2014 Individual Taxpayer Burden Survey

Business Taxpayer Burden Survey

IRS Business Taxpayer Burden Survey
The purpose of this survey is to provide Congress and the President with accurate estimates of the costs
incurred by business taxpayers in complying with federal tax rules and regulations as well as to inform tax
administrators and policy makers regarding opportunities to reduce and otherwise manage these costs.
Please be assured that you will not be asked about the income or other financial details of your business’
tax return.
This questionnaire relates to the activities associated with the preparation and filing of your 2009 federal
income tax return and any other tax returns (i.e., employment, excise, information returns, state and local,
etc.) filed for the same period. This includes any filings completed in the 12 months leading up to the
filing of your business’ 2009 federal income tax return.
The individual most responsible for maintaining the financial records for your business or making the
financial and tax-related decisions for your business should complete this questionnaire. You may need to
consult with others in your organization to complete the survey and we encourage you to do so.
This survey includes questions regarding the following content areas:
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Tax Preparation Methods and Activities
Tax-related Recordkeeping
Gathering Materials, Learning About Tax Law, and Using IRS Taxpayer Services
Tax Form Completion
Tax Department Personnel and Budget
Time Associated with Tax Compliance
Allocation of Time Burden Across Tax Compliance Activities
Allocation of Time Burden Across Type of Employee
Fees Associated with Tax Compliance
Demographics

Please be assured that your responses will be used for research and aggregate reporting purposes
only and will not be used for other non-statistical or non-research purposes such as direct
enforcement activities. If you have questions about the content of this survey or how to complete
a web version of the survey, please call Josh Rubin at 1-888-221-3394 or send an email to:
IRS-BTB@westat.com. If you would like to speak to someone at IRS, please call the IRS
Communications & Liaison office at 202-283-8574.

OMB No: 1545-1432. Expiration Date: 01/31/2013. This report is authorized under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Data collected will
be shared with IRS staff, but your responses will be used for research and aggregate reporting purposes only and will not be
used for other non-statistical or non-research purposes such as direct enforcement activities. The information that you
provide will be protected to the fullest extent allowable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to average 15 to 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, to IRS Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224.

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TAX PREPARATION METHODS AND ACTIVITIES
This part of the survey collects general information about your business. Please answer all questions
with reference to the most recent tax return year. The most recent tax year includes the 12 months
leading up to the filing of your business' most recent federal income tax return.
1. Which of the following methods did your business use to prepare its most recent federal income
tax return? Include activities done by external service providers. Check all that apply.
Did your business use…
A tax preparation service?
A tax advisory service?
Accounting and/or financial software?
Tax preparation software? (e.g., Turbo Tax, Tax Cut, H&R Block At Home, InSource,
CORPTAX, custom software)
Employees of your business?
Paper or pdf version of the IRS tax forms?
Any other methods(s)? Please specify:
2. In addition to preparation of your business' federal income tax return, which of the following
activities did your business engage in (as part of its internal operations rather than as services
provided to clients) during the most recent tax year? Please check the corresponding box if the
activity was performed by an employee of your business (including owners) and/or an external
service provider. If both performed a particular activity, check both boxes for that activity.
Business
Employee

Activity

External Service
Provider

Not Applicable

A. Bookkeeping?
B. Payroll?
C. Employment tax (including filing and/or
payment preparation)?
D. Employee benefit (pension) plan?
E. State and local tax (including sales and
use tax)?
F. Property tax?
G. Excise tax (i.e., special motor fuels, alcohol &
tobacco products, air transportation)?
H. Estimated income tax payments?
I.

Individual income tax preparation for owners
or partners of your business?

J.

Legal (tax and business activities)?

K. Non-tax business consulting?
L. Other than the activities already mentioned,
did you engage in any additional tax-related
activities? If yes, please describe:

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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TAX-RELATED RECORDKEEPING
Please think about your business' recordkeeping activities, specifically tax-related recordkeeping.
Tax-related recordkeeping includes all the activities your business did to create, maintain, and store
records needed to complete its federal, state and local tax returns. In this section we are going to
discuss the records you maintain for federal, state and local tax purposes.
3. Which of the following statements describe the accounting or bookkeeping system your business
used during the most recent tax year? Did your business…
Did your business…

