§2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
Under §2T1.4 in fiscal year 2021, 88 of 138 people (64%) were sentenced to prison, and 34 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person, less than 1% of the group.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising › §2T1.4: FY2021
In brief: Under §2T1.4 in fiscal year 2021, 88 of 138 people (64%) were sentenced to prison, and 34 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person, less than 1% of the group.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 138 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
How Many Received Prison and How Many Probation Only?
The Sentencing Commission counted 138 people in fiscal year 2021 whose primary guideline was §2T1.4, "Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud." The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.
A prison term was imposed on 88 people (64%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 34 people (25%).
Length of Prison Terms and Supervised Release
Among the 88 who went to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 8.8 months or less.
After prison, 86 people (62%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median term was 12 months. Only 1 of the 138 people (less than 1%) had a mandatory minimum prison term apply.
9 Trial Convictions and 129 Guilty Pleas
Guilty pleas numbered 129 (93%), and 9 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial it was 33 months, based on 9 people.
Written plea agreements covered 98% of the guilty pleas. Straight pleas with no agreement were 2%.
The Guideline Range and Criminal History
Sentences within the guideline range went to 31 people (22%). Sentences below the range at the government's request went to 29 (21%), and sentences below the range without a government request went to 78 (57%). No one, 0 people (0%), was sentenced above the range.
Criminal history category I, the lowest, held 80% of the group, and category VI, the highest, held 0%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Money Ordered: Restitution and Fines
Restitution was ordered for 124 people (90%). A fine was ordered for 13 (9%). Fines and restitution are separate from prison terms, and the sheet does not say how many people received both.
Other Years and Other Guidelines
For fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,451 people were sentenced under §2T1.4. Of those, 71% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months, 92% pleaded guilty, and 24% were sentenced within the range. The 2021 share sent to prison is lower than the 71%, and the median is lower than 21 months.
In fiscal year 2020, the median was 21.5 months and 26% were within the range. In fiscal year 2022, the median was 20 months and 19% were within the range.
In fiscal year 2021, 57,287 people were sentenced in federal court under every guideline. Their median prison term was 29 months, which is higher than here. Guilty pleas were 98%, and 43% were within the range.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 181 | 24 months | 89% |
| 2017 | 161 | 18 months | 93% |
| 2018 | 195 | 24 months | 91% |
| 2019 | 166 | 18 months | 92% |
| 2020 | 121 | 21.5 months | 92% |
| 2021 | 138 | 18 months | 93% |
| 2022 | 139 | 20 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 126 | 24 months | 89% |
| 2024 | 112 | 20.5 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 112 | 24 months | 95% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The counts cover only convicted people who were sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, and prison terms are the terms imposed. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so these are federal numbers alone.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2T1.4 (138), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.