How can NCDOR improve and simplify communications to North Carolina residents?
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Project Overview
Summary
When someone fails to file or pay their taxes, they receive a physical mailer from the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) containing both a collection notice and an insert about past due taxes. The inserts are meant to motivate the taxpayer to action, but the team at the Taxpayer Assistance and Collection Division at NCDOR had a hunch the inserts were overdue for an overhaul. The goal of this initiative is to improve and simplify NCDOR’s communication to North Carolina residents about tax non-payment so they are helpful, rather than punitive. Improved inserts could see a higher response rate from taxpayers, which would save the agency time and money and decrease the need for enforcement measures (e.g., fees and garnishments). For a more complete case study on this project, read, “Partnership Yields Better Taxpayer Communications” on the NC Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) website.
Deliverables
- Improved NCDOR communication to residents who have failed to pay their taxes on time.
Planned use of results
NCDOR has adopted the revised forms as the new standard communication due to the improvements identified early in the project. NCDOR has seen a lower call volume and analysis of the data may confirm the form modifications made during the project were a factor in this improvement. Results may also be used to inform the revision and redesign of additional NCDOR forms and lessons learned can be applied to communication efforts at other state agencies.
Project Team
Duke University
UNC Chapel Hill
The Policy Lab
NC Office of Strategic Partnerships