First thing to do: collect what is owed. The IRS estimates that the gross tax gap for Tax Year 2022 was $696 billion. After accounting for late payments and enforcement, the net tax gap for 2022 was projected to be $606 billion. For Tax Years 2014-2016, the average annual gross tax gap was $496 billion, and the average annual net tax gap was $428 billion. For 2025, the estimated gap is close to $700 billion -- or 1/3 of the annual deficit.