Yes

No

Don't know

A. Use an off-the-shelf accounting and financial software system
such as QuickBooks Pro, Peachtree Complete, MYOB
Business Essentials?
B. Use a customized, business-wide, software-based accounting
system such as Oracle, Deltek Costpoint, SAP or a point of
sale system?
C. Use general recordkeeping software products such as
Microsoft Office, Lotus, Open Office, etc.?
D. Maintain a hard-copy ledger to record business transactions?
E. Did you use any other accounting or bookkeeping system
during the most recent tax year?
If yes, please specify:

GATHERING MATERIALS, LEARNING ABOUT TAX LAW,
AND USING IRS TAXPAYER SERVICES
Consider the tax related materials your business gathered and how your business learned about tax laws
in order to complete its federal tax return and comply with federal tax obligations.
4. During the most recent tax year, did you or others at your business obtain forms, publications, or
other materials from:
Source

Yes

No

Don't know

Yes

No

Don't know

A. The IRS website?
B. An IRS walk-in office?
C. By ordering them from the IRS either via mail or telephone?
During the most recent tax year, did you or others at your business…
Activity
D. Review IRS tax forms and publications in preparation for
completing your business' federal tax return or in deciding to
hire an external paid professional?
E. Attend tax seminars to learn about federal tax issues?

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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Sometimes people contact the IRS for reasons other than obtaining forms and publications. During the
most recent tax year, did you or others at your business (please exclude external service providers)
interact with the IRS via any of the following channels for reasons OTHER than obtaining forms and
publications? (Do not include form filing or making estimated payments.)
Activity

Yes

No

Don't know

F. Obtain e-file assistance from the IRS
G. Call the IRS Toll Free Tax Assistance Line
H. Go to an IRS walk-in site
I.

Use the IRS website

J.

Correspond with the IRS via e-mail

K. Correspond with the IRS via regular mail

TAX FORM COMPLETION
5. Consider the amount of work that goes into the completion of a particular tax form. Who did the
majority of the work for the tax forms listed below- an employee of your business or an external
service provider? (Please select one option per form type.)
Business
Employee

Form

External Service
Provider

Not Applicable

A. Federal Income Tax?
B. State & Local Tax?
C. Employment Tax?
D. Excise Tax?
E. K-1s?
F. W-2s?
G. Other information returns?
(1099s, etc.)

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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As mentioned earlier, the purpose of this survey is to provide Congress and the President with
accurate estimates of the costs incurred by business taxpayers to comply with federal tax rules
and regulations. For most businesses these costs are a combination of time spent and
out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., fees paid to external service providers, software costs). In the
remaining sections we will ask for estimates of these costs.

TAX DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL AND BUDGET
6. Does your organization have a dedicated tax department? Please note that this is not typical for
smaller businesses. Do not include your external service provider.
Yes

Please go to questions 7-9 below

No

Please go to question 10 on page 6

7. If you answered yes to question 6, how many full-time equivalents (FTEs) were dedicated to your
business' tax department in the most recent tax year?
Please note that an FTE is defined as the total number of hours worked divided by the standard
number of hours worked per year. The standard number of hours worked per year is defined as
40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, or 2,080 hours. For example, an employee that works 40
hours per week, 52 weeks per year is equal to one FTE, whereas an employee who works 20
hours per week, 52 weeks per year is equal to half an FTE.
7a. How many FTEs were there?
Don't Know

,

.

7b. What was the total annual budget for the tax department in the most recent tax year?
$

,

,

Dollar amount of tax department annual budget

7c. What percentage of the amount stated in 7b was spent on federal tax compliance activities
during the most recent tax year?
% Percent of annual budget spent on federal tax compliance activities
8. Please indicate what other departments in your business also contribute staff time to tax compliance
activities. Do not include activities done by external service providers. Check all that apply.
IT department
Payroll
Comptroller
Human resources department
Subsidiary tax department
Any other departments? If yes, please specify:
None
Please go to question 11

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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9. Please indicate in the table below how many FTEs (full-time equivalents) outside the tax department
spent time on all tax compliance activities as well as what percent of that time, per department, was spent
on federal tax compliance activities only.
Number of FTEs outside
the tax department who
spent time on all tax
compliance activities

Department

Percent of total time
spent by those FTEs
on federal compliance
activities only

A. IT department

,

.

%

B. Payroll

,

.

%

C. Comptroller

,

.

%

D. Human resources department

,

.

%

E.

,

.

%

,

.

