Receiving the SBO Form

8.  Who was eligible for this survey?

Businesses were eligible to be selected for this survey if they reported any business activity on any one of the following 2007 Internal Revenue Service tax forms:

• 1040 (Schedule C), "Profit or Loss from Business" (Sole Proprietorship). Many self-employed individuals do not consider the activity reported on their Schedule C to be an actual business (for example, babysitter, sales representative, construction contractor, real estate agent, and so forth). Any activity reported on Form 1040 (Schedule C) meets the definition of a business for purposes of this survey.



• 1065, "U.S. Return of Partnership Income"



• any one of the 1120 corporation tax forms



• 941, "Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return"



• 944, "Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return"

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9.  Why was I selected for this survey?

You were randomly selected for the SBO sample to represent businesses in your industry and geographic area. The SBO is based on a sample of business owners and self-employed persons who, like you, filed business-related tax forms for 2007. The use of sampling substantially reduces the overall reporting burden on U.S. businesses and lowers the survey cost; however, it also greatly increases the importance of receiving a report from each business selected.

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