Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
149 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 69% received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, compared with 15.1 months for tax cases in all 94 federal districts. Only 11% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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In brief: 149 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 69% received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, compared with 15.1 months for tax cases in all 94 federal districts. Only 11% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 149 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.
Restitution and Sentences Below the Range
Restitution was ordered for 132 of the 149 people (89%), and a fine for 46 (31%). 80 people (54%) were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request, and 53 (36%) were below it at the government's request.
16 people (11%) were within the range, and none were above it. For tax in all districts, 24% were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Massachusetts, the figure was 29%.
Probation and Prison
103 people (69%) received a prison term. Another 29 (19%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 66% of tax cases ended in prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. Across all offenses in this district the median was 30 months, which is higher than the median for tax cases.
Types of Tax Cases
The Commission files each case under a primary guideline. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) was the most common, with 98 people. §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) had 32, §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) had 16, and §2T2.2 (Regulatory Offenses) had 2.
Tax cases were 3% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district over the 10 fiscal years.
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
141 of 149 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 18 months after a trial, based on 6 people. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 149 people.
Yearly Figures
A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends at the close of September. The yearly table shows a median of 15 months in fiscal years 2018 and 2025 and 6 months in fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2024. Fiscal year 2024 had the most people, with 25.
58 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 91 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly groups range from 10 to 25 people, so the medians are small-sample figures and not a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 15 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 21 | 15 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 11 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 13 | 6 months | 77% |
| 2021 | 13 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 17 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 10 | 10 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 25 | 6 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 13 | 15 months | 92% |
Supervised Release and Criminal History
104 people (70%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
The lowest criminal history category held 90% of the people, and the highest held 1%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What Cannot Be Seen in This Data
Acquittals and dismissals cannot be seen in this data, because it covers convictions only. Each prison term shown is the term the court imposed, which can differ from the time served.
The amount of tax involved in each case is not given, so the data cannot show how the size of a case relates to the sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (149). 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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, 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.