Surveys; CS-09-158C, CS-09-179, -180, -181, -182, -183, -184, -185, -186, -187, -188, -189, -190, -191, -192, -193, and CS-09-194

I need your help with an important initiative I am undertaking to improve
our service to America's taxpayers. I want to get feedback from taxpayers
like you who have received a notice from the IRS pointing out a discrepancy
between the earnings information reported on their tax return and the
information provided to us by organizations such as banks and employers.
In a few days, you will receive a questionnaire asking your opinions about
the process of resolving such discrepancies with the IRS. Please direct it
to the person who had the most contact with the IRS on this matter. The
questionnaire should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Your answers
will be combined with others to give us an evaluation of customer satisfaction
with IRS service.
To keep all replies anonymous to the IRS, we have asked an independent
research company to administer the survey. Pacific Consulting Group/Scantron
employees will process the questionnaires and report only statistical totals to us.
I am committed to improving IRS service to every taxpayer. Please help
me in this effort by completing and returning the questionnaire as soon as
possible. If you do not receive a questionnaire, please contact the Survey
Helpline at 1-866-960-7897.
Sincerely,

C. Sherwood
Director, Campus Compliance Services

L1_13257-C

Pacific Consulting Group/Scantron
IRS Customer Survey
P.O. Box 64530
St. Paul, MN 55164-9610 USA

A few days ago, you received a letter from C. Sherwood, Director, Campus Compliance Services,
asking for your help with an important research project.
We are administering a nationwide survey among people who have had contact with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). We want to know your opinions about the process of resolving a discrepancy
between the earnings information reported on your tax return and information provided to the IRS by
organizations such as banks and employers. Your responses are critical to the accuracy of this research.
We are sending questionnaires to a random sample of taxpayers who have had such discrepancies.
All responses will be anonymous to the IRS, and your participation is voluntary. We will group
your responses with others, so that no individual reply can be traced back to any one person.
The questionnaire is quite brief and should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Please use the
postage-paid reply envelope to return your completed questionnaire. If you have any questions
about this survey, please feel free to call the Survey Helpline at 1-866-960-7897.
The IRS is committed to improving its performance and service to the American public. A first
step in this process is to gather reliable information from those who have had contact with IRS
services and employees. Your honest opinions will help bring about this improvement.
Sincerely,

Dr. Peter Webb
Project Director

L2_13257-C

Pacific Consulting Group/Scantron
IRS Customer Survey
P.O. Box 64530
St. Paul, MN 55164-9610 USA

Do We Have Your Input Yet?
Recently, you received a questionnaire asking your opinions
about the service you received from the IRS in a recent
contact. If you have already completed and returned the
questionnaire, please accept our sincere thanks. If not, please
take a few minutes to complete it and return it today. We want
to be sure we have your opinions and suggestions.
If you did not receive the questionnaire, or it got misplaced,
please call us at 1-866-960-7897.
Dr. Peter Webb
Project Director
L3_13257-C

Pacific Consulting Group/Scantron
IRS Customer Survey
P.O. Box 64530
St. Paul, MN 55164-9610 USA

A few days ago, you received a survey from C. Sherwood, Director, Campus Compliance Services,
asking for your help with an important research project. If you have already completed the survey,
thank you. If you have not already done so, please take a few minutes to fill in your responses.
We are administering a nationwide survey among people who have had contact with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). We want to know your opinions about the process of resolving a discrepancy
between the earnings information reported on tax returns and information provided to the IRS by
organizations such as banks and employers. Your responses are critical to the accuracy of this research.
We are sending questionnaires to a random sample of taxpayers who have had such discrepancies.
All responses will be anonymous to the IRS, and your participation is voluntary. We will group
your responses with others, so that no individual reply can be traced back to any one person.
The questionnaire is quite brief and should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Please use the
postage-paid reply envelope to return your completed questionnaire. If you have any questions
about this survey, please feel free to call the Survey Helpline at 1-866-960-7897.
The IRS is committed to improving its performance and service to the American public. A first
step in this process is to gather reliable information from those who have had contact with IRS
services and employees. Your honest opinions will help bring about this improvement.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,

Dr. Peter Webb
Project Director

L4_13257-C

OMB # 1545-1432

IRS SMALL BUSINESS/SELF-EMPLOYED
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY
AUTOMATED UNDERREPORTER (AUR)
The IRS is trying to improve its service to the public. You can help in this important mission by
answering the questions below. This voluntary survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete.
Your responses will be kept completely anonymous to the IRS. If you have any questions about this
survey, you may call the Survey Helpline at 1-866-960-7897.

