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# Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:09.000Z
- Description: 73 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 37 (51%) received a prison term with a median of 18 months, and 22 (30%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Tax Offense: District of South Carolina

**In brief:** 73 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 37 (51%) received a prison term with a median of 18 months, and 22 (30%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 15.1 months.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 73 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Prison for 51%, Probation Only for 30%

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 73 people under the offense type "Tax." 37 (51%) received a prison term, and 22 (30%) received probation only. In all districts, 66% of the 5,024 people in this offense type were sent to prison, which makes prison less common in this district.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The median for all districts was 15.1 months, and for all offenses in the District of South Carolina it was 48.2 months.

The table lists terms as imposed by the court.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5                | 15 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2017        | 5                | 18 months     | 4 of 5         |
| 2018        | 10               | 15 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 13               | 24 months     | 92%            |
| 2020        | 8                | 0 months      | 8 of 8         |
| 2021        | 4                | 18 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 13               | 18 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 7                | 27 months     | 6 of 7         |
| 2024        | 3                | 24 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 5                | 24 months     | 5 of 5         |

## Restitution and Fines

The court ordered restitution for 64 people (88%) and a fine for 7 (10%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 35 people (48%), for a median of 36 months.

Tax cases were 1% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Tax Guidelines in These Cases

The offense type is the Commission's category. For 42 people, the primary guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion). For 25, it was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud).

3 people had §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), and 2 had §2T3.1 (Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling)).

## Guilty Pleas

Guilty pleas numbered 70 of 73 (96%), and 3 people were convicted after a trial. Across all districts the guilty plea rate was 93%, and across all offenses in this district it was 98%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 18 months. After a trial, it was 27 months, based on 1 person, so the records cannot support a comparison. 94% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Sentences Below the Guideline Range

Of the 73 people with this information, 37% (27) were sentenced below the range without a government request. 34% (25) were below it at the government's request, 27% (20) were within the range, and 1% (1) was above it.

Tax sentences within the range were more common here than the 24% in all districts and less common than the 47% for every offense in the district. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 73 people.

## Criminal History and Yearly Counts

86% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 1% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

There were 33 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 40 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Yearly groups range from 3 to 13 people, and the median in fiscal year 2020 was 0 months, so the table does not support a trend.

## Limits

These installations appear in this district: Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB. Their courts-martial are not in this federal data.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and it does not describe the facts of any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (73). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.