IRS Form 13424‑L, Statement of Grant Expenditures

Editorial Standards

How we research, review, and update this guide

Every Accountably guide is researched against primary IRS sources, reviewed by a U.S. CPA, and refreshed as guidance evolves. Read our Editorial Guidelines to see how we source, fact-check, and update our content.

A clinic arrived two weeks before its Interim Report with a stack of payroll registers, vendor invoices, and a half-written narrative. We spent ten days reconciling category totals back to the general ledger, pulling indirect costs out of the matching column, and rewriting explanations so a reviewer could see how each number was built.

That is why Form 13424-L reads as a documentation exercise before it is a form. It is the LITC Statement of Grant Expenditures, filed by grantees as part of the Interim Report due July 30 and the Year-End Report due March 30 under IRC § 7526. Matching funds have to hit a 1:1 dollar-for-dollar ratio under IRC § 7526(c)(5), and indirect or overhead costs cannot count toward that match. The current file is the Rev. 5-2018 PDF.

Key Takeaways

• Form 13424‑L is the LITC Statement of Grant Expenditures and is tied to OMB Control Number 1545‑1648. As of June 30, 2025, the instrument is listed as “Modified” under ICR 202505‑1545‑013.
• The current instrument file is still the Rev. 5‑2018 fillable PDF labeled f13424‑l‑‑2018‑05‑00.pdf.
• OMB now shows the form as Available Electronically, Yes and Can Be Submitted Electronically, Yes, with “Fillable, Fileable” capability. In other words, plan to file online.
• IRS listings continue to show Form 13424‑L with a May 2018 revision, and the file appears in the IRS downloads directory as f13424l.pdf.
• The IRS Internal Revenue Manual notes that Form 13424‑L includes a table of Federal and Matching expenditures by expense category and a narrative that explains how you calculated those amounts. Build both parts with the same care you would bring to an audit file.

What Form 13424‑L Is, in Plain English

Form 13424‑L is the Statement of Grant Expenditures for the Low‑Income Taxpayer Clinic program (IRS Publication 3319 for the 2027 grant year refers to the same form as the Detailed Budget Worksheet, so expect to see both labels depending on which IRS source you are reading). You use it to report, by category, how you spent LITC grant funds and your required match, then you attach short explanations that tie each figure back to clinic activities. The collection sits under OMB 1545‑1648 and, in the current ICR, appears as “Modified,” which signals active oversight of the program’s reporting framework.

The instrument file itself remains the Rev. 5‑2018 PDF, and it is the version you will still see referenced in 2025 OMB records. Clinics recognize it by the filename f13424‑l‑‑2018‑05‑00.pdf.

As of June 30, 2025, OMB lists this form as both fillable and fileable electronically, which removes any uncertainty about whether you can submit through the program’s designated channels. Build your process around electronic completion and submission, then retain a final locked copy for your files.

Who Must Complete It, and When

If your organization received an LITC grant for the period of performance, you are required to submit this statement to obtain or retain grant benefits. The obligation to respond is explicit in the OMB record for IC ID 246986. This applies to not‑for‑profit entities operating clinics under IRC section 7526, and both the Interim Report (due July 30 of the grant year) and the Year-End Report (due March 30 of the year following the grant year) include Form 13424-L, so neither submission is optional and missing either can trigger restricted access to grant funds, suspension or termination of the grant, or reduction of any future award.

Deadlines and report timing follow the LITC Grant Application Package, Publication 3319, and annual program notices. For the 2025 cycle, IRS notices explained the application window and continued to point clinics to Publication 3319 resources. Track the specific reporting windows in your award terms and the current Publication 3319 edition for your grant year.

Pro tip, start your reconciliation before the window opens, not after. You will cut your review time in half when your narratives and totals are already tied to your general ledger and payroll system.

What the Form Covers

Form 13424‑L has two core pieces, a category table and a narrative. The IRS Internal Revenue Manual describes it plainly, it is a detailed report of Federal and Matching expenditures, organized by expense category, plus a narrative that explains the calculations behind your totals. That means you should be ready to show how you derived each number and how each cost supported clinic services.

Typical expense categories you will report include personnel, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, and other direct costs. If you track costs by project code or class in your accounting system, map those codes to the categories on the form. Keep the mapping table with your workpapers so reviewers can follow the trail.

