Tax Complexity and the IRS

• 1Did you use a paid preparer or accountant to prepare your most recent tax return for your business?
• 2Which best describes the primary reason you used a preparer or accountant?
• 3Did you use the same tax preparer or accountant to prepare your personal tax returns?
• 4Why didn’t you use a paid preparer or accountant to prepare your business tax returns?
• 5Did you use a tax filing software program such as TurboTax or TaxAct to file your most recent tax returns?
• 6Do you use an electronic bookkeeping program such as QuickBooks for business purposes?
• 7Do you typically consult a tax professional or financial planner prior to making a major financial decision for the business to determine its tax implications?
• 8On average, how many hours a month do you personally spend on tax compliance activities and tax recordkeeping for your business?
• 9Is most of the time you spend on tax compliance spent:
• 10How knowledgeable are you with tax requirements associated with your business – very knowledgeable, knowledgeable, somewhat knowledgeable, or not at all knowledgeable?
• 11Over the last three years, have you attempted to obtain tax-related information from the IRS Web site?
• 12Considering the tax-related information you wanted and the tax-related information you found, did you find the IRS Web site very useful, somewhat useful, not very useful, or not at all useful?
• 13Over the last three years, have you used the IRS’s toll-free telephone number to request tax-related information?
• 14Considering any and all dealings you have had with the IRS over the last three years, how would you rate your overall satisfaction?
• 15In the last three years IRS notices and other correspondence have been clear and understandable.
• 16In the last three years the IRS distributed refunds in a timely manner.
• 17In the last three years IRS penalties levied were justified.
• 18In the past 5 years have you been audited by the IRS?
• 19Was the reason for the audit due to a:
• 20How long did it take to complete the audit?
• 21Were you satisfied with the outcome of the audit?
• 22Did you have to pay a fine or penalty?
• 23Have you been audited more than once in the past 5 years by the IRS?
• 24aIn the past 5 years, have you claimed all the tax deductions or credits you were qualified to take?
• 24bWhat is the primary reason you did not claim a tax deduction or credit?
• 25Do you offer your employees a retirement plan?
• 26What type of plan do you offer?
• 27Why don’t you offer your employees a retirement plan?
• 28Does your company do the payroll in-house, have an outside accountant or bookkeeper do it for you, or do you hire a payroll service company?
• 29Who does your business’s financial paperwork and record-keeping?
• 30What is your legal form of business?
• 31Have you changed your businesses’ legal structure in the past 10 years?
• 32Have you personally been a victim of tax related identity theft?

Volume 13, Issue 5, 2017
ISSN 1534-8326

Holly S. Wade
NFIB Research Center