26 U.S.C. 7203, Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Most federal charges under 26 U.S.C. 7203 were Class A misdemeanors: 186 of 254 (73%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with 68 (27%) recorded as felonies. Of the 237 defendants convicted, 103 (43%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 12 months. Guilty pleas ended 225 cases (8
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 26 U.S.C. 7203
In brief: Most federal charges under 26 U.S.C. 7203 were Class A misdemeanors: 186 of 254 (73%) in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, with 68 (27%) recorded as felonies. Of the 237 defendants convicted, 103 (43%) received a prison term on that charge, and the median term was 12 months. Guilty pleas ended 225 cases (89%).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 254 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.
Misdemeanor or Felony?
The level of the charge is the first thing that sets this section apart. The records list 186 defendants (73%) with a Class A misdemeanor and 68 (27%) with a felony. No petty offenses appear.
The records give the level of the charge at the end of the case, not at the start.
Who Received a Prison Term
Conviction was the result for 237 of the 254 defendants (93%). Of those 237, 103 (43%) were sentenced to prison on this charge. The others had no prison term recorded on it.
Among defendants with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 12 months. The median is the middle term in the sorted list. It covers this charge only, not any other count in the case.
The records do not split prison terms by charge level, so the post cannot say how terms differed between misdemeanor and felony cases.
Where the Numbers Come From
The U.S. Code heads Title 26, section 7203 as "Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax". The statute is identified here by that heading alone.
The Federal Judicial Center data cover 254 defendants whose most serious charge at the end of the case was under this section, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Their cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Defendants whose charges were dismissed and those acquitted are included.
Pleas, Dismissals, and 13 Trials
Guilty pleas resolved 225 cases. Dismissals resolved 16 (6%), and 13 (5%) went to trial.
A dismissal here can include a charge the government asked to drop after a guilty plea in another case. It does not always mean the defendant was never convicted of anything.
Of the 13 trials, 1 ended in an acquittal (8%). Juries heard 11 and acquitted in that 1 case (9%). The 2 bench trials, decided by a judge, both ended without an acquittal.
Types of Counsel
Retained counsel handled 169 cases (67%). Federal public or community defenders handled 42 (17%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, handled 37 (15%). Another 2 defendants represented themselves.
Guilty pleas ended 93% of retained counsel cases and 90% of federal defender cases. For CJA panel attorneys the plea rate was 76% and the dismissal rate was 11%. Each of those groups had 5 trials with no acquittal. The 1 acquittal came in a federal defender case, out of 3 trials.
Counsel numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. The type is recorded when the case ends. Hired and appointed lawyers tend to represent people facing different charges and circumstances.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 42 | 90% | 2% | 3 | 1 (1 of 3) |
| CJA panel attorney | 37 | 76% | 11% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 169 | 93% | 4% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| Self-represented | 2 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 | 0 | 0 |
Fewer Cases in Later Years
Between 37 and 39 cases ended in each of fiscal years 2016, 2017, and 2019. From fiscal year 2020 on, no year had more than 22.
Dismissal rates were higher in some later years: 21% in 2021, 15% in 2022, and 20% in 2023. Those years had between 14 and 20 cases, so a few dismissals move the rate a lot. The records cannot show why the counts or rates changed.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 37 | 95% | 0% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2017 | 38 | 89% | 0% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| 2018 | 25 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 39 | 82% | 10% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2020 | 18 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 14 | 79% | 21% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 20 | 80% | 15% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2023 | 20 | 80% | 20% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 22 | 91% | 5% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 21 | 86% | 5% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
Limits
No close court-martial counterpart appears in the approved crosswalk, so no military comparison is offered. The data hold no details about the facts of a case or the evidence. They cannot show whether the type of counsel affected any result.
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. 7203, any subsection (254), 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. 7201, Attempt to evade or defeat tax: 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. 7206, Fraud and false statements: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 26 U.S.C. 7212, Attempts to interfere with administration of internal revenue laws: 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.