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
- All available tax gap publications and papers
- Federal Tax Compliance Research: Tax Gap Projections for Tax Years 2020 and 2021 (Publication 5869) PDF
- Federal Tax Compliance Research: Tax Gap Projections Map for Tax Years 2020 and 2021 (Publication 5870) PDF
Prior reports
- Federal Tax Compliance Research: Tax Gap Estimates for Tax Years 2014–2016 (Publication 1415, Rev. 9-2022) PDF
- Tax Gap Executive Summary (Publication 5364, Rev. 9-2022) PDF
- Tax Gap Map (Publication 5365, Rev. 9-2022) PDF
- Federal Tax Compliance Research: Tax Gap Estimates for Tax Years 2011–2013 (Publication 1415, Rev. 9-2019) PDF
- Tax Gap Executive Summary (Publication 5364, Rev. 9-2019) PDF
- Tax Gap Map (Publication 5365, Rev. 9-2019) PDF
| Title | Author | Publication date | Written for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Tax Compliance Research: Individual Income Tax Gap Estimates for 1985, 1988, and 1992 PDF | IRS, Compliance Research | April 1996, revised | Publication 1415 |
| Federal Tax Compliance Research: Gross and Net Employment Tax Gap Estimates for 1984-1997 PDF | IRS, Research Division | October 1993, revised | Publication 1415-E |
| Income Tax Compliance Research: Net Tax Gap and Remittance Gap Estimates PDF | 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 Models PDF |
Jonathan Feinstein, Yale University |
June 2004 | 2004 IRS Research Conference |
| Trends as Changes in Variance: The Case of Tax Noncompliance PDF | Kim M. Bloomquist, IRS | June 2003 | 2003 IRS Research Conference |
| IRS's Comprehensive Approach to Compliance Measurement PDF |
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 Data PDF |
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 Returns PDF | IRS | June 2002 | 2002 IRS Research Conference |
| Compliance Measurement and Workload Selection with Operational Audit Data PDF | Brian Erard, B. Erard and Associates | June 2002 | 2002 IRS Research Conference |
| Trends in Book-Tax Income and Balance Sheet Differences PDF |
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 Repeaters PDF | Laura R. Rosage, IRS | 1996 | SOI Bulletin, Summer Issue |
Determinants of taxpayer compliance
| Title | Author | Publication date | Written for |
|---|---|---|---|
| More Than Meets the Eye: The Comprehensive General Indirect Effect of Auditing Individual Income Tax Returns PDF |
Alan Plumley, PhD and Daniel Rodriguez (IRS Research, Applied Analytics, and Statistics) Jess Grana, PhD (MITRE) |
November 2024 | Working Paper |
| Audit Information Dissemination, Taxpayer Communication, and Compliance: An Experimental Approach PDF |
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 Noncompliance PDF |
Jeffrey Dubin, California Institute of Technology |
June 2004 | 2004 IRS Research Conference |
| Tax Evasion, Income Inequality and Opportunity Costs of Compliance PDF | 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 Program PDF |
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 Results PDF | 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 Responsiveness PDF | Alan H. Plumley, Technical Advisor,
IRS, Office of Research |
November 1996, revised | IRS Publication 1916 |