BU-16-412 AUR Mail and Online Survey

Dear

We need your help with an important initiative we are undertaking to improve our service to America's taxpayers. We want to get feedback from taxpayers like you who received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service pointing out a possible discrepancy between the information reported on their tax return and the information provided to the IRS by organizations such as banks and employers.

In a few days, you will receive a survey from our contractor, Fors Marsh Group, asking your opinions about the process of resolving such discrepancies. Please give this survey to the person in your household who had the most contact with the IRS on this matter. Answering these questions should take less than 5 minutes. Your answers will be combined with responses from other taxpayers to help measure taxpayer satisfaction with IRS service.

The primary purpose for requesting this information is to help the IRS improve its service to taxpayers. Our authority for requesting the information is 5 USC and 26 USC 7801.

Providing information is voluntary. However, if you do not answer all or part of the survey questions, the IRS may lack information it could use to improve taxpayer service. The information you provide may be disclosed to an IRS contractor when authorized by law. The contractor is required to follow to the extent allowed by law protections required by the Privacy Act and/or Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

We are committed to improving IRS service to every taxpayer. Please help us in this effort by completing and returning the survey as soon as possible. If you do not receive a survey within the next week, please contact the Survey Helpline at

_{1-800-521-7177 or email irssurveyhelp@forsmarshgroup.com.}

_{Thank you in advance for your cooperation.}

Sincerely,

Denice D. Vaughan

Director, Campus Exam

L1

Dear

A few days ago, you received a letter from Denice D. Vaughan, Director, Campus Exam, asking for your help with an important research project.

FMG is administering a nationwide survey among people who have had contact with the IRS. We want to know your opinions about the process of resolving a possible discrepancy between the 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. If any other person was primarily responsible for dealing with the IRS on this matter, please give the survey to that person and encourage him or her to respond.

You may complete the survey either by mail or online. To complete it online, type the following link into your web browser and enter the password provided below:

www.xxxxxx Password:

The password will save any answers you've entered in the event of computer disruptions. FMG will not share your password with the IRS at any time during or after this study.

FMG will hold your identity anonymous and will not provide any of your identifying information to the IRS. Your answers will be grouped with others, so that no individual reply can be traced back to a person or case number.

This brief survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. We have included a postage-paid reply envelope for you to return your completed survey. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact FMG's Survey Helpline at

_{1-800-521-7177 or email irssurveyhelp@forsmarshgroup.com.}

_{Thank you in advance for your cooperation.}

Sincerely,

Brian K. Griepentrog, Ph. D. Director of Research

_{Fors Marsh Group LLC}

L2

Do We Have Your Input Yet?

Recently, you received a survey asking your opinions about the service you received from the IRS. If you have already completed and returned the survey, please accept our sincere thanks. If not, please take a few minutes to complete and return it today. We want to be sure we have your opinions and suggestions for improving the IRS’s service to the public.

If you have not responded to the survey, we will be sending one more copy of the survey in case you did not receive the first one or it has been misplaced. If you have any questions or concerns about this survey, please contact us at 1-800-521-7177 or email irssurveyhelp@forsmarshgroup.com.

Brian K. Griepentrog, Ph. D. Director of Research

Fors Marsh Group LLC

L3

Dear

Recently you received a letter requesting your help with an important research project. So far, we have not received your completed survey. If you have already completed and returned the survey questions, thank you. If you have not completed the survey, please take a few minutes to fill in your responses. If another person was primarily responsible for dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on this matter, please give the survey to that person and encourage him or her to respond.

As described in our previous communication, FMG is administering a nationwide survey among people who have had contact with the IRS. We want to know your opinions about the process of resolving a possible discrepancy between the 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 accurate evaluation of the IRS's service.

You may complete the survey either by mail or online. If you choose to complete it online, type the following link into your web browser and enter the password provided below:

www.xxxxxx Password:

The password will save any answers you've entered in the event of computer disruptions. FMG will not share your password with the IRS at any time during or after this study.

FMG will hold your identity anonymous and will not provide any of your identifying information to the IRS. Your answers will be grouped with others, so that no individual reply can be traced back to a person or case number. Your participation is voluntary.

The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. We have included a postage-paid reply envelope for you to return your completed survey. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact FMG's Survey Helpline at 1-800-521-7177 or email irssurveyhelp@forsmarshgroup.com.

