The IRS seeks to help taxpayers comply with their tax obligations voluntarily and timely. The articles and publications on this page contain research related to taxpayer compliance. Compliance measurement research, also known as the tax gap, examines how much tax is not paid voluntarily and timely. Another set of research looks at the causes of taxpayer compliance.

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Tax Gap

Prior Reports

 
Title Author Publication Date Written For
Federal Tax Compliance Research: Individual Income Tax Gap Estimates for 1985, 1988, and 1992PDF IRS, Compliance Research April 1996, revised Publication 1415
Federal Tax Compliance Research: Gross and Net Employment Tax Gap Estimates for 1984-1997PDF IRS, Research Division October 1993, revised Publication 1415-E
Income Tax Compliance Research: Net Tax Gap and Remittance Gap EstimatesPDF IRS Research Division April 1990, revised Publication 1415

Compliance Analysis

Title Author Publication Date Written For
Statistical Analysis of Compliance Using the NRP Data: Detection Controlled ModelsPDF

Jonathan Feinstein, Yale University

June 2004 2004 IRS Research Conference
Trends as Changes in Variance: The Case of Tax NoncompliancePDF Kim M. Bloomquist, IRS June 2003 2003 IRS Research Conference
IRS's Comprehensive Approach to Compliance MeasurementPDF

Robert E. Brown, IRS, National Research Program

Mark J. Mazur, IRS, Research, Analysis, and Statistics

June 2003 2003 National Tax Association Spring Symposium
Developing an Econometric Model for Measuring Tax Noncompliance Using Operational Audit DataPDF

Brian Erard, B. Erard and Associates

Chih-Chin Ho, IRS

August 2002 2002 American Statistical Association Conference
Compliance Estimates for Earned Income Tax Credit Claimed on 1999 ReturnsPDF IRS June 2002 2002 IRS Research Conference
Compliance Measurement and Workload Selection with Operational Audit DataPDF Brian Erard, B. Erard and Associates June 2002 2002 IRS Research Conference
Trends in Book-Tax Income and Balance Sheet DifferencesPDF

Lillian Mills and Kaye Newberry, University of Arizona

William B. Trautman, IRS, Large and Mid-Size Business Division

June 2002 2002 IRS Research Conference
Nonfiler Profiles, Fiscal Year 1993: A Focus on RepeatersPDF Laura R. Rosage, IRS 1996 SOI Bulletin, Summer Issue

Determinants of Taxpayer Compliance

Title Author Publication Date Written For
Audit Information Dissemination, Taxpayer Communication, and Compliance: An Experimental ApproachPDF

James Alm, Georgia State University

Betty Jackson, University of Colorado at Boulder

Michael McKee, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

June 2004  2004 IRS Research Conference
Criminal Investigation Enforcement Activities and Taxpayer NoncompliancePDF

Jeffrey Dubin, California Institute of Technology

June 2004 2004 IRS Research Conference
Tax Evasion, Income Inequality and Opportunity Costs of CompliancePDF Kim M. Bloomquist, IRS, Office of Research November 2003 2003 National Tax Association Annual Conference
Economic and Behavioral Determinants of Tax Compliance: Evidence from the 1997 Arkansas Tax Penalty Amnesty ProgramPDF

Christina M. Ritsema, Hope College

Deborah W. Thomas and Gary D. Ferrier, University of Arkansas

June 2003 2003 IRS Research Conference
The Impact of the IRS on Voluntary Tax Compliance: Preliminary Empirical ResultsPDF Alan H. Plumley, Technical Advisor,

IRS, Office of Research

November 2002 2002 National Tax Association Conference
The Determinants of Individual Income Tax Compliance: Estimating the Impacts of Tax Policy, Enforcement and IRS ResponsivenessPDF Alan H. Plumley, Technical Advisor,

IRS, Office of Research

November 1996, revised IRS Publication 1916