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# Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:16.000Z
- Description: 115 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 91 of them (79%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, compared with 15.1 months across all 94 federal districts. 17 were convicted after a trial.
- 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 Eastern District of California, FY2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/) › Tax Offense: Eastern District of California

**In brief:** 115 people were sentenced for tax offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 91 of them (79%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months, compared with 15.1 months across all 94 federal districts. 17 were convicted after a trial.

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 115 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/).

## Trial Convictions Had a Higher Median

98 of 115 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 17 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty, so the plea share here was lower.

The median prison term was 16 months after a guilty plea and 45 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 15 people sent to prison. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement (100%), and 0% were straight pleas.

## Prison, Probation, and Median Terms

91 of the 115 people (79%) received a prison term, and 16 (14%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less.

For all districts together, tax had 5,024 people, 66% sent to prison, and a median of 15.1 months. The share sent to prison here was higher, and the median was a little higher. For all offenses in this district, the median was 48 months.

## Tax Evasion Was the Main Guideline

Tax is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guidelines were §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) with 95 people and §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) with 16.

§2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax) had 3 people, and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) had 1\. Tax cases were 3% of the 4,546 people sentenced in the district.

## Restitution for 86%

Restitution was ordered for 99 of the 115 people (86%), and a fine for 16 (14%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 9 of the 115 people with that information recorded (8%).

90 people (78%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. 73% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 9% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

42% of sentences (48 people) were within the guideline range. 37% (43 people) were below the range without a government request, and 20% (23 people) were below it at the government's request. Less than 1% (1 person) was above it.

Across all districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. In this district, the figure for all offenses was 40%. The within-range share for tax cases here was higher than both.

## Fewer Cases in Later Years

77 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 38 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly count was 29 in 2017 and 3 in 2022.

Yearly medians run from 0 months in 2024 to 30 months in 2019\. A median of 0 months means the middle value for that year was no prison term. With 3 to 11 people in most years, the table does not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 28               | 21 months     | 79%            |
| 2017        | 29               | 24 months     | 93%            |
| 2018        | 9                | 6 months      | 8 of 9         |
| 2019        | 11               | 30 months     | 82%            |
| 2020        | 6                | 29.5 months   | 5 of 6         |
| 2021        | 7                | 15 months     | 6 of 7         |
| 2022        | 3                | 12 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 9                | 12 months     | 6 of 9         |
| 2024        | 6                | 0 months      | 6 of 6         |
| 2025        | 7                | 13.5 months   | 6 of 7         |

## What the Data Leaves Out

The dataset leaves out acquittals and dismissals, since it covers only people sentenced after a conviction.

Reported prison terms are the terms ordered. They are not the time a person actually served.

Beale AFB, Edwards AFB, and Travis AFB are located in the district. Courts-martial for service members are military proceedings, which is why they are not part of this federal count.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (115). 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](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 Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (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.