Small Business Burden

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Business Taxpayer Burden Survey

Your experience matters to us.

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OMB No: 1545-2212. 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 20 minutes, 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,
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of this survey?

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The purpose of this survey is to measure what it costs business taxpayers to comply with
federal tax rules and regulations. For most establishments, these costs are a combination
of time spent and out-of-pocket expenses. Please be assured that you will not be asked
about the income or other financial details of your business’ tax return.

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This questionnaire relates to the activities associated with federal income tax compliance
activities during the most recent tax year as well as the preparation and filing of your 2012
federal income tax return. It does NOT include 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’s 2012
federal income tax return.

Who should complete this survey?

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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 concerns the time and costs spent by
your business, not the time and costs spent by your external service provider if you had
one. Please do not forward this survey to your external service provider.

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Why was my business selected for this survey?

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Your business was randomly selected from the millions of businesses that filed a federal
tax return in 2012. If you own more than one business, please look at the address label of
this mailing to see which business was randomly selected to receive this survey.

What would the IRS like to know?

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This survey includes questions regarding the following areas:
 Tax Preparation Methods and Activities
 Tax-Related Recordkeeping
 Gathering Materials, Learning About Tax Law, and Using IRS Taxpayer Services
 Time Spent on Tax-related Activities
 Fees Associated with Tax Compliance
 Demographics

How will my answers be used?
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. 

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Why should I participate? 
While participation is voluntary, information about your business’s tax preparation
experience will help the IRS reduce taxpayer burden. We encourage you to take a few
minutes of your time to participate. By doing so, you will make sure that businesses like
yours are represented.

How long will this survey take?

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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.

Who can I contact with questions?

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If you have questions about the content of this survey please call Sarah Bennett at Westat
by phone at 1-888-450-8610 or send an email to [email protected]. If you would
like to speak to someone at IRS, please call Keith Fowler at the IRS at 513-518-4905 or
send him an email at [email protected].

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We hope you will take the time
to complete this important survey.
Thank you.

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TAX PREPARATION METHODS AND ACTIVITIES

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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's 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 owners, employees, and external service
providers. Check all that apply.

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Did your business use…

A tax preparation service? (e.g., a CPA, accountant, bookkeeper, a tax lawyer, an enrolled
agent, registered tax preparer)
A tax advisory service?

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Accounting and/or financial software? (e.g., QuickBooks Pro, Peachtree Complete)
Tax preparation software? (e.g., Turbo Tax ® , TaxCut ® , H&R Block At Home™, CCH,
InSource, CORPTAX, custom software)

Please describe:

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Any other method(s)?

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Owners / employees of the business?

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2. In addition to preparation of your business's 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" for that activity.

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External
Business Service
Not
Employee Provider
Both Applicable
Only
Only

Activity

A. Bookkeeping?

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B. Estimated income tax payments?
C. Individual income tax preparation for owners or
partners of your business?
D. Pre-tax fringe benefits (e.g., pension plan, health
care benefits)
E. Other than the activities already mentioned, did
you engage in any additional tax-related activities?
Please describe:

Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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TAX-RELATED RECORDKEEPING

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Please think about your business's 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
income tax purposes.

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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

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A. Use an off-the-shelf accounting and financial software system such
as QuickBooks Pro™ , Peachtree Complete, MYOB Business
Essentials?

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B. Use general recordkeeping software products such as Microsoft
Office, Lotus, OpenOffice, etc.?
C. Maintain a hard-copy ledger to record business transactions?

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D. Did you use any other accounting or bookkeeping system during
the most recent tax year?

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Please describe:

Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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GATHERING MATERIALS, LEARNING ABOUT TAX LAW, AND
USING IRS TAXPAYER SERVICES

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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:

Yes

No

Don't
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No

Don't
know

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Source
A. The IRS website?

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B. An IRS walk-in office?

C. By ordering them from the IRS either via mail or telephone?

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5. During the most recent tax year, did you or others at your business…

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Activity

Yes

A. Review IRS tax forms and publications in preparation for completing your
business's federal tax return or in deciding to hire an external paid
professional?

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B. Attend tax seminars to learn about federal tax issues?

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6. 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

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A. Obtain e-file assistance from the IRS
B. Call the IRS Toll Free Tax Assistance Line
C. Go to an IRS walk-in site
D. Use the IRS website
E. Correspond with the IRS via e-mail or regular mail

Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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Time Spent on Tax-Related Activities

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As mentioned in the FAQs, the purpose of this survey is to measure what it costs business
taxpayers to comply with federal tax rules and regulations. For most establishments, 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.
The next three questions focus on the time spent on activities related to filing your
business's federal tax return.