Quick Category‑to‑Documentation Map

Category	Examples you may include	What reviewers look for
Personnel	Salaries, time charged to LITC	Timesheets or time studies, pay stubs, allocation method
Fringe	FICA, health, retirement	Rate schedules, payroll detail, basis of allocation
Travel	Site visits, outreach events	Mileage logs, receipts, business purpose
Equipment	Computers, scanners	Procurement docs, asset records, allowability
Supplies	Printing, case materials	Invoices, purpose linked to program tasks
Contractual	Outside translators, tax pros	Contracts, invoices, deliverables tied to scope
Other	Facility costs if allowable, software	Allocation basis, invoices, policy support

Make each line easy to review by attaching labeled support. If it is not in the packet, it does not exist, at least from a reviewer’s point of view.

How Electronic Filing Changed in 2025

There used to be lingering doubt about electronic submission. The current OMB record clears that up. For IC 246986, OMB shows “Available Electronically, Yes” and “Can Be Submitted Electronically, Yes,” with Electronic Capability “Fillable, Fileable.” Plan for a clean electronic package and keep your audit copy.

You can find the file on IRS’s forms page and the IRS downloads directory, which list Form 13424‑L, Statement of Grant Expenditures, with a May 2018 revision. Confirm the filename before saving to avoid mixing older workpapers with your current packet.

Bottom line, you complete it electronically, you submit it electronically, and you keep an electronic and printed copy for your grant file (open it in Adobe Reader or another XFA-compatible tool, since it is delivered as an XFA dynamic PDF produced in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES 9.0 and browser-embedded viewers will only show a 'Please wait' placeholder).

Page‑by‑Page Walkthrough, What Reviewers Expect

Every clinic structures its work a bit differently, but reviewers are remarkably consistent in what they want to see. Use this flow to keep your 13424‑L tight and defensible.

Page 1, Identifiers and Totals

• Confirm clinic name, EIN, DUNS or UEI if requested, grant number, and period of performance.
• Enter Federal and Matching totals that tie to your general ledger.
• Foot and cross‑foot totals before you move on. One transposed digit can snowball into a time sink for you and your reviewer.

Pages 2–3, Category Detail

• Break out personnel, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, and other costs.
• Use clear descriptions that mirror the labels used in your accounting system.
• If you moved staff between projects mid‑year, show the allocation method once and reference it rather than rewriting it on every line.

Page 4, Instructions You Should Treat Like a Checklist

• Apply allowability rules and definitions from the page 4 instructions.
• Keep each cost in the correct grant period, and avoid cross‑year mixing.
• Leave out fundraising, lobbying, and non‑program costs.
• Tie each line to a document, then tie each document to a budget line.

Page 5, Narrative Explanations

• Explain how you calculated each category total.
• Personnel, name or position, hours, rate, and period covered.
• Contractual, vendor, scope, dates, invoice numbers, and amounts.
• Non‑personnel, item, purpose, date incurred, method used to allocate.
• Keep it short and factual, reviewers favor clarity over prose.

The IRS IRM makes it clear that the narrative exists to show how you arrived at the table amounts, not to retell your program story. Think like an auditor, anticipate the one question a reviewer will ask, then answer it in a sentence.

Page 6, Certification

• Have an authorized official review, sign, and date.
• Confirm that all subtotals roll to the certified totals.
• Save a locked PDF, then archive the editable file and your workpapers.

The Matching Funds Piece

Form 13424‑L covers both Federal and Matching expenditures. Your quality check is simple, show that match dollars supported the same allowable activities, in the same period, with the same documentation standards (and remember that indirect expenses, including general overhead of the sponsoring institution, cannot be counted as matching funds under IRC § 7526(c)(5), even if those costs are otherwise charged to the federal grant under an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement). The IRM specifically calls out that the report includes Federal and Matching expenditures by expense category, and the narrative should make the math obvious.

Your Ready‑to‑Use Completion Checklist

Use this as a pre‑submission routine. It will save you hours during review.

