tax Credit Assistance Help with Earned Income Tax Credit eligibility determinations and appeals for low-income working taxpayers.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Pro Bono Panel (60+ volunteer attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents)coreOthersCTLP's Pro Bono Panel is composed of more than 60 volunteer attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents who provide free tax representation to qualifying low-income clients. CTLP screens cases for income eligibility and merit, then refers accepted cases to local volunteer professionals.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Regional players

• Legal Aid Justice Center: Virginia-based legal aid organization serving low-income residents across multiple practice areas including public benefits and housing. Regional peer providing comparable free civil legal services to low-income Virginia clients, though without CTLP's tax-specialization.
• Virginia Legal Aid Society: Provides free civil legal services to low-income Virginians across a broader practice footprint than CTLP. A regional peer sharing the Virginia-only service area, nonprofit funding model, and low-income client base, but with general-practice rather than tax specialization.

Emerging players

• Central American Legal Assistance (CALA): A nonprofit providing free immigration and legal services to low-income immigrants in Virginia, with similar community-led GTM and bilingual outreach. Adjacent rather than direct, but operates in the same Virginia social-services nonprofit ecosystem and overlaps with CTLP's ESL clientele.

Others

• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) — IRS Program: IRS-sponsored free tax return preparation program for low-to-moderate-income taxpayers. Complementary to CTLP — VITA handles return preparation while CTLP handles controversies — and both share the IRS-federal-grant ecosystem for low-income taxpayer services.
• Center for Taxpayer Rights: National nonprofit focused on taxpayer rights research, education, and advocacy — explicitly linked from CTLP's own website under Resources. They overlap on taxpayer-rights education and outreach but do not provide direct representation, making them an ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Maryland Low Income Taxpayer Clinic: Operated by Maryland Legal Services, this is a federally funded LITC that provides free representation to low-income taxpayers in tax controversies with the IRS — a direct peer to CTLP at both the program model and service-area level, just in a different state.
• Florida Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (FITC): A statewide LITC serving low-income Florida taxpayers in IRS controversies — same federal funding stream, same IRS LITC program model, same intake-and-representation workflow as CTLP. One of the most directly comparable LITCs in another state.

Broad incumbents

• Taxpayer Advocate Service (IRS): Independent IRS organization that helps taxpayers resolve problems and recommend legislative changes. Directly comparable mission to CTLP — both represent taxpayers in disputes with the IRS — but TAS is federally funded and serves all income levels nationwide, whereas CTLP focuses exclusively on low-income Virginia residents pro bono.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ctlp.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-community-tax-law-project

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Community Tax Law Project