United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-07-13 monographic deposited born digital 75 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-1014 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014 P0b002ee180375afd f:d071014 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014 GAO-07-1014 Financial analysis Financial statement audits Financial statements Income taxes Noncompliance Personal income taxes Reporting requirements Self-employed Strategic planning Tax return audits Tax returns Tax violations Tax gap Underreporting IRS Automated Underreporter System Other Written Product A74367 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that $68 billion of the annual $345 billion gross tax gap for 2001 was due to sole proprietors, who own unincorporated businesses by themselves, underreporting their net income by 57 percent. A key reason for this underreporting is well known. Unlike wage and some investment income, sole proprietors' income is not subject to withholding and only a portion is subject to information reporting to IRS by third parties. GAO was asked to (1) describe the nature and extent of sole proprietor noncompliance, (2) how IRS's enforcement programs address it, and (3) options for reducing it. GAO analyzed IRS's recent random sample study of reporting compliance by individual taxpayers, including sole proprietors. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014.pdf GAO-07-1014 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1014 Other Written Product GAO-07-1014; Tax Gap: A Strategy for Reducing the Gap Should Include Options for Addressing Sole Proprietor Noncompliance; Financial analysis Financial statement audits Financial statements Income taxes Noncompliance Personal income taxes Reporting requirements Self-employed Strategic planning Tax return audits Tax returns Tax violations Tax gap Underreporting IRS Automated Underreporter System Public Law 95-600 Public Law 109-222