• Pull a period‑of‑performance GL by project or class for your LITC award.
• Reconcile payroll and fringe to timesheets or time studies.
• Reconcile travel, equipment, supplies, and contractual to invoices and receipts.
• Map each account to the form’s categories, then create a one‑page mapping table.
• Draft the narrative in bullet form, one bullet per category.
• Validate that Federal and Matching totals equal your GL roll‑ups.
• Ask a colleague to spot check three categories and initial the workpaper.
• Complete the PDF electronically, and re‑check footings.
• Obtain certification from an authorized official.
• Save a locked copy for submission and a source‑tagged binder for audit.

Documentation You Should Have Ready

• Payroll, pay stubs, allocation method, and timesheets or time studies.
• Fringe calculations and the basis used.
• Invoices, receipts, purchase orders, and proof of payment for non‑payroll costs.
• Contracts and statements of work for vendors, including deliverables.
• GL detail and a category mapping table.
• A cross‑reference log that points from each line on the form to the underlying document and budget line.

If a number does not tie to a document, assume your reviewer will ask about it. Make the answer obvious inside your packet.

Electronic Access and Where to Get the Current File

As of 2025, the OMB record for IC 246986 confirms that Form 13424‑L is both fillable and fileable electronically. That confirmation removes old ambiguity about electronic submission.

You will still see the instrument labeled Form 13424‑L, Rev. 5‑2018, with filename f13424‑l‑‑2018‑05‑00.pdf on the OMB site, and the IRS downloads directory lists the same file as f13424l.pdf with a May 2018 revision. Verify the filename before you save and share.

If you need broader program context, the LITC grant page from the Taxpayer Advocate Service links to Publication 3319 and application resources for the current cycle, which helps you align reporting with current guidance.

Records and Retention, How Long You Keep Everything

Federal grant recordkeeping follows the Uniform Guidance. Keep financial records, supporting documents, and all other award records for three years from the date you submit your final financial or expenditure report, unless there is an audit, claim, or litigation that requires a longer period. Equipment records and certain rate computations have their own timing rules. When in doubt, hold the file for the longer period.

Common Mistakes Clinics Make, and What To Do Instead

Across LITC engagements the same handful of mistakes show up cycle after cycle. None of them are about the math, all of them are about misreading what IRS Publication 3319 and IRC § 7526 actually require.

Workpaper Naming That Speeds Review

Use a consistent, human‑readable pattern so anyone can find the right file in seconds.

• GrantID_13424L_YYYYMMDD_GLDetail.xlsx
• GrantID_13424L_YYYYMMDD_PayrollFringe.pdf
• GrantID_13424L_YYYYMMDD_ContractsVendorABC.pdf
• GrantID_13424L_YYYYMMDD_MappingTable.pdf
• GrantID_13424L_YYYYMMDD_NarrativeDraft.docx

Add a simple cross‑reference log that lists Form line, document name, page, and amount. Reviewers love logs because they shorten follow‑up.

How Delivery Discipline Helps You File on Time

If your team feels buried during closeout, it is rarely a “people problem.” It is a delivery system problem. A few operational habits remove the friction:

• Write mini SOPs for each category, for example how to book fringe or translate procurement documents into the form’s labels.
• Standardize file names and folder structure so reviewers see the same layout every cycle.
• Add internal checklists so nothing moves to certification without a second set of eyes.

If you prefer a partner to handle the mechanics, Accountably can integrate structured workpapers, category SOPs, and a two‑layer review so your authorized official spends less time in the weeds and more time on strategy. We keep the process inside your systems, templates, and security controls, which fits clinics that cannot risk compliance slips.

Compliance Notes for 2025

• The LITC grant program posted the 2025 notices and the 2026 cycle timeline in IRS announcements and Federal Register notices. Use those to anchor your internal calendar, then attach them to your workpapers so anyone on your team can confirm the source.
• The 2025 ICR shows broader changes to LITC reporting, including consolidation into a new Form 13424‑R for interim and year‑end program reporting. Those changes do not remove the need to complete the Statement of Grant Expenditures.

A Simple Closing Routine

• Re‑check totals, categories, and dates.
• Re‑read narratives for math clarity.
• Confirm certification by the authorized official.
• Save a locked submission copy and a source‑tagged binder copy.
• Archive support and mapping tables with controlled access.

Do today what your future reviewer wishes you had done, label clearly, tie every number, and explain the math once.

