Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
In the District of Colorado, 55 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 36 (65%) received a prison term, and 14 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 19.5 months, compared with 15.1 months for all 94 districts, and restitution was ordered for 50 peopl
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In brief: In the District of Colorado, 55 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 36 (65%) received a prison term, and 14 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 19.5 months, compared with 15.1 months for all 94 districts, and restitution was ordered for 50 people (91%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 55 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.
Prison, Probation, and Restitution
Of the 55 people sentenced, 36 (65%) received a prison term, and 14 (25%) received probation only. For all districts, 66% were sent to prison.
Restitution was ordered for 50 people (91%), and a fine for 15 (27%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 36 people (65%), with a median term of 36 months.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 19.5 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median for all districts was 15.1 months, and the median for all offenses in the District of Colorado was 36 months.
Time served is not part of these figures.
Which Tax Guidelines Applied
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type, assigned by the main guideline used at sentencing. In Colorado, the most common primary guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 41 people.
Others were §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 9, §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), with 3, and §2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax), with 2.
Tax cases were 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in these years.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 50 of 55 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 78 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 5 people, so it comes from a small group.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines set a range for each case. In Colorado, 25 people (45%) received a sentence below the range without a government request. Another 10 (18%) received one below the range at the government's request.
A sentence within the range was given to 19 people (35%), and 1 (2%) was above the range. For all districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range, so this district's share was higher.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 55 people (0%). In criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 2% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 36 people for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 19 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The federal fiscal year starts October 1.
The table shows yearly counts from 2 to 15 people. The medians, such as 7.5 months in 2021 and 41 months in 2025, rest on a few people each and do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | 24 months | 93% |
| 2017 | 4 | 21 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 5 | 22 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2019 | 12 | 12 months | 83% |
| 2020 | 4 | 24 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 2 | 7.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 7.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | 41 months | 4 of 4 |
What Is Not in These Numbers
Anyone who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed is absent from this data, which starts at sentencing.
This district contains Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, which appear in the site's court-martial data. Those proceedings take place in military courts. The tax cases above come from the district court and are not tied to any installation.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (55). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.