> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-1-tax-evasion-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:06:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:06:55.000Z - Description: The median prison term for the 322 people sentenced under §2T1.1 in fiscal year 2018 was 12 months. 209 (65%) went to prison, and 76 (24%) received probation only. Of the 24 people convicted after a trial, those sent to prison had a median term of 24.5 months, compared with 12 months after a guilty - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2T1.1 Tax Evasion](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-1-tax-evasion/) › §2T1.1: FY2018 **In brief:** The median prison term for the 322 people sentenced under §2T1.1 in fiscal year 2018 was 12 months. 209 (65%) went to prison, and 76 (24%) received probation only. Of the 24 people convicted after a trial, those sent to prison had a median term of 24.5 months, compared with 12 months after a guilty plea. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 322 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## A 12-Month Median for Fiscal Year 2018 The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 322 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 with §2T1.1 as the primary guideline. Of those, 209 (65%) received a prison term, and the median was 12 months. A quarter of the prison terms were 24 months or longer, and a quarter were 7 months or shorter. In fiscal year 2017 the median was 15 months, and in fiscal year 2019 it was 18 months. Terms in this data are those imposed, not time served. ## Probation Only and Supervised Release 76 people (24%) received probation only, which means the court ordered no prison and no other confinement. Supervised release followed prison for 204 people (63%), and the median term was 24 months. ## Pleas and Trials A total of 298 of the 322 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 24 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial, the median was 24.5 months, based on the 22 trial convictions that led to prison. Written plea agreements covered 96% of the guilty pleas, and 4% were straight pleas. The records do not show why trial terms differ from plea terms. ## Guideline Range Results The guideline range is the range the Guidelines Manual calculates for each case. In fiscal year 2018, 22% of sentences (70) were within it. 46% (149) were below it without a government request, and 29% (94) were below it at the government's request. 2% (8) were above it. In fiscal year 2017 the within-range share was 28%, and in fiscal year 2019 it was 26%. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, it was 51%. ## Money Orders Restitution, which is money ordered to cover a loss, was imposed on 280 people (87%). A fine was ordered for 66 (20%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 322 people (2%). ## Criminal History 88% of the group was in the lowest criminal history category (category I), and 1% was in the highest (category VI). Court-martial files have no criminal history field. ## The Wider Numbers The Guidelines Manual titles §2T1.1 "Tax Evasion; Willful Failure to File Return, Supply Information, or Pay Tax; Fraudulent or False Returns, Statements, or Other Documents." The Commission's offense type for these cases is Tax, and fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 2,895 people were sentenced under §2T1.1\. 63% went to prison, the median was 14 months, 93% pleaded guilty, and 24% were within the range. In fiscal year 2018, all guidelines together covered 69,425 people, with a median prison term of 24 months. The table lists every year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 414 | 15 months | 93% | | 2017 | 437 | 15 months | 91% | | 2018 | 322 | 12 months | 93% | | 2019 | 328 | 18 months | 94% | | 2020 | 203 | 12 months | 91% | | 2021 | 232 | 14.8 months | 96% | | 2022 | 262 | 12 months | 94% | | 2023 | 237 | 12 months | 91% | | 2024 | 248 | 12 months | 93% | | 2025 | 212 | 15 months | 96% | ## What Is Not in the Records The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not record the size of any tax loss in these files, and the site's crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2T1.1 (322), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. **Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-1-tax-evasion/) (overview) - [§2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-1-tax-evasion-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2t1-1-tax-evasion-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.