2005 Taxpayer Survey

188 taxpayers completed the survey (188 answered the first 2 questions, 187 answered the 3^rd, 4^th, and 7^th question, 184 answered the 5^th question, and 186 answered the 6^th question).

On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = very satisfied), rate the following items:

ITEM

2005

Wghtd. Avg.

2004

Wghtd.

Avg.

Amount of time you had to wait.

1.1%

2 people

1.1%

2 people

14.3%

27 people

21.8%

41 people

61.7%

116 people

4.42

4.56

Privacy during your

meeting.

.5%

1 person

7.5%

14 people

23.9%

45 people

68.1%

128 people

4.60

4.63

Ability of the volunteer to provide the assistance needed within the parameters of the VITA program.

1.1%

2 people

4.8%

9 people

12.3%

23 people

81.8%

153 people

4.75

4.79

Courtesy of the volunteer who helped you.

.5%

1 person

1.1%

2 people

4.8%

9 people

93.6%

175 people

4.91

4.94

Once the return was completed, the volunteer explained the entries on the return.

.5%

1 person

1.1%

2 people

8.7%

16 people

89.7%

165 people

4.88

N/A

Question not on survey in 2004

Explanation of what

you need to do next.

.5%

1 person

.5%

1 person

2.2%

4 people

6.5%

12 people

90.3%

168 people

4.85

4.78

Overall satisfaction with service (considering all items).

.5%

1 person

2.1%

4 people

10.2%

19 people

87.2%

163 people

4.84

4.86

The two items that continue to be of concern deal with waiting time and privacy. The constraints for both these items are equipment, suitability of space, and number of students. We did attempt to resolve waiting time this year by providing four sessions a week for the first two busy weeks, rather than three as we have in the past. However, once again, the program grew (13% in prepared returns, 38% in e-filed returns) and the number of volunteers decreased by 20% (12 students this year compared to 15 last year). We have a smaller junior class this year and many of the seniors who did participate in VITA last year when they were juniors did not participate this year due to other commitments and the time commitment this program demands. We continue to work well within these constraints as our constituents appear to be satisfied overall with our service (99.5% answering 3 or above and a weighted average score of 4.84 out of 5).

We worked with three laptops (two of which were provided by the IRS). We did not make our quota on one of the laptops (quotas were instituted by the IRS for the first time this year), so it will most likely not be returned to us next year. FIDC provided us with two laptops that we will be able to use next year. If the IRS provides us with one, we will be able to have four laptops in use next year. However, we do only have two printers, so two laptops will continue to share a printer. This does pose somewhat of a problem with privacy. However, the students are aware of this situation and consciously talk with the taxpayer in soft voices.

Some taxpayers did not turn the survey over to answer the following questions on the back. Also, on the first two questions, the taxpayer could give more than one answer.

We are quite pleased with the 100% for BOTH “would you use this service again?” and “would you recommend this service to a friend needing tax assistance?”

30% of our constituents had used our service before. However, we kept hearing that people found out about us through “word of mouth.” That may be the majority of the 28% in the Other category. Will add the “word of mouth” category for next year’s survey to get a handle on that.

The rest of the survey provides interesting information. The majority of our constituents earn less than $32,000, and those folks are the ones we are trying to target. Also, the majority of our constituents are age 40 and over. We don’t service as many students as you might think given that parents typically want to have control over their children’s returns in order to ensure that the dependency exemption and the tuition credit is taken on their return rather than the children’s.

	Return Preparation	Electronic Filing	Tax Advice	Other
Why did you visit this site?	46% 108 hits	38% 91 hits	8% 19 hits	8% 18 hits
	IRS	Previous use of this site	Poster	Newspaper	TV/Radio	Other
How did you find out about this site?	3% 6 hits	30% 57 hits	6% 12 hits	22% 42 hits	11% 21 hits	28% 52 hits
	Yourself	Paid tax professional	Friend or relative	Other	Not applicable
If we had not helped you today, who would have prepared your return?	26% 42 people	45% 74 people	15% 24 people	12% 20 people	2% 4 people
	YES	NO
Would you use this service again?	100% 164 people
	YES	NO
Would you recommend this service to a friend needing tax assistance?	100% 163 people
	Under 25	25 – 39	40-59	60-65	Over 65
What is your age?	28% 46 people	15% 25 people	31% 51 people	8% 13 people	18% 29 people
	Less than $32,000	$32,000 or more
What is your household income?	65% 104 people	35% 56 people