§2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 70 people were sentenced under §2T1.6. 50 (71%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 15 months, higher than the 12-month all-years median. 68 (97%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay › §2T1.6: FY2023
In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 70 people were sentenced under §2T1.6. 50 (71%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 15 months, higher than the 12-month all-years median. 68 (97%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 70 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
A Median Prison Term of 15 Months
In fiscal year 2023, 70 people had §2T1.6 as the primary guideline in the Commission's files. The Guidelines Manual gives it the title "Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax."
50 of the 70 people (71%) were sentenced to prison. 15 (21%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 15 months.
A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 8.2 months or less. Fiscal year 2022 had a median of 12.5 months, and fiscal year 2024 had a median of 12 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 47 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 47 | 12 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 39 | 16.5 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 40 | 24 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 28 | 12 months | 89% |
| 2021 | 39 | 13 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 69 | 12.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 70 | 15 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 57 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 63 | 12 months | 95% |
Pleas and the 2 Trial Convictions
68 of the 70 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. All of the guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 15 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 1 person who was convicted at trial and sent to prison, so it is not a basis for general comparison.
The data leaves out acquittals and dismissals.
Range Positions
Below the range without a government request: 47% (33 people). Below the range at the government's request: 37% (26). Within the range: 16% (11). Above the range: none.
The within-range share was lower than the 17% all-years share for this guideline and the 42% share for every guideline in fiscal year 2023. Fiscal year 2022 had 17% within the range, and fiscal year 2024 had 9%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 70 people (0%).
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
49 people (70%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 63 (90%), and a fine for 13 (19%).
80% of the group were in criminal history category I, the lowest. None (0%) were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records do not include criminal history.
The Wider Federal Picture
From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 499 people were sentenced under §2T1.6. 69% went to prison, and 97% pleaded guilty.
Counting every guideline, 64,124 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023, with a median prison term of 30 months and 97% guilty pleas. These 70 cases fall under the offense type Tax.
Reading This Year With Care
The fiscal year began October 1, 2022 and ended September 30, 2023. A single year does not establish a trend, and nothing in the records explains why the median differs from the years next to it.
This guideline has no close court-martial counterpart in the approved crosswalk. Prison terms listed are sentences imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2T1.6 (70), 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.
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)
- §2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (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.