EFT Tax Refund Primary Market Research

OMB #1535-0143

EFT Tax Refund Research

Screener – TAX PREPARERS

Updated May 5, 2014

Study Objectives

• Discuss preparing tax refunds by paper check versus by electronic funds transfer

• Identify all of the reasons across different audiences for choosing paper checks
  
  
  

Note: Participants to sign a confidentiality statement for groups

Method

• Conducting 5 groups among professional tax preparers

• Groups will take place in three markets.

Market Quotas: RECRUIT 7 for 4 or 5 to show

	Philadelphia	Charlotte	Sacramento
Professional Tax Preparer Groups (5)	Week of May 19	Week of May 26	Week of June 2

All professional tax preparer respondents:

1. Prepare taxes for consumers (at least 50% of their business)

2. Mix of type of tax preparer (CPA, Tax Attorney, Enrolled Agent, VITA)

SCREENER

We are inviting people to participate in a discussion on tax preparation. We are interested in your opinions.

Q1 Industry qualifying: Which of the following statements best describes you?

1. A tax preparer who is employed by a company that prepares federal tax returns for individuals

2. A self-employed tax preparer of federal tax returns for individuals

3. A volunteer tax preparer at a VITA, TCE or similar tax assistance site for individuals

4. A tax preparer who focuses on business and corporate taxes [TERMINATE]

5. NONE OF THE ABOVE [TERMINATE]

[AIM TO RECRUIT AT LEAST ONE RESPONDENT PER GROUP FROM A VITA OR TCE ORGANIZATION]

Q2 Gender: What is your gender? (OR RECORD BY OBSERVATION)

1. Female

2. Male

[MONITOR RECRUIT]

Q3 Age: In which of the following age groups do you belong? Are you….

1. 24 or under [THANK AND TERMINATE]

2. 25-34

3. 35-54

4. 55-64

5. 65 or older (MAXIMUM OF 1 PER GROUP)

[MONITOR RECRUIT]

[TERMINATE IF UNDER 25 YEARS OF AGE]

[RECRUIT A MIX]

Q4 Years: How many years have you been preparing individual federal income tax returns?

1. Less than 5 years [THANK AND TERMINATE]

2. 5 to 15 years

3. Over 15 years

[MONITOR RECRUIT]

Q5 Percentage of Business: Again, thinking of your involvement in federal income tax preparation, what percentage of the federal taxes you prepare are for individuals as opposed to business or corporate taxes?

1. Less than 50% are individual tax returns [THANK AND TERMINATE]

2. 50 – 74% are individual tax returns

3. 75 – 100% are individual tax returns

[THANK AND TERMINATE IF LESS THAN 50%]

Q6 Client Base: When you think of the clients you prepare individual federal income taxes for which of the following best describes them?

1. Most are fairly sophisticated regarding financial matters

2. It’s a mix of sophisticated and unsophisticated clients

3. The majority are unsophisticated when it comes to financial matters

[MONITOR RECRUIT]

Q7 Type of Tax Preparer: Please tell me what type of tax preparer you are?

(SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)

1. CPA (Certified Public Accountant)

2. Tax Attorney

3. Enrolled Agent

4. Registered Tax Return Preparer

5. IRS-certified volunteer at a VITA, TCE or similar site

6. Other, list: ________________________________________________________________

[SCREEN THROUGH AND HOLD FOR VERIFICATION]

7. Unsure [THANK AND TERMINATE]

[RESPONDENTS MUST SELECT ONE OF THE BOLD RESPONSES TO CONTINUE. PLEASE AIM TO RECRUIT A GOOD MIX OF QUALIFYING RESPONSES PER GROUP AND OVERALL]

[THANK AND TERMINATE IF UNSURE]

Q8 Tax Preparation Credentials: Do you have unlimited representation rights or limited representation rights?

1. Unlimited representation rights (ALSO CALLED “Credentialed” OR “Registered”)

2. Limited representation rights (ALSO CALLED “Unenrolled preparers”)

3. Other, Specify: ________________________________________

[RECORD IN PROFILES FOR INFORMATION ONLY]

Q9 Employment: Which of the following best describes your current employment status?

1. Employed full-time

2. Employed part-time

3. Self employed

4. Full-time homemaker

5. Retired

[MONITOR RECRUIT – MAXIMUM PART TIME OF 2 PER GROUP]

Q10 Education: What is the highest level of education that you have completed?

1. Less than high school [TERMINATE]

2. High school graduate [TERMINATE]

3. Some college or trade school

4. College graduate

5. Post graduate [CAPTURE DEGREE___________________________]

[MONITOR RECRUIT]

[THANK AND TERMINATE IF LESS THAN SOME COLLEGE]

Q11 Would you describe yourself as… (READ RESPONSES.)

1. Hispanic or Latino

2. Not Hispanic or Latino

3. Prefer not to answer

[MONITOR RECRUIT; RECRUIT MIX]

Q12 Would you describe yourself as (READ RESPONSES. ACCEPT MULTIPLE RESPONSES)…

1. American Indian or Alaskan Native

2. Asian

3. Black or African American

4. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

5. White

6. Prefer not to answer [MONTIOR RECRUIT]

ARTICULATION ASSESSMENT

Q13 Participation attitude: I’m going to read a few statements to you. Please tell me how well each one describes you. You will be using a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 means the statement describes you extremely well and 1 means the statement does NOT describe you at all. You can use any number in between.

	Does NOT Describe Me At All (1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	Describes Me Extremely Well (10)
If asked to describe something I can usually do so in detail
I’m comfortable expressing my opinions when I’m with other people

[TERMINATE IF ANSWER 1 - 7 ON EITHER STATEMENT]

Invitation

We would like to invite you to participate in a discussion group about tax preparation on [SPECIFY DATE, TIME AND LOCATION.] This will take about duration an hour and a half. We believe you’ll find it enjoyable, we are not selling anything, and for your participation you will receive $125. Will you be able to participate in our interview? We are inviting only a select few people to participate, so please make sure you will be able to attend.

[CONFIRM ADDRESS/CONTACT INFORMATION; TELL RESPONDENTS THEY WILL BE RECEIVING MAP/INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISCUSSION GROUP.]