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Think about all the time your business spent on tax-related recordkeeping, tax planning,
gathering tax-related materials, learning about tax law, using IRS or non-IRS resources,
completing, reviewing, and submitting your 2012 federal tax return, and calculating and
depositing estimated tax payments.
Please do NOT include:

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Please include:

 Time spent on your federal income tax

 Time spent by your external service

return as well as any associated forms,
schedules, and worksheets that you
completed or filed

provider(s)

 Time spent on state or local income tax

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returns

 Time throughout the tax year as well as
the tax filing season

 Time spent on employment tax returns
and payroll activities

 Time spent corresponding with your

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 Time spent on excise tax

external service provider(s)

 Time spent on foreign tax
 Time spent on information returns
 Time spent on individual income tax returns

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for owners, partners, or shareholders

 Time spent on retirement & pension-related
activities

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7. How many TOTAL hours did your business spend performing tax reporting compliancerelated activities for the 2012 tax year? (e.g., tax-related recordkeeping, tax planning,
gathering tax-related materials, learning about tax law, using IRS or non-IRS resources,
completing, reviewing, and submitting your business's 2012 federal income tax return,
and calculating and depositing estimated tax payments)
We encourage you to consult your records or other employees in your business, if
necessary. If these resources are unavailable, please provide your best, most accurate
estimate.

:
Hours

Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

Minutes

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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7A. How would you distribute the hours reported in Question 7 across each of the
following tax-related activities? (Parts A-F should add up to the total number of hours
reported in Question 7.) Please note that these hours are for in-house staff only, not
any external service providers.
Hours

A. Tax recordkeeping, including reconciling financial and tax records?

Minutes

:

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Activity

C. Gathering materials, learning about tax law, and using IRS or
non-IRS resources?

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D. Calculating and depositing estimated income tax payments?

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B. Tax planning?

:
:
:

F. All other income tax related activities? Please describe:

:

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E. Completing and submitting your federal income tax return?

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7B. How would you distribute the hours reported in Question 7 across each of the different
types of employees listed below? (Parts A-D should add up to the total number of
hours reported in Question 7.) Please note that these hours are for in-house staff only,
not any external service providers.

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Types of Employees

Hours

Minutes

:

B. In-house professionals or managers?

:

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A. Owner(s) or executives?

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D. Other types of employees? Please describe:

:

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C. Clerical or administrative staff?

7C. Average hourly pay rate for all individuals in your company responsible for federal
income tax-related activities.

$
Dollars

.

Cents

Don't Know
Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

www.irs.gov

5

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.

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8. How much did your business pay all external service providers for tax and tax-related
services received during the most recent tax year?
Dollars

Total fee paid to external service providers for tax
and tax-related services.

$

8B.

Of the amount in 8A, how much was spent
exclusively for federal income tax planning and
return preparation?

$

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8A.

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Tax and Tax-Related Services Received

Cents

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No money spent on
external service
providers

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9. How much money, if any, did your business spend during the most recent tax year on
tax-specific software?

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Note: Include any costs your business may have incurred for annual maintenance and
updates.
Tax-Specific Software

Total money spent on all tax-specific software (e.g.,
Turbo Tax ®, TaxCut ®, H&R Block At Home™, CCH,
InSource, CORPTAX, custom software).

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9A.

Dollars

Of the amount in 9A, how much was spent
exclusively on federal income tax software?

Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

$

.

$

.
No money spent on
tax-specific software

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9B.

Cents

www.irs.gov

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Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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10.

If applicable, how much money was spent on other business-related tax activities not
included in questions 8 and 9 above for the most recent tax year? This may include
money spent on electronic submission, photocopies, tax literature, transportation,
postage, or IRS user fees.

Dollars

Total money spent on all other business-related
tax activities.

$

10B.

Of the amount in 10A, how much was spent
exclusively for your business's most recent
federal income tax return?

$

Cents

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10A.

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Other Business-Related Tax Activities

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Do NOT include money your business spent on external paid professional, tax
software, or employee compensation.

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DEMOGRAPHICS

Finally, we have a couple of questions about your business.

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11A.

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 who are
not treated as employees for employment tax purposes.
How many full-time employees?

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11.

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Don't Know

How many part-time employees?

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11B.

Don't Know

12.

In how many states did your business file state income tax returns during the most recent tax
year?

Number of states
Don't Know
Form 14296-A (5-2013)

Catalog Number 62915E

www.irs.gov

7

Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service

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If you would prefer to complete the survey on the web, you may do so by
following the instructions below. Web responses are processed more quickly
and will help ensure that you don’t receive follow-up contacts.

Go to the website.

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Web Survey Instructions

To take the survey online, please go to:

2 Log in.

 ou will need the following username and
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password to access the survey:

Username: [UID]
Password: [PWD]

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www.IRSBTBSurvey2012A.org

Problems?

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If you have any technical difficulties, including problems
with the website, please call 1-888-450-8610 or send an
email to [email protected].

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