A 2012 study by the IRS found that the difference between what was legally due in federal taxes in 2006 and what was actually paid amounted to a "tax gap" of $385 billion. Per the IRS's Taxpayer Advocate, this is an effective tax on most taxpayers "to subsidize noncompliance by others." Adjusted for inflation into 2012 dollars, the 2006 tax gap was an average of $3,952 for every household in the U.S.