Need help with the mechanics, not the mission

If you want a steady process without adding headcount, Accountably can embed disciplined workpapers, SOPs, and a layered review that fits your clinic’s systems, all while keeping quality and security controls intact. That support shortens review cycles and protects deadlines for clinics that cannot afford compliance risk.

References

• OMB ICR 202505‑1545‑013, Form 13424‑L, IC 246986, status Modified, electronic capability Yes, Yes.
• Form 13424‑L instrument file, Rev. 5‑2018, f13424‑l‑‑2018‑05‑00.pdf.
• IRS listings for Form 13424‑L, May 2018 revision, file present in IRS downloads directory.
• IRM 13.8.1 excerpt noting category table and narrative for Federal and Matching expenditures.
• 2 CFR 200.334, three‑year record retention rule and exceptions.

Reusable Checklists

These checklists are copy-paste ready for your clinic's SOP folder. Use them at the start of each reporting period and again the week before submission so nothing slips past certification.

Keep 13424-L Season From Stalling

The LITC reporting cycle hits twice every grant year: an Interim Report on July 30 covering January through June, and a Year-End Report on March 30 of the following year covering the full calendar year, per IRS Publication 3319. With 138 LITC clinics funded in 2026 and nearly $20 million awarded (per Taxpayer Advocate Service reporting), the compression around those two dates is real, especially when the same finance lead is also closing the books, processing payroll, and tying matching funds back to source documents.

What stalls clinics is not the form itself, it is the absence of a repeatable category-to-document trail. Form 13424-L groups expenditures by category – personnel, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, and other direct costs – and reviewers want each line to tie to a payroll register, an invoice, a procurement record, or an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. A short list of operational habits removes most of the rework.

• Map your general ledger to the form's expenditure categories at the start of the grant year, not the week before submission, so payroll, fringe, and contractual lines land in the right buckets automatically.
• Track Federal-share and Matching-share dollars in parallel columns inside each category, since IRC § 7526(c)(5) requires a 1:1 match and indirect or overhead costs cannot count toward it.
• Keep a one-page narrative draft running during the reporting period that explains how each category total was calculated, including hours, rates, vendor scope, and allocation methods, so reviewers do not chase the math after the fact.
• Reconcile your Form 13424-L totals against the SF-425 Federal Financial Report and the Form 13424-R program narrative before submission, since the Year-End Report bundles all three.
• Stage the LITC Grants Portal submission a week before the due date with a final reviewer sign-off, since late filings can restrict access to grant funds or reduce future awards, per IRS Publication 3319.

If category mapping, matching documentation, and review-ready narratives are eating into the time your authorized official should be spending on program quality, Accountably can embed structured workpapers and a layered review inside your existing systems. See our tax and accounting outsourcing services for how the delivery side fits without disturbing your compliance controls.

FAQs

Is Form 13424‑L still the 2018 PDF?

Yes. As of December 19, 2025, the OMB record shows the instrument file as Form 13424‑L (Rev. 5‑2018) with the filename f13424‑l‑‑2018‑05‑00.pdf. The IRS downloads directory lists f13424l.pdf with a May 2018 revision.

Can I submit Form 13424‑L electronically?

Yes. The OMB listing for IC 246986 shows “Available Electronically, Yes” and “Can Be Submitted Electronically, Yes,” with “Fillable, Fileable” capability. Follow the program’s submission channel as instructed in your grant materials.

What does the narrative need to include?

Keep it short and numerical. The IRM describes the narrative as the place you explain how you calculated the category totals. Include names or positions, hours, rates for personnel, vendor scope and invoices for contractual, and purpose with allocation method for non‑personnel items.

How do I handle matching funds on this form?

Report match in the same categories and with the same standards you use for Federal funds. The report includes Federal and Matching expenditures, so support match with the same quality of documentation and timing. Note that indirect expenses and general overhead of the sponsoring institution cannot count as match under IRC § 7526(c)(5), only direct salary (with fringe), direct equipment, and other direct contributions qualify.

How long should I keep my records?

Keep award records for three years from the date you submit your final expenditure or financial report, longer if there is an audit, claim, or litigation. See 2 CFR 200.334 for the details and exceptions.

Where do I find current guidance for the grant year?

Check the Taxpayer Advocate Service LITC Grants page for the current Publication 3319 and application resources, then confirm reporting instructions in your award.