Simplification of Schedule C for Sole Proprietorships: Results from a Survey of Tax Practitioners.

This study extends the work of Long and Swingen (1987) and Carnes and Cuccia (19%) by examining tax practitioner perceptions of tax complexity as it relates to the Schedule C. It is based on a survey of tax practitioners conducted by members of the Complexity Reduction Committee of the American Taxation Association. According to respondents, the major factors contributing to unnecessary complexity for the self-employed are the rules regarding auto expense, depreciation expense and the office-in-home deduction. Practitioners express support for simplifying the computation and reporting of these deductions. They do not view Schedule C-EZ as an improvement over Schedule C and do not make extensive use of it. The report of the committee, based upon this study, is presented in appendix A.