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 employees and services. Your honest opinions will help bring about this improvement.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Brian K. Griepentrog, Ph. D. Director of Research

_{Fors Marsh Group LLC}

L4

_{IRS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY}

OMB# 1545-2250

In an effort to improve its services to the public, the IRS is seeking the opinions of taxpayers who received a notice from the IRS pointing out a possible discrepancy on their tax return. Please assist us by completing this brief voluntary survey, which should take less than 5 minutes of your time. ICF will keep your identity private to the extent permitted by law. If you have any questions about this survey, you may call the ICF Survey Helpline at 1-888-260-0052.



Thinking of your experience with the process of resolving this possible discrepancy with the IRS, regardless of whether you agreed or disagreed with the final outcome, please mark the option that best represents your experiences throughout the resolution process.

Neither Very Somewhat Satisfied Nor Somewhat Very Please rate your satisfaction with the following: Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied     			Not Applicable 
a. Overall, the way the IRS handled your possible discrepancy  	 	
b. How well the initial IRS letter explained what the possible discrepancies were on your tax return     			
c. How clearly the initial IRS letter explained what documents you needed to send to the IRS  	 		
d. How well the IRS letter explained why we did (or did not) accept your documents/explanation     			
e. How well the IRS kept you informed of the status of your case  	 		
f. The consistency of information provided to you by the IRS throughout the process     			
g. How well the final IRS letter explained the resolution of your case  	 		
h. The length of the process to resolve your possible discrepancy from when you were notified until it was resolved     			



If you answered “Very Dissatisfied” or “Somewhat Dissatisfied” to any of the above questions, can you describe what caused you to feel that way?

_ ^{Did you call the IRS about your possible discrepancy using a telephone number listed on any of the letters?}

^{ Yes (continue to 4)}

 No (skip to 5)

_{ Don’t recall (skip to 5)}

Very

Dissatisfied



Somewhat

Dissatisfied



Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied



Somewhat

Satisfied



Very

Satisfied



Not

Applicable





_{Regardless of the outcome of your case, how satisfied were}

_{you with the service you received on these calls?} ^{     }



During the process to resolve your possible discrepancy, approximately how many times did you contact the IRS?

(Please enter zero if you did not contact the IRS by this method.)

Mail   Times Telephone   Times Fax   Times

_ When you were first notified of the possible discrepancy, how many months did you expect it would to take to resolve?

Months

_ ^{Was the actual amount of time…?}

^{ Shorter than you expected}

_{ About equal to your expectations}

 Longer than you expected

Please continue on back

Strongly Strongly How much do you agree with the following statements? Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree     			Not Applicable 
a. I received an adequate description of the process to resolve my possible discrepancy  	 		
b. My experience reflected the described process     			
c. I had the opportunity to provide information important to my case  	 		
d. I was treated with respect during the process     			



_ ^{Overall, how well did the IRS meet your expectations while handling the possible discrepancy?}

 Much better than expected

 Better than expected

 As expected

 Worse than expected

 Much worse than expected

If you answered “Worse than expected” or “Much worse than expected” to the above question, can you describe what caused you to feel that way?

_ ^{Who prepared your taxes? (Mark only one.)}

 You

 Professional tax preparer

_{ Friend or relative}

 IRS service representative at an IRS office

 Volunteer (at a volunteer tax preparation location)

_{ Other}

Who was involved in resolving this discrepancy?

a. A tax professional assisted me b. I represented myself

 Yes

_{ Yes}

 No

_{ No}

Are you...

 The taxpayer  A tax professional who represented the taxpayer  Someone else who assisted the taxpayer

The IRS continually looks for ways to improve its service to taxpayers who have received a notice pointing out a possible discrepancy on their tax return. Please use this space to provide your comments or suggestions for improvement. We welcome your feedback.

_

Occasionally, the IRS asks ICF to conduct additional in-depth research on tax-related issues. 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 e-mail address (if available). This information will not be shared

with the IRS and will be used only for the purpose of this research. If you have any questions about this, please contact the

_{ICF Survey Helpline at 1-888-260-0052.}

_{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.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number on all public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-2250. 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, Special Services Section, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, Room 6129, Washington, DC 20224..

Thank you for completing the survey.

Please return this survey to ICF Business Operations Center, IRS Surveys, 980 Beaver Creek Drive, Martinsville, VA 24112-2177.