In October 2005, the IRS Oversight Board commissioned Roper Public Affairs to conduct a study of taxpayers in the United States. The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of: taxpayer customer service needs and expectations; taxpayers views of major customer service programs offered by the IRS; the relative preferences taxpayers have for the various IRS service channels; ways to improve services and deliver them more effectively and ef ciently; and how to tailor services to taxpayers' needs. The primary IRS service channels available to U.S. taxpayers and examined in this study were: service by phone; in-person service at IRS of ces; visits to the IRS Internet website; e-mail communications; and correspondence exchanges by letter. The IRS service channel study conducted by Roper consisted of a computer-assisted telephone survey of a random sample of 1,000 taxpayers, along with an "oversample" (i.e., supplemental sample) of 101 individuals who had speci cally visited an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) in person. The telephone interviews were conducted from March 19 through April 13, 2006. Respondents were sampled using random digit dialing and screened so as to reach the individual in the household most responsible for overseeing the preparation of its federal income taxes. The results for the main sample of 1,000 taxpayers were weighted using Census Bureau gures to re ect the U.S. households of tax lers.1 As part of the study, Roper also conducted a segment analysis of the data. This analysis identi es unique groupings of taxpayers with similar characteristics that offers the IRS opportunities to consider in devising targeted communications for these distinct groups. The Appendix provides a complete list of interview questions covered in the survey, along with the corresponding distribution of responses in percentages. The information gleaned from the study will help the IRS Oversight Board, Congress, federal policymakers, the IRS and other stakeholders to shape an effective and ef cient IRS customer service operation. The Roper study should help inform deliberations on IRS budget proposals and provide other strategic direction to the IRS as it endeavors to balance customer service and enforcement. One group in particular that will take advantage of the study's results is the Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint task group, established in response to Congressional appropriations committee report language 2. This team of representatives from the IRS, the Oversight Board and the National Taxpayer Advocate has been tasked to conduct a comprehensive review of the current portfolio of IRS services and to develop a ve-year plan for improving them."