%

Subsidiary tax department

F. Other departments

GO TO QUESTION 11 ON PAGE 7

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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TIME ASSOCIATED WITH TAX COMPLIANCE
Please think about how much time your business spent to comply with its tax obligations.
Consider time spent on recordkeeping, tax planning, gathering materials, learning about tax law,
using IRS services, completing and submitting your federal tax return, and calculating and
depositing payroll and estimated income tax payments.
10. If you answered no to question 6, how many employees in your business, including yourself, regularly
perform tax compliance-related activities as part of their responsibilities?
10a. How many full-time employees?
Don't Know
10b. How many part-time employees?
Don't Know

,
,

10c. On average, what percentage of their time did those counted in questions 10a and 10b
above spend on federal tax compliance activities?
Full-time Employees:
Part-time Employees:

%
%

10d. What were the average number of hours worked annually by part-time employees reported
in 10b on all activities, not just tax-related activities? Please base your answer on a 40-hour
work week, 52 weeks per year.

,

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Average number of hours worked by part-time tax staff in most recent tax year

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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ALLOCATION OF TIME BURDEN ACROSS TAX COMPLIANCE ACTIVITIES
11. Consider all of the time your business spent on tax compliance activities during the most recent
tax year. How would you divide the total time spent by your employees on all the listed income
tax related activities? Please do not include time spent by your external paid professional.
What percentage of the total time was spent on:
A. Tax recordkeeping?

%

B. Tax planning?

%

C. Gathering materials, learning about tax law,
and using IRS taxpayer services?

%

D. Calculating and depositing payroll and
estimated income tax payments?

%

E. Completing and submitting your federal returns?
F. All other income tax related activities?

TOTAL = 100%

%
%

Please specify

ALLOCATION OF TIME BURDEN ACROSS TYPE OF EMPLOYEE
12. Consider all of the time your business spent only on tax compliance activities during the most
recent tax year. How would you divide the total time spent on tax compliance activities spent by
each type of employee listed below (e.g., owners do 50% of the work, managers do the other
50%)? Please do not include time spent by your external paid professional.
What percentage of the total time was spent by:
A.

Owner(s)?

B.

Executives, professionals, or managers?

%
%

C. Clerical or administrative staff?

%

D. Other types of employees?

%

Please specify

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

TOTAL = 100%

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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FEES ASSOCIATED WITH TAX COMPLIANCE
Please think about how much money your business spent to comply with its tax obligations.
Costs associated with tax compliance are a very important part of assessing burden, so please
provide the most accurate estimate you can.
13a. How much did your business pay all external service providers for all tax and tax-related services
received during the most recent tax year?

,

$

,

Don't Know
13b. How much of the amount entered in question 13a above was spent exclusively on federal
tax related activities, such as tax planning and tax return preparation?

,

$

,

Don't Know
14a. How much money, if any, did your business spend during the most recent tax year on all taxspecific software? Include any costs your business may have incurred for annual maintenance
and updates.

,

$

,

Don't Know
14b. How much of the amount entered in question 14a was spent exclusively on federal
tax-specific software? Include any costs your business may have incurred for annual
maintenance and updates.

,

$

,

Don't Know
15a. If applicable, how much money was spent on other business-related tax activities not included in
questions 13 and 14 above for the most recent tax year? This may include money spent on
electronic submission, photocopies, tax literature, transportation, or postage. Do not include
money your business spent on its external paid professional, tax software, or employee
compensation.

,

$

,

Don't Know

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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15b. How much of the amount entered in question 15a was spent on other business-related
tax activities exclusively for your business' most recent federal return? Do not include
money your business spent on its external paid professional, tax software, or employee
compensation.

,

$

,

Don't Know

DEMOGRAPHICS
Finally, we have a few questions about your business.
16. On average, how many full-time and part-time employees, if any, did your business have during
the most recent tax year? Please include partners or owners, but do not include any independent
contractors. (Independent contractors are workers not treated as employees for employment tax
purposes.)

,

A. How many full-time employees?
Don't Know

,

B. How many part-time employees?
Don't Know

17. In how many states did your business file state income tax returns during the most recent tax
year?
Number of states
Don't Know
18. Does your business have any branches, offices or subsidiaries in a foreign country?
Yes
No
Don't know

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING OUR SURVEY

Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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Form

14296 (7-2011)

Catalog Number 58104B

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service