26 U.S.C. 7201, Attempt to evade or defeat tax: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Of 1,071 federal defendants whose most serious final charge fell under 26 U.S.C. 7201, 1,008 (94%) were convicted in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those convicted, 766 (76%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 18 months. Trials ended 76 cases (7%), and 7 of those trials (9
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In brief: Of 1,071 federal defendants whose most serious final charge fell under 26 U.S.C. 7201, 1,008 (94%) were convicted in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those convicted, 766 (76%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 18 months. Trials ended 76 cases (7%), and 7 of those trials (9%) ended in an acquittal.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 1,071 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
Prison Terms on This Charge
A conviction was by far the most common result. The 1,008 convictions came from guilty pleas and from verdicts at trial.
Of those 1,008, the records list 766 (76%) with a prison term on this charge. The rest received no prison term on it. Among defendants with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 18 months.
A median is the value in the middle of the list of terms. This one counts only the term on this section. Time ordered on other counts in the same case is not included.
The Section and the Count
In the U.S. Code, Title 26, section 7201 is headed "Attempt to evade or defeat tax". The post refers to the statute only by that heading.
The data come from the Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. A defendant is counted here when this section was the most serious charge at the end of the case. Cases that ended in a dismissal or an acquittal are counted along with convictions.
The level of the charge was the same for everyone. All 1,071 were felonies, with no Class A misdemeanors and no petty offenses.
Retained Lawyers Handled Most Cases
Private (retained) counsel represented 773 defendants (72%). A federal public or community defender represented 139 (13%). A CJA panel attorney, meaning a private lawyer appointed by the court, represented 128 (12%). Another 5 defendants represented themselves.
Retained counsel cases ended in a guilty plea 92% of the time, compared with 86% for federal defenders and 80% for CJA panel attorneys. CJA panel cases went to trial 20 times, with 1 acquittal (5%). Retained counsel had 43 trials and 5 acquittals (12%). Federal defenders had 12 trials and 1 acquittal (8%).
A caution applies to every one of these comparisons. They describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Counsel type is recorded at the end of the case, and people who hire a lawyer often face different charges and circumstances than people who are assigned one.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 139 | 86% | 5% | 12 | 1 (8%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 128 | 80% | 5% | 20 | 1 (5%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 773 | 92% | 2% | 43 | 5 (12%) |
| Self-represented | 5 | 4 of 5 | 0 of 5 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
Guilty Pleas, Dismissals, and Verdicts
Guilty pleas closed 939 cases (88%). Dismissals closed 56 (5%).
A dismissal in these records may include a charge dropped at the government's request, for example after the defendant pleaded guilty in another case. It does not always mean the person left without any conviction.
Juries decided 71 of the 76 trials and acquitted in 6 (8%). Judges decided 5 bench trials, and 1 of those 5 ended in an acquittal.
What Changed From Year to Year?
Fiscal year 2016 had the most cases end, at 141. Fiscal year 2020 had the fewest, at 75.
Fiscal year 2025 had the lowest guilty plea rate (82%) and the highest dismissal rate (11%) of the period. Fiscal year 2023 had 3 acquittals in 9 trials, the most in any single year. Several years had no acquittal at all. With so few trials per year, these yearly shifts are not a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 141 | 87% | 4% | 12 | 1 (8%) |
| 2017 | 123 | 89% | 3% | 9 | 0 (0 of 9) |
| 2018 | 108 | 86% | 5% | 10 | 0 (0%) |
| 2019 | 100 | 94% | 4% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2020 | 75 | 88% | 7% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| 2021 | 114 | 90% | 5% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2022 | 113 | 84% | 7% | 10 | 0 (0%) |
| 2023 | 100 | 85% | 6% | 9 | 3 (3 of 9) |
| 2024 | 112 | 89% | 3% | 9 | 0 (0 of 9) |
| 2025 | 85 | 82% | 11% | 6 | 2 (2 of 6) |
Limits of the Data
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so the post makes no military comparison. The records do not show the evidence in any case or the reasons for a dismissal. They also cannot say whether the kind of lawyer made any difference to how a case ended.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 26 U.S.C. 7201, any subsection (1,071), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- 26 U.S.C. 5841, Registration of firearms: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 26 U.S.C. 5861, Prohibited acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 26 U.S.C. 7202, Willful failure to collect or pay over tax: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 26 U.S.C. 7203, Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.