§2T1.9 Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Of 46 people sentenced under §2T1.9 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 40 (87%) received a prison term, with a median of 34.5 months (2.9 years). People convicted after a trial had a median of 78 months, compared with 33 months after a guilty plea.
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In brief: Of 46 people sentenced under §2T1.9 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 40 (87%) received a prison term, with a median of 34.5 months (2.9 years). People convicted after a trial had a median of 78 months, compared with 33 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 46 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 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.
Tax Conspiracy Sentences in Federal Court
Guideline §2T1.9 is titled "Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax." The Sentencing Commission classifies all 46 cases here under the offense type Tax. They are cases in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 where §2T1.9 was the primary guideline, the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
How Long Were Prison Terms?
Of the 46 people, 40 (87%) received a prison term and 4 (9%) received probation only. The median prison term was 34.5 months (2.9 years).
A quarter of those sent to prison received 86 months or more. A quarter received 17.2 months or less. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
Plea Compared With Trial
A total of 35 of 46 (76%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 33 months. After a trial it was 78 months, based on 11 people. Among guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas.
The records show the difference but cannot show what drove it, such as the amount of tax involved or the facts of each case.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 people (4%). Against the guideline range, 30% (14) were within it, and 41% (19) were below it at the government's request. Another 26% (12) were below it without a government request, and 2% (1) were above it.
Below-range sentences with a government request were the most common single category.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release followed prison for 39 people (85%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 37 (80%), while a fine was ordered for 5 (11%).
On criminal history, 85% were in the lowest criminal history category I and 4% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Changes Over Time
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 16 people with a median prison term of 18 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 30 people with a median prison term of 36.5 months. The later median is higher.
The yearly counts are small, from 1 to 9 people. The table shows medians as low as 4 months in fiscal year 2019 and as high as 77 months in fiscal year 2018, so single years say little. Plea rates also differed by year: all 7 people pleaded guilty in fiscal year 2025, while 3 of 7 did in fiscal year 2022.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 39 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2017 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 4 | 77 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 2 | 4 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 33 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 3 | 18 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2022 | 7 | 48 months | 3 of 7 |
| 2023 | 3 | 36 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 38 months | 6 of 9 |
| 2025 | 7 | 37 months | 7 of 7 |
Limits
No close court-martial counterpart exists for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so the numbers are federal only. The data counts only convicted and sentenced people. It cannot show tax cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2T1.9 (46), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2T1.1 Tax Evasion: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2T1.4 Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2T1.6 Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2T3.1 Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.