1

The questions that follow ask your opinion regarding the discrepancy that was highlighted on your tax
return. For each question, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the final outcome, please indicate
your answer by checking the box that best represents your opinion.
Neither
Satisfied
Very
Somewhat
Nor
Somewhat
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied

How would you rate the ...
a. Length of time it took to hear from the IRS that you had a discrepancy?
b. Ease of understanding the form notifying you of the discrepancy? .........
c. Ease of understanding the exact amount owed? ......................................
d. Accuracy of the discrepancy amount? .....................................................
e. Completeness of information about the discrepancy? ..............................
f. Completeness of instructions for resolving the discrepancy? ...................
g. Flexibility in resolving the discrepancy? .................................................
h. Length of time the IRS took to respond to you? .......................................
i. Ease of understanding the documents explaining action taken on your account?
j. Length of time it took to resolve the discrepancy? ..................................
k. Notification of case closure? ....................................................................
l. Fairness of how you were treated by the IRS? ..........................................

2

Did you call the phone number listed in the AUR discrepancy notice?
 Yes (Continue below)
 No (Skip to question 5)
How would you rate the ...
a. Usefulness of the automated telephone system? .....................................
b. Length of time it took you to get through to an IRS employee? .............
c. Completeness of information you received during this call? ..................

3

Very
Satisfied
















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







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











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










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

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
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














Neither
Satisfied
Very
Somewhat
Nor
Somewhat
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied

Very
Satisfied





















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

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
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

What is the primary reason that you called the phone number listed in the AUR discrepancy notice? (Mark
one response only)
 To receive an explanation of the notice
 To receive general information (e.g., forms, status of case, etc.)
 To receive answers to my other questions concerning my case
 To give the IRS additional information
 To request an extension of time to respond
 Other

Please continue on back
Form 13257-C (Rev. 2-2009)

Cat. No. 34054A

Department of the Treasury – Internal Revenue Service

4

Were you able to reach a representative when you called the phone number listed in the AUR discrepancy notice?
 Yes (Continue below)
Neither
Satisfied
 No (Skip to question 5)
Somewhat
Nor
Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied

How would you rate the ...?
a. Length of time to complete your call once you got through? .......
b. Courtesy of the IRS representative? ............................................
c. Knowledge of the IRS representative? ........................................
d. Ability of the IRS representative to assist you in resolving your issue?

5

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the final
outcome, how would you rate your overall satisfaction with
the way your tax return discrepancy was handled? ...................

Very Satisfied














































6

Were you provided with documents explaining the actions taken on your account?
 Yes
 No

7

Did you expect to receive documents explaining the actions taken on your account?
 Yes
 No

8

Did you ...?
 Use a tax professional to assist you with resolving this discrepancy?
 Represent yourself in resolving this discrepancy
Highest
 Both
Preference
1st
If you had questions regarding your discrepancy,

Mail
.......
what method of contacting the IRS would you
prefer? Please rank the following methods in order of Phone .... 
In person 
preference from 1st to 5th, with 1st being the highest
Fax ........ 
preference and 5th being the lowest preference.
(Mark only one preference for each contact method.)
E-mail ... 

9

Somewhat
Satisfied

2nd

3rd

4th

Lowest
Preference
5th















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







Occasionally, we conduct additional in-depth IRS-related research. Research participants may receive a
small monetary incentive to participate depending on the research. If you are interested in participating in
future research, please provide us with your telephone number and your e-mail address (if available). This
information will not be shared with the IRS and will be used only for the purpose of survey research.
Telephone number: __________________________

E-mail address: _____________________________

If you have been unable to resolve any specific problems with your tax matter through the normal IRS channels, or
now face a significant hardship due to the application of the tax law, we encourage you to contact the Taxpayer
Advocate Service at 1-877-777-4778.

10

Use this space for comments or suggestions for improvement.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all
public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-1432. Also, if you have any comments regarding
the time estimates associated with this study or suggestions on making this process simpler, please write to the: Internal Revenue
Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20224.

Thank you for completing the survey.

Please return the questionnaire to P.O. Box 64530, St. Paul, MN 55164-9610 USA.
Form 13257-C (Rev. 2-2009)

Cat. No. 34054A

Department of the Treasury – Internal Revenue Service